Brian Orndorf (25 May 2012)

The directors keep the material dancing at a neck-breaking velocity, bouncing the zingers around like a tennis ball fight, and pushing the voice talent to match the speed of the animated shenanigans.

(24 May 2012)

SURPISINGLY entertaining!

While his family is away at Holiday, Roddy, the Pet Mouse, takes advantage of having the whole house to himself, taking in a movie, hanging out with the (Plastic) ladies, and enjoying his solitude. When an intruder comes in and Roddy gets Flushed down the potty, Roddy encounters what is a spitting image of Lodon, if it were built out of trash. He sets of on a journey to find his way home, and finds himself interwined in a plot to destroy this sewage London. He learns the importance of family, friednship, and must make some important choices.I have to admit I WAS skeptical about this movie. I've never been fond of the previous Aardman efforts. The Lipless, wide mouthed toothy expressions really weirded me out, and I just nevet thought they were very funny. After seeing clips of this movie being demoed in a store, my interest grew and I rented it. and LOVED it!As CGI films seem to go, it attempts to gear jokes to both parents and children, but unlike other movies, the adult jokes are clean enough that if the children DO get them, it won't destroy them, and even the silliest of childish jokes can get a chuckle out of a dirty minded adult (like myself). There was the occassional joke or gag that wasn't what I would call funny, but those were VERY few and VERY far between.Funny, charming, and at times just plain silly, "Flushed Away" is a rarity nowadays]- especially amongst CGI films that seem to pop up EVERYWHERE. It's creative and EXTREMELY enjoyable! THe voice actors are TOP notch, and the characters are loveable and entertaining.I also have to add that the slugs were DEFINITLEY the best part! Singing helium voiced versions of songs from modern to "classic" (more or less) and original songs here and there.

(20 May 2012)

Good Fun Movie

This review is from: Flushed Away (Widescreen Edition) (DVD) The kids love to bring out this movie every now and then. It's a fun movie to watch.

Jeff Vice (19 May 2012)

What makes the film's preoccupation with low-brow crudities so distressing are its infinitely more clever and inspired moments.

Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) (15 May 2012)

Flushed Away was made by Aardman Animation, which also did Chicken Run and the Wallace and Gromit films. Flushed Away is not in their rarefied league, but it's pretty clever, anyway.

pwoods1 (14 May 2012)

What a 'Slug-Fest'!

I haven't laughed so much in years! There is just so much fun to be had that more than one viewing isrequired - every scene has some Aardman magic: some of it so fast thatit's easy to miss a delightful nuance...The 'choice of voice', from Jean Reno to Bill Nighy to Miriam Margolyesto EVERYONE is inspired.The detailed backgrounds are 'to die for'. And the story/plot line ablysupports deranged villains, Heath Robinson-esquire contraptions and asuitably fraught romance. I can't discuss things in any more detailsince almost ANY in-depth remarks would inadvertently supply spoilers.I'm about to rush out and buy the DVD - yes, it's THAT good!

Jeffrey M. Anderson (08 May 2012)

Each and every character gets one joke that's repeated into infinity.

samseescinema (07 May 2012)

