Flushed Away

Plot synopsis:
Roddy St. James (Hugh Jackman) is an upper class pet rat who makes his home in a posh Kensington flat. While his owners are away on holiday, Roddy plays around the house. A common sewer rat named Sid (Shane Richie) comes spewing out of the sink and decides to stay, especially as England are playing against Germany in the World Cup final. Roddy schemes to get rid of Sid by luring him into the "jacuzzi", which is actually the toilet. Sid isn't fooled at all and instead throws Roddy in and flushes him away into the sewer. There, Roddy discovers a city resembling London made out of various bits of junk, and meets Rita Malone (Kate Winslet), an enterprising scavenger rat who works the drains in her faithful boat, the Jammy Dodger. Rita despises Roddy initially, but ends up taking him along, while her arch enemy The Toad (Ian McKellen) sends his rat henchmen, Spike (Andy Serkis) and Whitey (Bill Nighy), after her because she had stolen back her father's prized ruby a long time ago. The Toad loathes all rodents to the point of hateful obsession. He plans to have them frozen with liquid nitrogen inside an icemaker. The pair escape, and Rita takes a unique electrical cable that, unknown to everyone but the Toad, is required to control the floodgates.
Roddy finds that the ruby is a fake and breaks it in front of Rita, enraging her, for she cannot now get the money she needs for her large family. Roddy offers her a real ruby if she takes him back to Kensington. Accepting the offer, the pair first stop to visit her family before setting off. During Roddy's stay, he overhears a conversation that causes him to think that Rita had double-crossed him, so he steals the Jammy Dodger. When Rita catches up to him, she is able to clear up the misunderstanding. The pair evade Spike and Whitey pursuing in a remote-controlled toy boat, with Thimblenose Ted and others on eggbeater jet skis. During this scene, Roddy and Rita share a quick love moment. Incensed at his minions’ repeated failures, The Toad sends for his French cousin; an infamous, if somewhat laid back, mercenary known as Le Frog (Jean Reno). During this scene, it is revealed that The Toad was once Prince Charles' pet, but was replaced by a pet rat, and subsequently flushed down a toilet. Le Frog and his subordinates intercept the duo and retrieve the cable, but Roddy and Rita use a plastic bag to lift themselves out of the sewer (snatching away the cable during the ascent) and get Roddy home, though the Jammy Dodger is destroyed.
Back home, Roddy pays Rita the promised ruby and an emerald, then proceeds to show her around his house. She at first believes he has family in the home, but noticing his cage, she realises he's a pet. Roddy tries to pass Sid off as his brother, but Sid and Rita know each other. Rita tries to persuade Roddy to come with her, but he is too proud to admit that he is lonely. By now, they have fallen in love but have not told each other their feelings. She departs, both of them broken-hearted, but is soon captured by The Toad. Talking to Sid about half-time, Roddy pieces together The Toad's plan: to open the gates during halftime of the World Cup, when all the humans will most likely be using their toilets, causing a great flood and drowning the rats and their underground city in sewage. He can then use the depopulated city as a home for his own tadpole offspring. He gives Sid his cushy position and has him flush him back to the sewers to find Rita and save the city. Together, they defeat The Toad and freeze the wave of sewage generated by the flushing of countless toilets during half-time with liquid nitrogen before it drowns the entire rat population.
Rita and Roddy build the Jammy Dodger Mark Two and set off in her with Rita's entire brood. A newspaper article reveals England had lost on penalties. Later while the credits start, Roddy's former owner Tabitha comes back with a new pet cat, which scares Sid.

Tags: psychedelic, entertaining, romantic

Review:
Maybe it did, to begin with, and the start is just a tad slow, but it soon picks up speed and the jokes, verbal and visual, just keep coming.Like the best family films, Flushed Away appeals to audiences of all ages, but the very young might find it a bit long.
(How often do you find references to Kafka in an animated feature, after all?) What I liked best about this movie was that Aardman stayed true to its roots of making stop-motion films.
Hugh Jackman is everywhere these days, from reprising his iconic Wolverine role in summer blockbuster X3, to starring twice alongside Scarlett Johansson in Woody Allen's Scoop and Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, and now, just lending his voice to a lead character in the animated film Flushed Away, co-starring his summer blockbuster star Sir Ian McKellen.
Yes, this is produced by the same studio, Aardman Animations, in association with Dreamworks, and it is no wonder that the animation, although computer generated, maintained a very clay like look and feel, as well as character designs bearing similar resemblance in style to W&G.The story is simple enough, yet adequately satisfying by the time the end credits roll.
Supporting or interfering in his quest are characters like Rita (Kate Winslet), The Toad (Ian McKellen), French Le Frog (Jean Reno), and rat minions Whitey (Bill Nighy) and Spike (Andy Serkis).
