PREMIERE.COM'S REVIEW (posted 11/1/06)

The new film by DreamWorks and Aardman Entertainment, creators of last year’s Oscar winning Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, is the latest animated entry in a year already flooded by talking cars, houses, and animals. It features talking mice who save the sewage system from an evil toad (Ian McKellan). Roddy, a suave 007-esque mouse voiced by Hugh Jackman carouses with dolls and drives toy cars in his spare time. This pet of a wealthy family “up top” (above ground) is flushed down the toilet, meets feisty Rita (Kate Winslet), and joins her in her quest to bring wealth and honor to her family’s name.

Though Flushed Away certainly aims to please viewers of all ages, it’s the anglophiles of all ages who are going to get the most out of the film. Aardman is disctinctly British and so is their new film, which features a climactic scene that revolves around World Cup soccer. In addition to many jokes poking fun at England’s soccer team, we also see pictures of a young Prince Charles and his pet toad. There are a English gags of all kinds: Tom Jones jokes, James Bond jokes, Riverdance jokes, even a couple of laughs at Queen Victoria’s expense. They’re all amusing, but they may be foreign to even the adults in attendance.

Flushed Away is fun to watch, though. The kids who come for the slapstick and singing slugs will not be disappointed. Crotch hits are universal and the slugs steal every scene in which they appear. But kids — and parents — who crave spoken humor may become restless if they’re not versed in these Britishisms. Anyone with a rudimentary appreciation for BBC America, though, will laugh their arses off.

—Laine Ewen