The project seems hacked together

Flushed Away reviewed by Sam OsbornIt seems as though Dreamworks Animation and Aardman Studios have calledthe plumber to fish this humble dud from the sewers. It was supposedlyput there in the first place, upsized by the delicious clay morsel,Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit, and put on holdindefinitely. But since the British clay detectives made for box officesuccess last Halloween, the likes of Flushed Away were sucked back upto ground level for a quick and hearty cash-in. The results haveworked, it seems; with a hefty box office pull raked in this openingweekend. But as much as the audiences will hope for another British gemof novelty and quirk, they'll be in for something far, far morediluted. It's the tale of Roddy (Hugh Jackman), a groomed and sophisticatedmouse living comfortably in a London home as a pet. His friends areBarbies and GI Joes and his owners have left him to them for a weekaway on vacation. It's shaping up to be a raucous week with his plastichousemates until his toilet gurgles up Sid (Shane Richie), a disgustingsewer rat who tricks Roddy into being flushed away. Down the pipe andaway from a strangely bright and sunny London on ground level, Roddy isthrown into a bizarre mock-up of London beneath ground, inhabitedentirely by mice. There he meets Rita (Kate Winslet), a sassy treasurehunter on the run from Toad (Ian McKellan) and his nasty cohorts, whosecretly plan to annihilate the underground mouse population. Swept upin adventure, Roddy clumsily makes his way aboard Rita's boat, theJammy Dodger, and speeds away to save the sewer from its diabolical,wart-ridden foe.All this hurtles at us with surprising velocity. Despite clocking in ata full 86 minutes, Flushed Away seems always to be in vicious rush.It's as though Directors David Bowers and Sam Fell are playing a gameof hopscotch on a pool of lily pads with their film. They're awaretheir story's built on a creaky foundation of trodden clichés (despitethe deceivingly quirky premise) and have a plan to rush through it allbefore someone has the gall to notice. But when the film occasionallystops to breathe and whet the raucous tale with a taste of story, thefun all comes to screeching halt. Fun, perhaps, is the wrong word for the experience, though, becauseFlushed Away's humor is by no means genuine. Where Wallace and Gromit'shumor was mined from the charm of its characters and the quirk of itsstory, Flushed Away steals laughs from unexpected sound bytes and wittyinside jokes with the adults. As a consolation, however, I'll admit toloving the chorus of singing slugs. For all my complaining, the slugsreally were wonderful. The animation style is a CGI mimic of Aardman's claymation techniqueused in Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run. The absurdity is all there,with the ridiculous wide mouths that contract and explode horizontallylike an anime character with a speech impediment; but the novelty ofthe style isn't. When animators work with stop-motion animation(Wallace and Gromit, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride),each frame takes an absurd amount of time and labor. And because eachframe takes so long, each frame is loaded with an amazing amount quirkand style. CGI animation (Cars, Madagascar, Over the Hedge), althoughno small chore, is a world away from the time-gobbling measures ofstop-motion. The difference here is easily noticeable, as FlushedAway's mimic of claymation comes off more like a quick-fix solution tothe years required to produce a stop-motion feature. And I suppose that's the feeling we get from Flushed Away in itsentirety. The project seems hacked together; shoddy and boring in allits rough and tumble. Calling it a cash-in may be caddy and overstated,but Flushed Away fails even at being a Wallace and Gromit copycat.Rating: 1.5 out of 4Sam Osborn

bookiemike (29 April 2012)

Brilliant, funny and worth seeing again

I went to see this twice I enjoyed it so much. It is "British" humourand I can imagine it not being entirely to some American tastes. Thishowever doesn't stop it being excellent.Tremendous attention to detail, a clever story and scripting which canbe understood by both adults and children. Also one of the funniestrunning gag ideas ever - The singing slugs, they still make me smilewhen I think about them.Aardman have a knack for this sort of thing and this collaboration isan improvement on their already impressive portfolio.If you see this film and don't laugh at any of it, then you have nosense of humour

James Berardinelli (29 April 2012)

It's better than 90% of the animated fare of the last few years. It's refreshing not to have to qualify the movie's appeal by appending the words, 'for the kids'.

Peter Hartlaub (25 April 2012)

The short attention spans of directors David Bowers and Sam Fell are mostly forgivable because the movie is filled with so many entertaining characters.

Jim Lane (25 April 2012)

...the story and characters remain unengaging.

(18 April 2012)

Excellent for the whole family!!

We have watched it many times. It is just hilarious and the voices fit the characters. Tomb Raider meets 007 in claymation with lots of laughs!

etguild2 (17 April 2012)

Yawn....

