Flushed Away, the new film from Aardman Features, (the company behind Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run) is computer-generated, rather than in their trademark stop-motion style. Although some of the charm of craftsmanship is missing from the film, a surprisingly large amount of Aardman's dry British humor remains intact.
Flushed Away stars the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, and Ian McKellen. Pampered pet rat Roddy (voiced by Hugh Jackman) finds himself unexpectedly thrust from his posh environment into an underground rat city. Desperate to get home, Roddy inadvertently incurs the wrath of crime boss the Toad (Ian McKellen). Roddy has to team up with sewer rat Rita (Kate Winslet) to avoid the Toad's henchmen. It's a plot that is well-suited to thinly conceived animated movies for kids.
The sewer life is visually bustling, using everyday items to create their world. The film is loaded with enough funny pop culture references to keep the adults laughing as well. The side characters provide most of the laughs. There's Toad's main hench-rat Whitey, an ex-laboratory rat who is bald and an albino. Then there is Sid, a weasel who is not nearly as tough as he pretends to be. Toad's French cousin Le Frog is also hilarious.
Flushed Away is charming and often quite funny, with lots of amusing background details. First-time directors David Bowers and Sam Fell bring a light touch to the comedy that allows it to come off as fresh. Kids and parents alike should enjoy this movie. |
