Flushed Away (2006)

Directors:

David Bowers
Sam Fell

Writers:

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

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)
Roger Blake	...	Policeman / Balloon Seller (voice)
Christopher Fairbank	...	Thimblenose Ted / Cockroach / Passerby (voice)
Paul Shardlow	...	Pegleg (voice)
Conrad Vernon	...	Take Out (voice)
Jonathan Kydd	...	Barnacle (voice)
Newell Alexander	...	Tex (voice)
Susan Fitzer	...	Edna (voice)
Joshua Silk	...	Fergus (voice)
Meredith Wells	...	Rita's Little Sister (voice)
Ashleigh-Louis Elliot	...	Rita's Sister #2 (voice)
Ashleigh Ludwig	...	Rita's Sister #3 (voice)
Christopher Knights	...	Fat Barry / Market Trader (voice)
Emma Tate	...	Fly-Lady / Passerby #2 (voice)
Tom McGrath	...	Action Figure / Artist (voice)
Sam Fell	...	Liam / Prophet / Ladykiller / Fanseller (voice)
David Bowers	...	Goldfish / Fly / Shocky / Henchfrog #1 / Tadpole (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charley Walters	...	Cart Salesman (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
David Bowers
Sam Fell

Writing credits
Sam Fell		(story) and
Peter Lord		(story) and
Dick Clement		(story) &
Ian La Frenais		(story)
Dick Clement		(screenplay) &
Ian La Frenais		(screenplay) and
Christopher Lloyd		(screenplay) (as Chris Lloyd) &
Joe Keenan		(screenplay) and
William Davies		(screenplay) (as Will Davies)
David Bowers		(additional screenplay material) &
Robert Nelson Jacobs		(additional screenplay material) &
Sam Fell		(additional screenplay material) &
Simon Nye		(additional screenplay material) &
Paul Fisher		(additional screenplay material) &
Tim Sullivan		(additional screenplay material)

Produced by
Maryann Garger	....	co-producer
Cecil Kramer	....	producer
Peter Lord	....	producer
Steve Pegram	....	associate producer
David Sproxton	....	producer

Original Music by
Harry Gregson-Williams

Cinematography by
Brad Blackbourn
Frank Passingham

Film Editing by
Eric Dapkewicz
John Venzon

Casting by
Leslee Feldman

Production Design by
David James

Art Direction by
Pierre-Olivier Vincent
Scott Wills

Costume Design by
Jane Poole

Production Management
Brian Behling	....	production supervisor
Barbara Cimity	....	associate production manager
Fred De Bradeny	....	production supervisor
Rene Harnois Jr.	....	production supervisor
Fred Herrman	....	production supervisor
Marny Nahrwold	....	production supervisor
Matt Pomeroy	....	production supervisor
Caprice Ann Ridgeway	....	production supervisor
Kay Sasatomi	....	production supervisor
Mark Tarbox	....	production manager
Matthew Teevan	....	supervising production manager
Bethany Wilksen	....	production supervisor
James Beshears	....	post-production executive (uncredited)

Art Department
Keith Baxter	....	storyboard artist
Bibo Bergeron	....	storyboard artist
Max Boas	....	visual development artist
Rejean Bourdages	....	storyboard artist
Theresa Cullen	....	storyboard artist (as Theresa Pettengill)
Craig Elliott	....	visual development artist
Paul Fisher	....	head of storyboards
Mark Koetsier	....	additional storyboard artist
Paul Lasaine	....	visual development artist
Jenny Lerew	....	storyboard artist
Ed Li	....	visual development artist
Gavin Lines	....	visual development
Virginia Mason	....	sculptor
Bob Persichetti	....	storyboard artist
Scott Santoro	....	storyboard artist
Heather M. Shepherd	....	model maker
Henrik Tamm	....	visual development artist
Spyros Tsiounis	....	storyboard
Andreas von Andrian	....	storyboard artist
Simon Wells	....	storyboard artist
Alexander Wu	....	production coordinator (as Alex Wu)
Michael Yamada	....	visual development artist
Shane Zalvin	....	sculptor
Melchior Zwyer	....	visual development artist
Christophe Lautrette	....	additional visual development (uncredited)

