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Aardman's third foray into feature-length animation is their first CG-animated feature, and it's a qualified success. Firstly, the look of the film is great; I like how the stop-motion styling and movement were retained. The voice acting, by quite a starry cast, was up to the task, but nobody really stood out as excellent. The story itself was quite small-scale and it was in this department that I found the film most lacking, as it was quite lightweight and unoriginal (as was the moral, that it's better to have a loving family and friends than loads of money). The film had a trim running time and moved at a pretty fast pace, leaving most of the characters as simple archetypes. It doesn't help, in terms of character development, that there are simply so many of them, although it does keep the level of interest up. The film had a consistently charming and amusing sense of humour, although some of the repeated jokes got a bit tired (enough slugs already!). There are several witty moments in the script and the visuals, though. The design was the main area in which the film excelled, as the visuals are stuffed with details and invention, so much so that it's probably impossible to notice everything in one viewing. Unfortunately, though, even though I enjoyed it, I won't be rushing back.
The summary
Flushed Away is full of ideas, most of which come off, and has a charming sense of humour, but the plot just isn't quite compelling enough.
