Flushed Away (www.the-usher.com)

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Roddy (Jackman) lived the good life. With a gold platted cage, all the food he can eat and the run of his owner's Kensington House in London. That all changes when sewer rat Sid (Richie) comes in and takes over his house but when Roddy's plan to get rid of him so dramatically wrong. He ends up been flushed down the toilet and into the London sewers, were he discovers a world he never new existed but all he wants to do is get back home and only Rita (Winslet) can help him.

Aardman Animation steps away from their traditional plasticine models and into the world of computer animation but the good news is that they haven't lost any of their eccentric humour.

Everybody thinks that Aardman Studios just does plasticine animation but they have been pioneers in most fields of animation since they began. Their entire award winning success has come in that medium however and after the feature length hits 'Chicken Run' and 'Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit', they take a step in a new direction and venture into the highly competitive computer animation market.

It was the look, their attention to detail and the humour of their scripts that made Aardman such firm favourites. The good news is that all of this remains but now they have transferred it into the CG medium. All of the characters have the Aardman style and actually look like the plasticine models they are famous for. The trademark grin and wide eyes are still there and the character development from the animation and the vocal performances are there in abundance. There is still also a wealth imagination in the set and environment design, something that is also a trademark of Aardman.

It is the characters that are key to the success of any animated feature and 'Flushed Away' has some great ones. Firstly we have Roddy, the upper-class rat from Kensington and the reluctant hero of the film, voiced by the very versatile Hugh Jackman. He might be the typical fish out of water but Roddy is a very likeable character and one that is easy to get behind. Kate Winslet is the strong-hearted Rita, who has her family to protect and provide for. Ian McKellen plays a great villain in the form of the Toad, who loves the Royal Family and has a devilish plan that could change everything. Jean Reno is hilarious as Le Frog, a French assassin with his ninja team who work quickly and quietly for The Toad. Bill Nighy and Andy Serkis really have fun as henchmen Whitey and Spike and Shane Ritchie is great as the rat who wants to replace Roddy, Spike. What all the performances have in common however is that the actor give vocal performances that don't just sound like their own voices and then when you throw in the singing slugs to back them up and you have a vocal cast to remember.

'Flushed Away' might not push the computer animation genre to the next level but it does do everything right. All of the charm that makes Aardman movies so enjoyable is here and this is a movie that all the family can enjoy.

BONUS FEATURES

Filmmaker's Commentary
Listen to commentary by directors David Bowers and Sam Fell as they reveal behind the scenes secrets from the first CG feature film from Aardman Animation.

The Music of Flushed Away (8.50 mins)
Directors David Bowers and Sam Fell and composer Harry Gregson Williams talk about the music for the Aardman movie. They talk about the score and the pop songs used in the movie, as well as Hugh Jackman singing and the Slugs been his backing vocals.

Meet the Cast (8.38 mins)
Directors David Bowers and Sam Fell, producers Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton and Peter Lord and stars Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy and Shane Richie talk about creating the characters for the movie and how voice acting is very different to normal acting.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Watch a preview of the Oscar winning adventure for everyone's favourite vegetable protectors.

DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox
Watch songs from 'Shrek', 'Shrek 2', 'Shark Tale', 'Madagascar' and 'Over the Hedge'

Super Slug Stuff
See the slugs do their own versions of 'Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)', 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing' and 'Pump it', see how fast a real slug can actually move and then place the DVD in your PC and enjoy 'Virtual Slug', 'Slug-a-thon', 'Slug tones' and 'Slug Printables'

DreamWorks Kids
Play 'Build a Slug', 'Learn to draw Roddy', 'A Maze of Pipes' on the DVD and enjoy even more on your PC

Previews
Trailers for 'Over the Hedge', 'Charlotte's Web', 'Barnyard', 'Dora the Explorer' and 'Shrek the Third'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Flushed Away' is good but it could have been better. While the interviews with the cast and crew are good, featurettes covering the computer animation would have added to the value of the package, making this a good mix for both young and owner fans of the movie. This is still a good package however.

DVD

Chicken Run

Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

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2006