Flushed Away

TheAuthor · Site Admin Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 698

It's called a loo in England.

I forgot this was on my netflix list, actually, but it came to me so it must've been there. It's an animation by Dreamworks and Aardman (Wallace and Gromit). I can't tell if it's clay, computer or clay with computer assistance. It looked really good though. The kind of quality one gets used to from Aardman plus the shininess of Dreamworks.

The story is of one Roddy the mouse, a pet who lives in a posh Kensington home, iwho s left alone for the weekend. A messy sewer rat ends up in his house and flushes him down the toilet and into the world of sewer-dwelling rodents. His mission is to get home, kick out the messy sewer rat squatting there and get back to his lonely life as a pet.

The movie was a lot of fun, a bit immature at times, but there was a lot to appreciate, mostly the blatant racism against France. HA! Two words, though: TOO MANY GRATUITOUS GROIN SHOTS. It's funny when a guy gets beaned in the nuts (unless you are said boy), but one entire scene CONSISTED solely of nut shots.

The characters were great. I'm a sucker for English accents anyway. I think my favorite characters were the frogs because you KNEW they were going to be French but that anti-racist part of your brain really wished they weren't which made it so WRONG, BUT SO GOOD. The thing I love most about them was the way they walked because they were short round things with these huge long legs. Good times.

The story was a bit weak in spots for me. I can't think of any examples. It just seemed a bit fractured and reattached with slugs. BTW, the slugs were cute.

The soundtrack is great too. Fatboy Slim and that "Bohemian Like You" song and Tom Jones. I found it enjoyable.

So do I recommend it? Mmm...yeah I suppose. It's not something you're going to regret watching, especially if you borrow it from someone. Plus, who doesn't love stereotypes? (The stereotyped, but oh well, maybe they shouldn't be so funny)

KitFang · Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 286

"Poor poor Roddy...flushed down his own potty..."
XD
I quite enjoyed this film. Not epic storytelling, no, but good fun.
As for how it was done...I think the figures were basically created in clay, and then digitally scanned as 3D models that the animators then added manipulators and dials and whatnot to and then animated via computer. I *think*.