It doesn't take long before both Roddy and Rita are wanted by the whole frog mob When movies like Cars or Over the Hedge get more and more photo realistic, Flushed Away puts an emphasis on fun and visual comedy.
The story is fresh and funny and leads to a nice finale involving an important soccer match.What makes Flushed Away succeed for sure are all the great characters.
Though Aardman Animations don't make a huge load of movies, at least what they do make is bloody good, and this lived up to the high reputations it set itself.This film was so much more than just rats getting flushed down toilets - it was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen.
FLUSHED AWAY (2006) is an adventure tale about a pet rat from a posh London neighborhood who is flushed out of his home and into the sewers, where he discovers a thriving rat city.Hugh Jackman voices Roddy, the rat from "up top" who doesn't realize how lonely he is until he gets a taste of life in the outside world.
Roddy hopes Rita can help him get home, but his bumbling gets her into trouble with the sinister Toad (voiced deliciously by Sir Ian McKellen).FLUSHED AWAY is a film from the British-based Aardman Studios (of Wallace & Gromit fame).
Released through Dreamworks Animation, it is a rare foray for Aardman into the realm of feature-length computer animation, which is stylized to approximate the studio's signature stop-motion aesthetic (particularly with the staccato mouth movements).The animation in the opening scene at Roddy's house seems well below the industry standard, surprisingly poor for a major studio release in 2006, but the film looks better once the action moves to the sewers.Any shortcomings in the animation are easily overlooked because the film is so creative and so much fun.
(The mime gag is comedic genius.) The singing slugs provide well-timed comic relief, and are much funnier (in an oddball way) than the popular comic relief minions of DESPICABLE ME (2010).Very much a British film, the action is set in London around the hoopla of the soccer World Cup. The Toad has a collection of Royal Family memorabilia and even has a tragic personal history with Prince Charles.
The full implications of the premise are glossed over to make for a more stomachable film, though there are a couple gross-out gags that the filmmakers couldn't pass up.With so many wonderful characters (in addition to those mentioned, Andy Serkis and an almost unrecognizable Bill Nighy voice the Toad's odd couple rat henchmen to hilarious effect), some truly great character animation (the Toad and the bouncy frogs in particular), such a brilliant sense of humor, and an adventure story that is both exciting and full of heart, FLUSHED AWAY is an entertaining flick.
The main reason being is because it is British, and we all know that British comedy is far more witty, intelligent and funnier than American humor.Flushed Away centers around a rat named Roddy (voice by Hugh Jackman) who is a pet to a very wealthy family in Kensington.
Sid takes the opportunity to flush Roddy down the toilet, leaving him stranded in Ratropolis, an underground sewer city.Roddy soon gets caught up in the life of Rita the rat (voice by Kate Winslet) and an amusing love/hate relationship ensues.Flushed Away is made by Aardman who brought us Wallace and Gromit, and DreamWorks who brought us the Shrek films, it's no wonder the film is so hilarious.
You wondered at first if the story would run out of steam & fall flat, like Austin Powers: Goldmember, but the hectic pace kept going strong with both action & comedy at full throttle the whole way.When you have tripe like "Happy Feet" which follow the same tired old clichés over & over again, cloyingly sweet with fake sentiment, this film is a refreshing change.Finally, again for the UK fans, note that Dick Clement & Ian LeFrenais helped with the script have been one of the main stays of comedy writing in the UK for over 4 decades (The Likely Lads/Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads, Porridge/Going Straight, Not Only...But Also, The Dick Emery Show, The Tracy Ullman Show etc etc)Also note that owners of the last Ardmaaan DVD (The Curse of the Wererabbit) got a glimpse of Flushed Away, where the characters of Roddy & Rita were clearly identified as rats.
As he is searching for a way home, he meets Rita, a rat who runs a river boat, and gets caught in her run from The Toad.If you like Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, you will love it.It is wacky and silly, but great.
This animated film about a rich but lonely rat named Roddy (Hugh Jackman) who gets flushed down the toilet by a sewer rat and ends up finding love and saving the rat world while trying to make his way back home had odd British and American flavors not completely weaved together.
An American Animated Action film with British wit, it tried and had a few stand out bits, but wasn't memorable in the end.This movie is like trifle, made with jello cake.
Flushed Away sees Wallace and Gromit creators Aardman Animation (in cohorts with Dreamworks) making the transition from plasticene stop-motion to CGI in order to tell the tale of Roddy, a pampered pet rat who struggles to cope with sewer life after being flushed down a toilet.Unfortunately, although the plasticene quirkiness of Nick Park's style is digitally emulated to some degree of success, the film is ultimately let down by a weak plot, charmless characters, a rushed approach to the storytelling, and a distinct lack of decent laughs.