I wandered into this movie after watching the 82-minute "Borat"tonight, and left quite disappointed. I was a huge fan of Wallace andGromit, and routinely go to see animated films. That being said, Ifound myself nodding off and at one point nearly walked out, but stayedwaiting for this film to get better. Never happened.The visuals are stunning and the voice work is top notch, especially inmy opinion, that of Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen (I had to remindmyself a few times the bulbous headed lizard villain was Gandalf andMagneto). The problem with this movie for me is it's one of thoseanimated features for the ADD-set. It registers after the fact as onezany slapstick routine after another, weighed down by a treacle filledplot that pulls out every stop in an attempt to convey an "ImportantMessage." It looks a lot like busted Oscar bait for the animatedcategory, and considering the way it's scoring with critics, I wouldn'tbe surprised if the Academy gets it wrong and offers up its hardware.But if you're looking for an enjoyable animated feature about rats,take my advice and wait for Ratatouille.

Ethan Alter (15 April 2012)

Despite the switch from stop-motion to CGI, the hallmarks of a typical Aardman production are intact, right down to the characters' round eyes and prominent teeth.

Todd McCarthy (15 April 2012)

Boasts undeniably smart and eye-catching qualities that are significantly diluted by the relentlessly frantic and overbearing behavior of most characters; someone is always loudly imposing himself upon another, to diminishing returns of enjoyment.

(15 April 2012)

Target Edition DVD

I bought this amazing Crazy DVD at Target! I just love the packaging!!! and the price was good only $16.99 dollars!! go to your Target store before buying from here, it's a lot cheaper @ the store!!!

Van Roberts (14 April 2012)

Getting "Flushed" Is A Lot of Fun!

The British animation company Aardman that revived stop-motion,clay-animation film-making with astonishing success in both "ChickenRun" (2000) and "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (2005)has produced a new, cleverly inventive, animated comedy sure to amuseadolescents without alienating adults. Unlike "Chicken Run" and the"Wallace & Gromit" misadventures, Aardman's latest feature "FlushedAway" shuns the old-fashioned, time-consuming clay-animation processand for the first time uses computer-generated images that flawlesslyreplicate their signature style. Reportedly, the filmmakers wound upusing CGI imagery because it is virtually impossible to render water inClaymation. Although this talking animal's opus doesn't top "ChickenRun," it does surpass the last "Wallace & Gromit" feature. Thisexhilarating epic about a pampered pet rat who gets uprooted from hislife of self-centered domesticity and literally finds himself flusheddown a toilet into the grimy London sewer system never runs out ofeither energy or laughs during its brisk 86-minute running time. Thecrisp, colorful, near three-dimensional imagery has never lookedsharper and the voice casting of first-rate talent, such as "X-Men's"Hugh Jackson, "Titanic's" Kate Winslet, and "Lord of the Rings'" IanMcKellan, complements an impressive array of expressively etchedanimated characters. Rated PG for mild profanity as well as theinevitable but definitely non-offensive potty humor, "Flushed Away"deserves to be seen several times to appreciate its wealth of detail.Roddy St. James (voice of Hugh Jackson) lives in the lap of Londonluxury as a little girl's pet rodent. When the family takes a vacation,mischievous Roddy has the run of the house in what roughly resembles asynthesis of "Home Alone" and "Toy Story." He collects the littlegirl's dolls, loads them into a red, battery-powered convertible sportscar, and careens recklessly around the premises. Everything turnsupside down for Roddy when an overweight intruder—Sid, a sewer ratsoccer fan (British TV actor Shane Richie), blunders into Roddy'sparadise and refuses to leave. Roddy has no use for anybody as uncouthas Sid and plans to evict the fat, blue-collared rat.. Sly Sid turnsthe tables on Roddy, however, unceremoniously flushing our haplessprotagonist down the commode into another subterranean wilderness wherehe meets an independent rodent chick called Rita (voice of KateWinslet) who owns her own power boat. Roddy persuades Rita to help himget back to his comfortable home in Kensington. Unfortunately, Roddylearns that getting home is easier said than done. Rita and he runafoul of the villainous likes of Toad (voice of Ian McKellan) and hisarmy of despicable trench-coated frog henchmen led by Le Frog (voice ofJean Reno of "The Professional"). Megalomaniacal Toad has concocted adastardly scheme to destroy all the rats in the sewer and thenrepopulate it with his own froggy offspring. The evil Toad takesadvantage of the upcoming World Cup soccer finals to achieve hisinglorious deed. During half-time, Toad knows that sports fans willrush to their toilets to evacuate their bladders and bowels, and Toadwants to open the floodgates that protect the vast undergroundwasteland and flush away the underground. The only thing standingbetween Toad and the success of his mission is Rita. Apparently, itseems that she has stolen the means to control the floodgate mechanismand wears it as a belt around her sexy hips.In their cinematic debut, co-directors David Bowers and Sam Hill neverlet the pace lag in this hilarious breath of fresh air. The lightweightbut engaging script by scenarists Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais,"Frasier" scribes Chris Lloyd & Joe Keenan and Will Davies of "JohnnyEnglish" thrives on sophisticated sight-gags, catchy dialogue, andoccasional parodies of blockbuster Hollywood movies. Beneath all ofthis droll nonsense lurks a socially redeeming message: friends andfamily take precedence over material possessions. Initially, Roddylearns this moral lesson with considerable reluctance. Meanwhile, thewriters have contrived several exciting, hair-raising, cliffhangerset-pieces to maintain interest. At intervals, Bowers and Hill bring ongroups of ping-pong ball-eyed slugs that serenade the leads withchart-breaking tunes from the 1960s. Although the movie makers rely onslick, seamless CGI-animation in place of Claymation, "Flushed Away"narrows misses the heights of "Chicken Run."

