Flushed Away

The modern and bold preferences of DreamWorks (Shrek) worked in the past with Aardman Animations’ (Wallace and Gromit) conventional and subdued tastes on such films as Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. On those films, the stylistic differences were balanced equally; this time, DreamWorks’ presence is much more pronounced. A privileged pet mouse in black-tie attire (voiced by Hugh Jackman) ends up in London’s sewers after being flushed down the toilet. Among the colorful critters in the eclectic underground metropolis is the plucky and confident Rita (Kate Winslet). Her quick wit and athleticism help the prim-and-proper rodent return home while escaping the clutches of a wide-mouth toad who has a comically wicked scheme of flooding the sewers during the unanimous pee break at the World Cup’s halftime. With stylized musical numbers, brash humor and endearing song-and-dance slugs, DreamWorks’ progressiveness packs just the right punch.