Movie Title: Flushed Away
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (8/10)
Year: 2006
Flushed Away official site: http://www.flushedaway.com/
Okay, this one is a little special because it happens to be my 100th movie post! Er, that does not mean it is only my 100th movie. When I first started blogging, I used to dump my movie marathons into one post, so the actual number of films I watched ran off long ago and never bothered to fix them.
Judging by my rating, you can probably tell I am very relieved this memorable post was not ruined by a bad storyline, flat characters, messy direction, or anything else that would make post number 100 painful to remember.
Thankfully, Flushed Away is actually a really fun movie. DreamWorks and Britain’s Aardman joined forces and somehow turned a sewer full of rats, frogs, slugs, and rubbish into one very entertaining mouse adventure. Who knew the drains could be this happening?
Mice were clearly having their moment. Pixar had another mouse movie coming too, although we still had to wait for that one. But first, let the sewer show begin! Aardman, the studio behind Chicken Run and the Wallace & Gromit series, is basically the master of clay animation. Every successful movie pushed the studio another step higher, so I was really curious to see what it would do without the clay.
Honestly, I did not go into the cinema with very high expectations. Studio collaborations can get messy when both sides bring different styles, opinions, and egos to the table. Too many cooks, one confused mouse. But surprise, surprise, I was wrong. Aardman’s first fully CGI animated movie proved that it could still deliver something special without a single lump of clay. No fingerprints on the characters, but plenty of Aardman charm.
So, meet Roddy (Hugh Jackman), a very pampered pet mouse living a safe and luxurious life with a rich little girl named Tabitha (Rachael Rawlinson). When the family goes on holiday, Roddy leaves his sparkling golden cage and takes over the whole house. He even has a checklist of everything he wants to do.
By the end of the day, he has almost completed it all with the dolls. Right. Huge house, fancy toys, and nobody to talk to except plastic people who never laugh at his jokes. A bit sad, actually. Luxury can be lonely too, okay?
Then Sid (Shane Richie), a rough sewer rat, pops out of the kitchen tap and changes everything. The moment he sees Roddy’s home, you can practically hear him thinking, “Wah, jackpot!” Food, a huge television, toy cars, and the World Cup final? Of course he decides to stay. Roddy, meanwhile, is desperately trying to remove his surprise roommate before Sid starts changing the curtains, forwarding his mail there, and calling himself co-owner.
Roddy then tries to trick Sid into the toilet by calling it a jacuzzi. Nice try, rich boy. Sid sees through him immediately, kicks Roddy into the bowl, and flushes him away instead. Talk about a plan going straight down the toilet.
Roddy lands in the sewer surrounded by worms, muck, and several things I would rather not inspect too closely. But under all that mess, he discovers a huge mouse city. Desperate to get home, he goes looking for Rita (Kate Winslet), the one rat who might be able to help.
Unfortunately, Rita already has enough trouble of her own. Spike (Andy Serkis) and Whitey (Bill Nighy) are chasing her because she stole a ruby from Toad (Ian McKellen). Roddy turns to Toad for help getting out of the mouse city, without realising that Toad has a much bigger plan: wipe out the entire underground community and replace it with his own kind.
Just before Roddy and Rita escape, they take something from Toad that turns out to be far more important than the ruby. Naturally, Toad does not handle this well. First, he sends Spike and Whitey after them, and when those two fail, he calls in Le Frog (Jean Reno). Because when two regular henchmen cannot catch a pair of rats, apparently the next sensible choice is a very dramatic French frog.
Visually, the movie is seriously creative. The underground mouse city is built from old microwaves, telephone booths, washing machines, and all sorts of discarded appliances. Basically, it takes rubbish and turns it into a busy little world I actually wanted to explore. There are also plenty of references to other movies, including James Bond, Finding Nemo, and Terminator 2. Spotting them becomes a fun little game while the rats are busy trying not to get killed.
The characters are fun too, and the voice cast does a great job. Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet work nicely together, while Ian McKellen sounds like he is having the time of his life as an overdramatic villain. But Jean Reno as Le Frog was easily the standout for me. Every line becomes ten times funnier simply because he delivers it with so much confidence. French frogs, apparently, do not believe in being subtle.
And last but definitely not least, the singing is awesome! I loved these little fellows. Every time they appeared, I knew a funny song or ridiculous sound effect was coming. They hardly needed dialogue; one look at their faces and I was already laughing. Just like the squirrel became the icon of Ice Age, these tiny slimy singers completely stole the show here. Cute? Somehow, yes.
So, did Flushed Away make my 100th movie post feel special? Yes, definitely. The story is simple, but the colourful world, great voice cast, clever movie references, and scene-stealing slugs give it plenty of personality.
I would happily recommend it to anyone who wants a light animated comedy with smart details and plenty of British humour. Most importantly, my milestone post was not flushed down the drain by a bad movie.