Even the singing slugs, the best things in the film, aren't entirely original, being highly reminiscent of the three musical mice from Babe.The comedy mainly consists of toilet humour and visual gags, with references to many other films thrown in for good measure, but everything is so scatter-shot that much of these jokes will be missed on the first (and probably only, if the viewer has any sense) viewing.Considering Flushed Away has come from the combined talents that gave us the brilliant Curse Of The Wererabbit and the mighty Shrek, one can only come away feeling very disappointed indeed..
The voice acting and animation are first rate, but more attention to the script would have meant a lot here.Hugh Jackman (Roddy), Kate Winslet (lovely Rita), Sir Ian McKellan (The evil Toad), Jean Reno (Le Frog) and especially Bill Nighy (Whitey) are all excellent as mice and frogs/toads.
Where Wallace and Gromit's humor was mined from the charm of its characters and the quirk of its story, Flushed Away steals laughs from unexpected sound bytes and witty inside jokes with the adults.
While the animation was great and the movie had terrific laughs and fun moments, Flushed Away seemed like just another typical computer animation flick.Rody is an indoor pet rat that is pampered like crazy, he's used to his life of luxury.
Aardman, the company that created Chicken Run, and Wallace and Gromit, comes with a new film, which is bursting with originality and clever ideas all around, but with some lagging humor and a few overplayed jokes, it doesn't quite feel the same as when it was clay.The story is about a rodent named Roddy (Hugh Jackman) who finds that when the cats are away, the mice will play, and having fun has never been so good, until a fat rat Sid (Shane Richie) intrudes, and sends Roddy flushed away.
Now that Roddy has experienced the good life, he learns how down and dirty the world beneath him is, and falls accidentally into a plot with a female rodent Rita (Kate Winslet) an evil Toad (Sir Ian Mckellen) and a journey home that will prove to be difficult, but friendship will lead the way.The movie is all in all fantastic, it's simple, easy to look at and overall fun.
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Bill Nygh, Jean Reno.Aardman animation has a reputation for making great movies and shorts (Wallace and Grommit, Chicken Run) and this movie was no exception.
He must join forces with Rita (voice of Kate Winslet), skipper of a garbage scow, to evade the minions of amphibian underworld kingpin The Toad (voice of Sir Ian McKellen)."Flushed Away" is both a verbal and a visual delight, with an engaging, consistently amusing script and those wonderful, unique Aardman character designs.
While Flushed Away may be more forgetful than Aardman's previous work, you will enjoy the ride while it lasts, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good family film.
I was a bit hesitant at first, when seeing Flushed Away last night, but I found it clearly bested anything animated I've seen for quite a while, on par with Finding Nemo, actually!The story develops well, the actors chosen for the English voices are among my favourites, and there is little to comment when it comes to the animation - amazingly close to clay figures, and very Aardman!
The jokes are extremely visual, which isn't cheap i don't think, i think its fantastic, and music was a big input to the comedy factor of this film.The characters were great, with lovely little fill in ones like the slugs, the french frogs, and more.
It has Aardman's trademark British Humor and something unlike Aardman films: Computer animation and stop animation fused together.The Basic Overview: Roddy (Hugh Jackman, also in Happy Feet), a handsome mouse living in a penthouse, but with no real friends, is repulsed when a sewer rat named Sid intrudes into his home and when Roddy tries to flush him back, Sid gets the last laugh and Roddy is "Flushed Away" into a sewer town where a young lady mouse named Rita (Kate Winslet) captains the Jammy Dodger and lives with her many siblings, parents and Grandmother (Who is an avid fan of Tom Jones).
In this regard, Flushed Away fills the bill more than adequately.First, Aardman is known for the wonderful claymation work done in Wallace and Gromit as well as Chicken Run. This world, done in CGI, in far more complex - but with a good story, the mechanism of telling should not matter - and the story here is quite good, and the movie moves at a very fast clip, only slowing on occasion.Good humor bits - poking at the national stereotypes - British and French primarily - as well as the slugs, who provide excellent comic relief as well as sound effects.Overall, a nice film is you need a break - I don't know if it's suitable for the very young ones, but preteens and early teenagers should LOVE it, and any adults who happen by as well..