Sound Department
Richard L. Anderson	....	supervising sound editor
Anna Behlmer	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
James Bolt	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Jim Bolt)
Thom Brennan	....	supervising foley editor
Derek Casari	....	adr engineer
Mike Chock	....	sound effects editor (as Michael Chock)
Mark Coffey	....	assistant sound editor
Blake R. Cornett	....	sound recordist
Catherine Harper	....	foley artist
Craig Heath	....	sound recordist (as Craig 'Pup' Heath)
Thomas Jones	....	supervising sound editor
Steve Lee	....	sound effects editor
Darrin Mann	....	foley mixer
Michael Miller	....	original dialogue mixer
Andy Nelson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Josephine Nericcio	....	assistant sound editor
Rodrigo Ortiz-Parraga	....	sound engineer
Ralph Osborn	....	dialogue editor
Paul Pavelka	....	re-recording engineer
Carlos Sotolongo	....	original dialogue mixer
Chris Ward	....	adr recordist
David A. Whittaker	....	sound effects editor
Larry Winer	....	original dialogue recordist
Ken J. Johnson	....	special sound effects recordist (uncredited)
Oleg Kulchytskyy	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Igor Lodeiro	....	lighting

Visual Effects by
David P. Allen	....	additional effects supervisor (as David Allen)
William E. Arias	....	lighter
Robert Armstrong	....	lighting technical director
Carol Ashley	....	lighter
Maureen Beatty	....	character effects animator
Brad Blackbourn	....	head of layout
Andrew Bonello	....	visual effects compositing engineer
Silviu Borac	....	senior research & development engineer
Liz Borges-Herzog	....	digital paint artist
Julie Anne Brame	....	digital effects artist (as Julie Anne Mayfield)
Justin Brandstater	....	matte painter
Scott Brisbane	....	matte painter
Ronn Brown	....	matte painting supervisor
Nathalie Buce	....	surfacing
Carlos Cabral	....	character technical director
Stuart Campbell	....	final layout artist
Claudia Candia	....	senior texture painter
Chris Capel	....	animator
Scott Cegielski	....	lead effects developer
Michael A. Chang	....	head of global pipeline: DreamWorks Animation (as Mike Chang)
Chloe Chao	....	research and development
Alan Cheney	....	effects artist
Alan Cheney	....	final layout artist
Benjamin Cheung	....	character technical director
Shaun Collaco	....	lighting and compositing artist: Dreamworks Animation
Clint Colver	....	lighter
Martin Costello	....	character technical director supervisor
Bart Coughlin	....	character technical director
Robert Edward Crawford	....	layout artist
Kwesi Davis	....	production engineer
Paolo deGuzman	....	digital artist
Caine Dickinson	....	lighter: DreamWorks Animation SKG
Sandy Dong	....	surfacing artist
David Eberle	....	fx engineer
Kolja Erman	....	technical director
Aaron Estrada	....	lighting and compositing
Mark Fattibene	....	cg supervisor
Eric Fernandes	....	CG supervisor
Louis Flores	....	digital effects artist
Bruce Franklin	....	visual effects coordinator
Alec Fredericks	....	character technical director
Caroleen Green	....	senior matte painter
Matthieu Grospiron	....	digital effects artist
Michael P. Hamler	....	lighter (as Mike Hamler)
Lei Han	....	lighting artist
