Flushed Away (2006)

Directors:

David Bowers
Sam Fell

Writers:

Sam Fell (story) and
Peter Lord (story) ...

Release Date:

3 November 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Someone's Going Down

Plot:

The story of an uptown rat that gets flushed down the toilet from his penthouse apartment, ending in the sewers of London, where he has to learn a whole new and different way of life.

Plot Keywords:

Sewer | Toad | Rat | Boat | Mouse

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Hugh Jackman	...	Roddy (voice)
Kate Winslet	...	Rita (voice)
Ian McKellen	...	The Toad (voice)
Jean Reno	...	Le Frog (voice)
Bill Nighy	...	Whitey (voice)
Andy Serkis	...	Spike (voice)
Shane Richie	...	Sid (voice)
Kathy Burke	...	Rita's Mum (voice)
David Suchet	...	Rita's Dad (voice)
Miriam Margolyes	...	Rita's Grandma (voice)
Rachel Rawlinson	...	Tabitha (voice)
Susan Duerden	...	Mother (voice)
Miles Richardson	...	Father (voice)
John Motson	...	Football Commentator (voice)
Douglas Weston	...	Newspaper Seller (voice)

Also Known As:

Ratropolis (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for crude humor and some language.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:G | Ireland:G | USA:PG (certificate #42964) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Vaud) | Hong Kong:I | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-7 | Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | Brazil:Livre | Sweden:7 | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | UK:U (cut version) | Portugal:M/6 (original version) | South Korea:All | Portugal:M/4 (dubbed version) | New Zealand:PG

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks Animation

Trivia:

In the first theatrical trailer, Roddy was not the only pet of the little human girl. There was also a cage with two small yellow gerbils, who seemed to be Roddy's menservants. However, in the final cut of the film, these two characters were removed, probably to advance the story, and make Roddy appear to be a character who is more "alone" than "spoiled". The first trailer also shows the discovery of Sid during the day instead of late at night.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Several times during the film, someone gets thrown into the toilet which is shown to be almost full with water. However, British toilets have a far lower water level.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mother: Car's here.
Father: It's nine o' clock already, we're going to miss our flight.

Movie Connections:

References Shark Tale (2004)

Soundtrack:

Ice Cold Rita

My favorite Aardman feature so far

Wallace and Gromit are critics darlings. Chicken Run had great reviews as well. I liked all those animated films somewhat, but I never understood their appeal to the critics. To me they were just so-so. This film has not done as well with the critics. It retains somewhat the look of the aforementioned claymation that Aardman is so famous for, but as most people reading this are probably well aware, it is strictly computer animated fare. I truly enjoyed it more than the other films by the talented animators at Aardman. Not a lot more. I much preferred the Shrek films and The Incredibles for recent animated greats. But you could do a lot worse than spending 90 minutes with your kids in a theater watching Flushed Away. ( The film across the hall at my multiplex comes to mind as I really did not want to go watch Tim Allen in a Santa suit for a third time.) The slugs (or perhaps they were leeches) were my favorite characters in the film. I found myself laughing a lot at their antics, sound effects and musical talent. I had fun. Nothing great but a good deal of fun.