In addition to 'What's New Pussycat?,' other highlights of the soundtrack were 'Dancing By Myself' by Billy Idol and Generation X, the backing track of Jet's 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl?' that plays as Roddy makes his way to the sewer, 'Bohemian Like You' by Dandy Warhols and, of course, the brief musical numbers by the singing slugs, especially 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' and 'Mr Lonely.' I also enjoyed spotting the pop culture references to James Bond (Roddy watching a fictional Bond-style movie called 'Die Again Tomorrow'), 'Finding Nemo' (the fish asking Roddy if he's seen his dad) and 'Mary Poppins' (a female rat selling fly food in a similar manner to the bird lady).Overall, this may not be Dreamworks's or Aardman's best but it has an original story, a suitable title, some clever links, a rocking soundtrack and some funny moments.
you will really love this film.what a riot it was.it's from Dreamworks and Aardman Entertainment,the same people behind Wallace and Gromit.it's hysterically funny and fast paced and exciting.i loved Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of The Wererabbit,but i thought this movie was even funnier.it's a bit more risqué with the humour,which adults will pick up on,and kids will of course love it.a lot of the humour is very cheeky.there is a bit of rude,and crude humour here.not only is the film funny,it also looks very good,technically.the choice of actors for the voices was brilliant.the whole thing is just so well done.for me,Flushed Away is a 10/10.
'Flushed Away (2006),' a CGI-animated film, was the result of a collaboration between Dreamworks Animation and Aardman Animations, whose previous successes include 'Chicken Run (2000)' and the various 'Wallace and Gromit' adventures.
The film concerns the underground adventures of urbane pet rat Roddy St. James (voiced by Hugh Jackman), who is flushed down the toilet and must battle countless hurdles to return to the lonely home that he loves.
After fatefully meeting a vivacious female rat, Rita Malone (Kate Winslet), the two rodents decide to help each other succeed in their respective goals, but only if they can escape the clutches of the wicked Toad (Ian McKellen) and his witless cronies (including Andy Serkis and Bill Nighy, as well as Jean Reno as a French mercenary ninja frog).Though the animators have done a good job at crafting the characters to resemble stop-motion models, I can't deny that much of the charm of Aardman's previous films is unfortunately lost.
FLUSHED AWAY (2006) *** (VOICES OF: Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Bill Nighy, Andy Serkis, Shane Richie, Kathy Burke, David Suchet, Miriam Margolyes) Fun and funny animated comedy about a pampered pet rat named Roddy (Jackman having a ball) who is literally flushed down the family toilet and discovers a subterranean world populated by all forms of vermin including the tomboy-ish Rita (Winslet also excelling at pleasing herself), a scavenger who is attempting to help her extended nuclear family's debt to the villainous underworld kingpin , The Toad (McKellen, relishingly good) and his henchmen Whitey and Spike (Nighy and Serkis, respectively).
there is so much to recommend about this film.From the opening scenes in which Hugh Jackman finally gets to play James Bond through to the chase sequences in the underground waterways of London Flushed Away represents the love,energy and British wit of Aardman animation.There are a number of moments which caused this adult reviewer to laugh out loud..including singing snails, Sir Ian McKellen's homage to Larry Grayson and a French mime artist on a cellphone..literally.The cast are all excellent with Hugh Jackman almost recognisable as the voice of Roddy and Jean Reno displaying comic talents that I would never have guessed at ( especially after the Pink Panther).There are so many jokes and ideas tucked away that you need to see the movie at least twice to take them all in.Genius.
this was a wonderful film about a lonely but content pet rat (voiced by Hugh Jackman) who gets flushed down the toilet of his posh Kensington home, only to find love and his true identity in the British sewers.
Flushed Away is a great animated film.
Flushed Away is a film made by Aardaman and is distributed by DreamWorks Animation and features the voices of Hugh Jackman,Kate Winslet and Shane Richie.
yet Roddy, after meeting Rita's large welfare family, feels the strange need to help her out in return, and maybe he isn't as happy living "up top" as he thought he was...Okay, the title is Flushed Away, and the film involves sewers, so of course there's some mild crude humor but nothing that makes it too rude to enjoy.
Nearly every character has something to like about them, there are various funny moments that don't rely on gross jokes to be entertaining, and the animation, especially of the rat-populated sewer London, obviously took a lot of work.
This story goes that a rat called Roddy has his house invaded by another rat and is flushed away down the toilet and there he meets the girl of his dreams,singing slugs,an evil frog,a ninja French frog and lots more humorous characters.
Roddy tries to trick the sewer rat into the toilet, but instead he himself is 'flushed away', and soon finds himself in an underworld of little critters that looks like a miniature recreation of London above the ground.There he soon meets Kate Winslet voicing Rita, who owns a cool little boat.
But it's all good anyway.At the end of the day, even if Flushed Away seems a bit shorter or rushed compared to other animated features, you've got to see it for what it is: A film that's filled with color and genuine love  a rarity in movies these days..
Its best asset is sewer rat/boat captain, Rita (Played by Kate Winselt), who, IMO, should have been the movie's main character instead of Roddy (Hugh Jackman).