Christian Hatfield	....	effects animator (as Christian A. Hatfield)
Marty Havran	....	modeler
Matt Head	....	visual effects
Edward Helmers	....	lighter (as Edward 'Ted' Helmers)
Corey Hels	....	layout artist: DreamWorks
Rory Hinnen	....	lighter (as Leyna Hinnen)
Robert Holder	....	lighter: DreamWorks
Cindy Hong	....	lighter
Robbin Huntingdale	....	surfacing artist
James Jackson	....	effects animator
T.J. Jackson	....	lighting technical director
Sully Jacome-Wilkes	....	surfacing artist
Matt Johnson	....	technical director
Chris Jolly	....	lighter
David Jordan	....	lighter
Jeff Kasunic	....	lighter: DreamWorks
Tim Keenan	....	effects animator
Laurent Kermel	....	effects artist
Andrew Young Kim	....	effects animator
Lisa Kim	....	lighter
Soo Kyung Kim	....	lighter: DreamWorks
Soo Jin King	....	surfacing artist
Stephen Krauth	....	technical director
David C. Lawson	....	lead lighter
Andre LeBlanc	....	visual effects animator
Joanna Lee	....	lighting technical director
Greg Lev	....	lead lighter
Dan Levy	....	lighter
Andrew Lyons	....	digital effects artist
Jim Mainard	....	head of research and development
Michael Manza	....	lead lighter: DreamWorks Animation
Marcie Matsui	....	layout artist
Jason Mayer	....	effects artist
Matthew McCrory	....	lighting technical director
Mark A. McGuire	....	supervising technical director
M. Scott McKee	....	lead lighting artist
Michael A. Miller	....	lead effects developer
Edwin Ng	....	character technical director
Brett Nystul	....	modeler
Alex Ongaro	....	lead effects developer
Ethan Ormsby	....	lighting technical director
Joe Palrang	....	additional computer graphics supervisor
Matthew Paulson	....	modeling supervisor
Mary Payne	....	digital artist
Andrew Pearce	....	senior software manager
Bert Poole	....	CG supervisor
Travis Price	....	surfacing
Andrew Proctor	....	modeler
Saty Raghavachary	....	software research and development
Wendy Rogers	....	visual effects supervisor
Eric Roth	....	lighter
Allen Ruilova	....	animator
Frank Sabia Jr.	....	lead lighter
Marc Scott	....	lead lighter
Paul Seidman	....	character technical director
Scott C. Sells	....	technical director
Chris Simmons	....	digital artist: lighting
Marty Sixkiller	....	technical director
Aaron Smith	....	lead lighter
Christa Starr	....	lead lighter
Matt Steele	....	character technical director
Curt Stewart	....	lighter
Olcun Tan	....	effects animator/developer
Don Taylor	....	lighting artist
Dave Tidgwell	....	visual effects
Andrew Titcomb	....	lighter & compositor
Ozgur Ustundag	....	lighting artist
David Patrick Valera	....	layout artist
Karla Ventocilla	....	digital artist
Grant Viklund	....	animation technical director
Dan A. Walker	....	animation technical director: Dreamworks
Nathan Warner	....	layout artist
Gina Warr	....	lead lighting artist
Mark Wendell	....	CG supervisor
Gabriel White	....	lighter
Gabriel White	....	lighting artist
Greg Whittaker	....	animator
Lori Williams	....	digital artist
Ron Williams	....	character effects animator
Tony K. Williams	....	modeler
Eve Wong	....	layout artist
Laura Wood	....	production engineer
Stephen Wood	....	visual effects animator
Masahito Yoshioka	....	visual effects
Melva Young	....	lighting artist

