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Roddy St. James (Hugh Jackman) is a spoiled pet rat who lives in an upscale area of Central London. But when his owners are away on holiday, Roddy's idyllic life of luxury comes to an end with the arrival of a lazy, overweight sewer rat named Sid (Shane Richie). While attempting to get rid of Sid, the sewer rat flushes Roddy down the toilet, leading him to the underground city of Ratropolis. Desperate to find his way home, Roddy seeks out Rita Malone (Kate Winslet), a boat captain who may be able to use her vessel to return him to his luxurious apartment. But the situation becomes more complicated when Rita and Roddy get mixed up with a local gangster, the Toad (Ian McKellen), who has a devious plan to eradicate Ratropolis.
Flushed Away sees Aardman dabbling in computer animation for the first time instead of their traditional claymation approach. (At the time, the studio was fresh from Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.) Using CGI here was not a permanent move away from claymation but merely a necessary alternative because the picture contains several scenes involving water, which is a logistical nightmare for claymation, and it is expensive to add digital water to practical animation in post-production. The impossibly smooth digital sheen of Flushed Away makes it obvious that this is not a stop-motion film, though the deliberately jittery movements (particularly the mouth movements) emulate claymation. Similarly, the character designs are uniquely Aardman, including British overbites and large, round eyes, which resemble the studio's traditional plasticine maquettes. The animation is undeniably lush, but a bit more cinematic texture could have augmented the movie's sense of visual personality.
A cheeky, extremely British sense of humour permeates Flushed Away, as the movie contains plenty of uproarious sight gags, slapstick, and satire, with the almost omnipresent slugs being particularly memorable. The script even mines humour from Hugh Jackman's participation that avid fans will appreciate, including Roddy thinking about wearing a traditional yellow Wolverine costume in the opening credits (how quaint this looks in 2025), and Roddy dressing in a tuxedo like James Bond after the actor legendarily turned down the role of 007 for 2006's Casino Royale. Flushed Away also references other movies (there are even sound effects from Star Wars), and Roddy's DVD collection features several recognisable films with slight title changes: Ratman, Ratman Returns, and My Big Fat Greek Bottom feature on the shelf, among others. It's clear that the creators are big movie fans.
Flushed Away was the feature-film debut for co-directors Sam Fell and David Bowers, two English animators who worked on other projects for Aardman before tackling this picture. The directors keep the movie zipping along at an agreeable pace and incorporate a satisfying array of recognisable and catchy songs, from "Dancing with Myself" for the opening credits to Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" and Tina Turner's "Proud Mary." However, the movie is a touch too lightweight. The story hits several predictable beats in the third act, but none of the character arcs amount to anything meaningful or poignant, nor are there any heartwarming messages to convey. Flushed Away is all surface, and although this is not necessarily a bad thing, it's a shame the script does not make more of an effort to incorporate emotion amid the laughs. Additionally, the pace slows down when the directors deal with the Toad's evil plan, which takes the focus away from the movie's charming centre: Roddy and Rita. Flushed Away is still sufficiently fun, but it does start to run out of steam in the third act despite only running a scant 75 minutes.
The ensemble cast bursts with international talent, and each of the performers contributes an immense sense of personality to their respective roles. Jackman ably stifles his natural Australian accent to play the suave, upper-class Roddy, giving the character a distinct voice that sounds nothing like the beloved performer. Kate Winslet provides terrific support, turning Rita into a spunky and feisty rat. Additionally, the always reliable and iconic Ian McKellen is a superb pick for the Toad, while Bill Nighy and Andy Serkis (McKellen's The Lord of the Rings co-star) play the Toad's top two hench-rats. Jean Reno also contributes further colour as Le Frog, the Toad's French cousin, who's a master of martial arts.
Flushed Away does not reach the heights of Aardman's best efforts, and it's not particularly memorable, but it's an enormously entertaining movie with colourful characters (the slugs!), some inventive action scenes, and plenty of side-splitting British wit. Children will appreciate the feature's cheeky sense of humour and the adorable character designs, and the movie is not a monotonous chore for adults to sit through.
7.4/10
