FLUSHED AWAY

All I have to say about this computer-animated adventure-comedy from Aardman Studios is: OMG! The slugs!

That’s right, the slugs. Forget the lead rodents or amphibians, the real stars of this cute British offering are the army of wide-eyed, skittish and vocally gifted slugs, who are beyond adorable and by far my favorite things in the entire film.

But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Flushed Away is the story of Roddy St. James (voiced by Hugh Jackman), a pet mouse enjoying the high life as a pet in a posh Kensington home. When a boorish sewer rat named Sid (voiced by Shane Richie) is spewed into the house through a backed-up drain, Roddy finds himself shoved into the toilet and sent on a whirly journey through the plumbing system to Sid’s intricate, underground world. There, he teams with a plucky rat named Rita (voiced by Kate Winslet) to save the subterranean suburb from the nefarious plans of The Toad (voiced by Ian McKellen), a highly entertaining crime-lord type who hates rodents and wants the London sewer system to be home to his kind only. He has a plan to flood the underground city, and is aided by his French cousin, Le Frog (voiced by Jean Reno)…who brings along his own petit army of ninja frogs. That’s right: ninja frogs!

And did I mention the slugs? ‘Cause they’re FABULOUS! Slinking along and popping up at random to provide musical accompaniment to the action.

Story-wise, Flushed is typical Aardman fun but sticks to a fairly straightforward course of action that occasionally feels a little busy or harried, and isn’t quite as clever as some of the material coming out of Pixar. I think the filmmakers may have also underestimated the appeal of the far more colorful supporting characters – I was eager to see more of Le Frog and his henchmen, but much of the time is devoted (understandably) to the comparatively bland Roddy. The Toad makes for a wonderful villain and his tank full of tadpole offspring are second only to the slugs in terms of onscreen huggability.

Flushed Away probably won’t win the Oscar for Best Animated Film next year, but it will make for worthy competition for front-runners Cars and Over the Hedge. And, in the meantime, it’s a great cinematic option for kids and adults alike.