Animation Department
Manuel Almela	....	animator
Jeremy Bernstein	....	animator
Arnaud Berthier	....	animator
Nev Bezaire	....	additional animator
James Bird	....	layout artist
Wee Brian	....	animator
Dave Burgess	....	additional animator
Dug Calder	....	animator
Jason Carter	....	animation production coordinator
Chris Chua	....	animator
Scott Claus	....	animator
David Couchariere	....	animator
Michelle Cowart	....	animator
Steve Cunningham	....	animator
Donnachada Daly	....	animator
Eric Deuel	....	animator
Bill Diaz	....	animator
Lionel Gallat	....	supervising animator
Willy Harber	....	animator
Stephen Heidelberg	....	animation consultant
David Hofmann	....	senior layout artist
Martin Hopkins	....	animator
Gabe Hordos	....	animator
Steve Horrocks	....	animator
Jakob Hjort Jensen	....	supervising animator
Fabrice Joubert	....	supervising animator
Darryl Kidder	....	story artist
Ken Kim	....	animator
Aaron Kirby	....	animator
Chris Kirshbaum	....	animator
Philippe Le Brun	....	animator
Matt Lee	....	layout artist
Fabio Lignini	....	supervising animator
James Lopez	....	animator
Marci Mack	....	animation staff
Kevin MacLean	....	animator
Seamus Malone	....	animator
Lorenzo Martinez	....	rough layout artist
Hezekiah McMurray	....	layout artist
Pia Miniati	....	animation rig engineer
David Morehead	....	rough layout artist
Claire Morrissey	....	animator
Jeff Newitt	....	head of character animation
Anna Newman	....	animation research and development
Fredrik Nilsson	....	animator
Simon Otto	....	supervising animator
Gabriele Pennacchioli	....	character designer
Gabriele Pennacchioli	....	senior animator
Loyd Price	....	animator
Ben Rush	....	animator
Jason Spencer Galsworthy	....	supervising animator
Bill Tessier	....	animator
Theodore Ty	....	animator
Athanassios Vakalis	....	story artist
Jim Van der Keyl	....	animator
Jeff Wagner	....	modeler
Makiko Wakita	....	animation production coordinator
Alexis Wanneroy	....	animator
David Weatherly	....	animator
David Weatherly	....	character technical director
Ian Whitlock	....	animator
Greg Whittaker	....	animator
Mark Williams	....	animator
Scott Wright	....	animator
Kathy Zielinski	....	animator

Casting Department
Vanessa Baker	....	adr voice casting
Brendan Donnison	....	adr voice casting
Ania Kamieniecki-O'Hare	....	casting assistant (as Ania Kamieniecki)

Editorial Department
James Beshears	....	editorial and post-production executive
Terry Claborn	....	color timer
Daniel Cotroneo	....	post-production intern
Peter Ettinger	....	assistant editor
John Hanashiro	....	lead film and color technician
Wayne Hellinger	....	post-production coordinator
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Andrea Montana Knoll	....	editorial coordinator
Maude Lewis	....	editorial supervisor
Darrin Ly	....	assistant editor
Stephen L. Meek	....	assistant editor
Michelle Mendenhall	....	first assistant editor
Joe Monteleone	....	assistant editor
Paul Neal	....	editor: high definition
Baron Northrop	....	film and color technician (as Baron C. Northrop)
Kyle Pascucci	....	film and color supervisor (as Kyle D. Pascucci)
Timothy Peeler	....	digital film colorist (as Tim Peeler)
Ryan Schnizlein	....	editorial technical director
Jonathan Spafford	....	preview technician
Marcus Taylor	....	additional editor
John Venzon	....	lead editor