(12 April 2012)

4 stars cuz it's aardman

though americanized, which is not a plus.subtle brit humor has been replaced by into-your-face american-style humor, and that is a minus in my book.animation is aadrmanesque, thou a little less tridimensional, which is due to the tech side of making of this film is my uneducated guess.main character just a little annoying in his clumsiness, maybe a little more violence than we are used to see in aardman.. dunno why, but the differences from the original aardman movies (especially the 3 crackling adventires of wallace and gromit) is what is wrong with this one - maybe aardman should go back to making their stuff the old way?!overall, its a nice movie, my son laughs a lot to it, and that's what matters in the end.

(12 April 2012)

84 minutes down the loo.

Well, not really because I watched this while walking on my treadmill, which is a great way to avoid the "bla bla number of minutes of my life I'll never get back" scenario.This movie left me feeling like I'd been dumped in the toilet, flushed, swirled around, and fished out again. 84 minutes of virtually non-stop action with little or no character development left me feeling like "what...was...that?". I expected more of Aardman than this. The reason why I fell in love with Wallace and Gromit is because the Aardman people did so much with so little: slight movements, eye expressions, and subtle humor let me get to know the characters so that when the action happened it was truly unpredictable and funny, and the same joke wasn't run into the ground.In this movie, they did so little with so much. The animation technology really impressed me, but the characters didn't. The main "hero" rat that we meet up front is such a non-entity of a personality that I really didn't care if he lived or died during the course of the movie.And the story? Spoiled rat meets cute non-married jewel thief mom rat who stole a jewel from a gang of theiving frogs, and spoiled rat's solution is to go back to his owners home and steal their jewelry and give it to the mom rat. So, it's all about stealing stuff, but what makes theft right or wrong is the context. Those humans didn't need those jewels anyway.That said, I got a pleasant surprise at the end where the singing slugs do the Ike and Tina Turner version of Proud Mary (a favorite classic tune of mine) and that followed up with Tom Jones singing "What's New Pussycat", which was my first favorite song from the radio that I remember hearing when I was four years old. So, it ended on a warm and fuzzy note for me, but a note doesn't make a movie.