Pampered pet rat Roddy (voiced by Hugh Jackman) finds himself unexpectedly thrust from his posh environment into an underground rat city. Desperate to get home, Roddy inadvertently incurs the wrath of amphibious crime boss the Toad (Ian McKellen, having lots of fun) and has to team up with tough-talking sewer rat Rita (Kate Winslet) to avoid the Toad's henchmen and, naturally, save the rat version of London from certain doom. It's a plot that's well-suited to thinly conceived animated movies for kids.
While not as clever as some of Aardman's previous efforts, Flushed Away is still charming and often quite funny, with lots of amusing background details and some entertaining supporting characters, including a Greek chorus of singing slugs. First-time directors and Aardman veterans David Bowers and Sam Fell bring a light touch to the comedy that allows it to come off as fresh rather than clichéd.
It's still a little too close to the pop-culture-referencing, celebrity-voice-having style of Aardman's partners in Dreamworks, and certain elements, especially the trite lessons and slight romance, come off as pandering to the mainstream. Wallace and Gromit would never indulge in such tactics, but their rat cousins are likely to reach a much wider audience because of them.