Music Department
Stephen Barton	....	additional music arranger
Becky Bentham	....	score coordinator: London
David Buckley	....	composer: additional music
Julie Butchko	....	music clearances
Halli Cauthery	....	composer: additional music (as David Cauthery)
Peter Cobbin	....	score mixer
Peter Cobbin	....	score recordist
Meri Gavin	....	assistant music editor
Harry Gregson-Williams	....	orchestrator
Isobel Griffiths	....	orchestra contractor
Jennifer Hammond	....	orchestrator
Joe Henson	....	musician: bass guitar
Robert Houston	....	assistant scoring engineer
Julie Imboden Keel	....	music coordinator
Robert King	....	choir master
Costa Kotselas	....	music technical engineer
Ladd McIntosh	....	lead orchestrator
James McKee Smith	....	additional music arranger
Sam Okell	....	assistant scoring engineer
Sunny Park	....	executive in charge of music
Sunny Park	....	executive soundtrack producer
Heitor Pereira	....	musician: guitar
Ken 'Kaz' Smith	....	music coordinator
Geoff Stradling	....	orchestrator
Vincent A. Villanueva	....	music coordinator (as Vince Villanueva)
Richard Whitfield	....	music editor
Gavyn Wright	....	orchestra leader
Stephen Barton	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Chandra Cogburn	....	music assistant (uncredited)
Esther McIntosh	....	orchestration coordinator (uncredited)
James McKee Smith	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Holly Allen	....	production engineer
Amy Anderson	....	assistant to producers: UK
Henry F. Anderson III	....	consulting director
Brian K. Aspinwall	....	assistant to producers: USA (as Brian Keith Aspinwall)
Steve Baker	....	research and development
Richard M. Barnes	....	technology supporter
Maureen Beatty	....	production assistant
Will Bilton	....	research and development
Rob Blau	....	production engineering supervisor
Greg Bulman	....	systems engineer
Grant Callaghan	....	technical resource administrator
Jason Carter	....	finaling production coordinator
Ariandy Chandra	....	title designer
Kristen D. Chidel	....	production executive
Michael Coronado	....	hardware engineer
Mike Cutler	....	systems engineer
Sanjay Das	....	director of research and development
Mick De Falco	....	animatic aritist
John Detke	....	systems engineer
Erin J. Elliott	....	training and technical development (as Erin Condy)
Kevin D. Engle	....	assistant to producers: USA
Anthony Esposito III	....	trainer
Bart Feliciano	....	systems administrator
Ray Felipe	....	script researcher
Dean Ferris	....	assistant to producers: UK
G. Mark Fitzgerald	....	production assistant
Pilar Flynn	....	story supervisor
Paul Franz	....	technical resource administrator
Ryan Garcia	....	production assistant
Reid Gershbein	....	research and development
Darin K. Grant	....	head of production technology
Eric Griswold	....	research and development
Eddie Guerra	....	production assistant
Juli Gumbiner	....	technical resource supervisor
Caroline Hague	....	production assistant: uk
Michelle Hall-Rogers	....	assistant to producers: USA
Michael J. Henderson	....	production engineer
April Henley	....	production assistant
Stephanie Huber	....	administrative assistant
Andrew Jack	....	dialect coach: Hugh Jackman
Mark Jackels	....	production engineer
Geoffrey Jarrett	....	technical resource administrator
Amanda Deering Jones	....	script coordinator
Micah Kafka	....	production assistant
Scott Kilty	....	systems administrator
Daniel Kirksey	....	resource administrator
Andrea Montana Knoll	....	production coordinator
Hans Ku	....	alliance manager
Jeff Lee	....	systems engineer
Ed Leonard	....	chief technology officer
Jim Leuper	....	effects engineer
Nicholas Long	....	research and development
Alina Lynden	....	assistant to producers: UK
Michael Lynn	....	production coordinator
Rich Marco	....	systems engineer
Romney T. Marino	....	technology coordinator
Lise Mayer	....	writer: additional material
Corrin Milewski	....	research and development supervisor
Peter C. Miller	....	software quality assurance
Ray Hansel Morales	....	production coordinator
Liska Ostojic	....	assistant to producer
Liska Ostojic	....	sweatbox coordinator
John O'Sullivan	....	systems administrator
John O'Sullivan	....	systems engineer
Paul Parmer	....	editorial systems engineer
Harbor Peoples	....	office manager: technology
Jess Platt	....	dialect coach
Jason Lee Pope	....	assistant to producers: USA
Kristina Reed	....	production executive
Joshua F. Richards	....	research and development
Daniel Rich	....	systems engineer
Dee Austin Robertson	....	production coordinator
Christian Roedel	....	production assistant
Stephen E. Ross	....	systems administrator
Angel G. Salinas	....	surfacing coordinator
Donald Schmidt	....	research and development
Jason Scott	....	trainer
Michael Sehgal	....	head of training
Kirk Shalosky	....	production accountant
Kira Shea Smithson	....	production office coordinator
Steven Sorensen	....	technical resource administrator
Allen Stetson	....	technical director
Mark M. Tokunaga	....	manager of digital resources
Tim Toll	....	systems engineer
Tracey Ullman	....	creative consultant
Neel Upadhye	....	production assistant
Joe Vitale	....	production assistant
Jason Voegele	....	production assistant
Makiko Wakita	....	story production assistant
Charley Walters	....	production communication
Larry Weisberg	....	production office coordinator
Andy White	....	editorial systems engineer
Andy White	....	technical supporter
Mark R. Wilkins	....	technical director
Jason Williams	....	research and development
Daniel Yu	....	research and development

