Flushed Away (2006)

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.

Directors:

David Bowers, Sam Fell

Writers:

Dick Clement (screenplay), Ian La Frenais (screenplay),

Stars:

Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

Roddy is a decidedly upper-crust "society mouse" who lives the life of a beloved pet in a posh Kensington flat. When a sewer rat named Sid comes spewing out of the sink and decides he's hit the jackpot, Roddy schemes to rid himself of the pest by luring him into the "whirlpool." Sid may be an ignorant slob, but he's no fool, so it is Roddy who winds up being flushed away into the bustling sewer world of Ratropolis. There Roddy meets Rita, an enterprising scavenger who works the sewers in her faithful boat, the Jammy Dodger. Roddy immediately wants out, or rather, up; Rita wants to be paid for her trouble; and, speaking of trouble, the villainous Toad - who royally despises all rodents equally, making no distinction between mice and rats--wants them iced... literally. The Toad dispatches his two hapless hench-rats, Spike and Whitey, to get the job done. When they fail, the Toad has no choice but to send to France for his cousin - that dreaded mercenary, Le Frog.

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Plot Keywords:

sewer | toad | rat | frog | mouse | 

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Taglines:

Plumbing Soon

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for crude humor and some language

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks [us] United International Pictures [fr]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ratropolis

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$149,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£3,106,874 (UK) (1 December 2006)

Gross:

$64,459,316 (USA) (23 February 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks Animation, Aardman Animations

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the beginning of the film, when Roddy is going through his wardrobe, the outfit he chooses is an Elvis Presley-style rhinestone jumpsuit.

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Goofs

As well as the aforementioned error with the water level in British toilets not matching that shown in the film (Although it can depend based on the model), a large majority of toilets in the UK don't swirl, either.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The last line of the credits is: "No slugs were a-salted in the making of this film."

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Connections

References Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Ice Cold Rita"
Written by Joe Keenan & Keith Baxter

User Reviews

Super cute!

This film didn't sound appealing to me when I first heard about it; a rat society living in the underground waterways of England wasn't my idea of an interesting movie. But, I was invited to see a screening of it recently, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised after seeing it! This film is different, exciting, adventurous, and fun to watch! I liked Rita (Kate Winslet) the best, but that's if I had to choose one character. Roddy (Hugh Jackman) was the star though. The little slugs singing on the side are cute in their own way too. The underlying message of how important family and friends are is well done. It's great for the whole family!