They try a little too hard. All this frantic action…
Flushed Away (2006)
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:24
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: Clever and appealing for both children and adults, Flushed Away marks a successful entry into digital animated features for Aardman Animations.
Theatrical Release:Nov 3, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $64,459,316
Synopsis: From DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Features, the teams behind the Oscar®-winning hits "Shrek" and "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," comes the computer-animated comedy "Flushed... From DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Features, the teams behind the Oscar®-winning hits "Shrek" and "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," comes the computer-animated comedy "Flushed Away." Blending Aardman's trademark style and characterizations with DreamWorks' state-of-the-art computer animation, the film marks a unique new look for the artform. In this new comedy set on and beneath the streets of London, Roddy St. James (Hugh Jackman) is a pampered pet mouse who thinks he's got it made. But when a sewer rat named Sid (Shane Richie) – the definition of "low life" -- comes spewing out of the sink and decides it's his turn to enjoy the lap of luxury, Roddy schemes to rid himself of the pest by luring him into the loo for a dip in the "whirlpool." Roddy's plan backfires when he inadvertently winds up being the one flushed away into the bustling world down below. Underground, Roddy discovers a vast metropolis, where he meets Rita (Kate Winslet), a street-wise rat who is on a mission of her own. If Roddy is going to get home, he and Rita will need to escape the clutches of the villainous Toad (Sir Ian McKellen), who royally despises all rodents and has dispatched two hapless henchrats, Spike (Andy Serkis) and Whitey (Bill Nighy), as well as his cousin -- that dreaded mercenary, Le Frog (Jean Reno) – to see that Roddy and Rita are iced ... literally. "Flushed Away" stars the voices of Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman (Broadway's "The Boy From Oz," the "X-Men" film franchise) as Roddy; four-time Oscar® nominee Kate Winslet ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Iris," "Titanic," "Sense and Sensibility") as Rita; two-time Oscar® nominee Ian McKellen ("The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Gods and Monsters") as the Toad; Andy Serkis ("King Kong," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King") and Bill Nighy ("Love Actually") as Spike and Whitey; Shane Richie ("Shoreditch") as Sid; and Jean Reno ("The Tiger and the Snow") as Le Frog. "Flushed Away" is being directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, and produced by Peter Lord, David Sproxton and Cecil Kramer. -- © DreamWorks [More]
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy, Jean Reno
Director: David Bowers, Sam Fell
Director: David Bowers, Sam Fell
Story: Peter Lord, Dick Clement, Sam Fell
Screenwriter: Ian La Frenais, Joe Keenan, William Davies
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams
Producer: Cecile Kramer, David Sproxton
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC
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Reviews for Flushed Away
Actually, a lot about the film is certified cool, from its whirly animation to the hordes of crunchy pop songs on the soundtrack.
Flushed Away subsumes its British charm with an aggressive American pace and more obvious body-function humour, and the film shows evidence of an awkward fit between American and British sensibilities.
Though Flushed Away duplicates the stop-motion, clay animation look of Aardman's earlier Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit, it was made using computer software and its liberated action sequences are truly dazzling.
Flushed Away is more fun than a bushel of slugs in a sewer. And considering the slugs in this sewer, that's saying quite a bit.
As some other witty Brits once promised, a splendid time is guaranteed for all.
How this thing got made in Hollywood is a mystery, but I laughed at most of it, especially the mean stereotypes about the French and the even meaner stereotype about England's soccer team.
Flushed Away moves quickly, and will just as quickly depart from memory, leaving the bemused, bubbly sensation of a good time in its wake.
The chatter is as zingy for the adults in the theater as the action is zippy for the kiddies.
The animation, computer-generated as opposed to Aardman's signature claymation style, pops with clever visual touches, and the voice cast, led by the omnipresent and ever likable Hugh Jackman as Roddy, is first-rate.
Little kids are sure to be bowled over by Roddy's reluctant heroism and Rita's resourcefulness, while the more grown up among us should appreciate the gleeful pokes at pop culture and Anglo-French relations.
The short attention spans of directors David Bowers and Sam Fell are mostly forgivable because the movie is filled with so many entertaining characters.
Kids will probably be in stinky-sewage heaven with the new computer-animated critter comedy Flushed Away, but even they may realize they're up the proverbial creek in a boat with a faulty motor.
Deficient in the comedy of reticence discouragement that is Aardman's (or maybe just Nick Park's) unique strength. I don't want to say the Englishmen were corrupted, but I think they allowed their strongest, quirkiest instincts to be tethered.
The film mixes rousing kid-friendly adventure with surprisingly savvy grown-up wit and charm.
The first computer-animated feature to come from Aardman Animations is filled with exuberant and infectious silliness.
Flushed Away, Aardman's first computer-generated cartoon, does away with the clay but leaves the craft and emotion intact, resulting in a film that earns its place among the Aardman classics.
This movie lacks the cleverness of the Aardman classics, but it more than makes up for that with its nonstop action.
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