Thanks
Cheryl Abood	....	special thanks
Simon Callow	....	thanks
Nick Fletcher	....	special thanks
Darren Higman	....	special thanks
Tom Jones	....	special thanks
Olivier Mouroux	....	special thanks
Geoffrey Palmer	....	special thanks
Nick Park	....	special thanks
Conrad Vernon	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• DreamWorks Animation (presents)
• Aardman Animations (as Aardman Features) (presents)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Kadokawa Entertainment (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• SBS6 (2009) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)

Other Companies

• 20th Century Fox Studios  post-production facilities (as Twentieth Century Fox Studios)
• Abbey Road Studios  score recorded at (as Abbey Road Studios, London)
• Astralwerks  soundtrack
• Choir of the King's Consort  choir
• Dakota Music Services  music preparation (as Dakota Music)
• Hewlett Packard  rendering services
• Hewlett Packard  workstations and servers
• Hothouse Music  score coordination
• Isobel Griffiths Limited  orchestra contractor
• L.A. Mad Dogs  adr voice casting
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Remote Control Productions Inc.  music production services
• Remote Control Productions Inc.  score mixed at
• Technicolor Sound Services  sound editing
• Technicolor  prints
• Wavecrest Music  music production services (as Wavecrest Inc.)

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 Vaud) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | 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:

The books on Toad's shelf are "Warts and Peace" by Leo Toadstool, "Unfinished Verse" by Long Tung, "A Brief History of Slime," and his scrapbooks, "The Tragic History of the Great Great Toad, Vol. I," followed by Volumes II through VI.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Roddy falls onto the drawing at the city. Up above him the shot shows he landed in the middle, away from the trees in the picture. In the next shot where he gets up, his right leg is on the trees. How could he land in the middle then all of a sudden appear in another position?

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Soundtrack:

Wedding March

Fun movie, just leave the Ritalin at home.

I have to admit that I went into this movie with the mixed expectations. I'm haven't been especially impressed with Dreamworks animations, minus "Over the Hedge" which I think is their first film that stands on its own two feet without relying on the popularity of previous animations or pop-culture references.

But enough on that, Flush Away was an enjoyable romp of animation. My only real complaint, is the pacing. The entire thing feels a roller coaster that you ride upside down -- with rotating seats. (Perhaps a contraption Aardman would come up with). The gags are amusing and some are very funny, but I need some breathing/laughing time between them.

Yet if your brain can handle the onslaught of information, you will be able to appreciate the extraordinary amount of creativity in terms of visuals and attention to detail. There's also plenty of adult innuendo and witty jabs at Europeans and Americans alike. Katzenburg's philosophy of making movies "for adults, and the adult in every child." is very evident here. The kids were rolling in the theater with all the slapstick, and the savvy adults had their own laugh track.

In this sense, the film is a success minus the ridiculous pacing. It's worth a look, just leave the Ritalin at home.