Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a look at the Dreamworks animated flick set for Holiday release this year called FLUSHED AWAY. This look comes from a test screening and I'd say this for most test screenings of animated films... I'd look at this less like a review, but more of an insight as to what this film is and the process of making it. With the exception of some of the trademark Dreamworks Animation instantly dated pop culture dialogue, most of the critiques of the film all stem from the storyboard sections not making much sense or helping the flow of the story. Out of all the animated films Dreamworks has had on their hands (excluding their stop motion animated films), this is the one I'm looking forward to the most... I just want to hear Ian McKellen as an evil frog! The spoilers are very light. Enjoy the insight!
Hey Harry,
Just got back from a test screening of FLUSHED AWAY, the holiday offering from Dreamworks. Before it began, we were told the usual, its in rough shape, some of it is still storyboards, etc. He said it was 40% finished, 35% animatic, and 25% storyboard, but really it seemed he had the finished and storyboard percentages switched around. In fact, almost the entire 3rd act was storyboards, with the big action finale being almost incomprehensible as a result.
Some spoilers below.
The story is typical 3D animated fare, a small living creature (in this case, a rat) is brought into a world much like ours, only smaller (think Antz, Bugs Life, etc., only in the sewer.). Hugh Jackman is the lead character, Roddy, who gets flushed down the toilet and winds up involved with a plot to flood out the sewers during halftime of a world cup game. Rita (Kate Winslet) is a fellow rat, a jewel thief/boat captain with dreams of living in Paris sewers. The usual stuff happens, they meet up, bicker, bond, split apart for a bit, etc. The villains (Ian Mckellen and Jean Reno) are frogs, and yes, this leads to many French jokes. Nothing out of the ordinary or new here.
Like I said before, a lot of the film was in storyboard/animatic form, but when the animation WAS finished, it looked great. Much better than the overly bright and shiny look of Madagascar, with some great little details (a chair made out of wine bottle caps was my personal favorite). The mouth animation has a stop motion quality to it which worked perfectly, likely the influence of co-director David Bowers (who comes from Chicken Run/Wallace & Gromit, as well as several 2D animated films). The voice acting is stellar as well.
As I also stated on my comment card, these movies all have the exact same pace and basic structure. What sets this one apart (albeit slightly) is the British setting/cast (Andy Serkis and Bill Nighy are also here) and a slighly more Pixar-esque feeling than usual. There seems to be less of the pop culture jokes that no one will understand in 20 years (the worst being a Paris and Nicole line, I mean, come on) and more attention to trying to just tell a story that can't be told with live action. But still, as always with Dreamworks Animation, the film is missing the heart and "all ages" joy that the best Pixar films have.
However, they are improving, and I am sure the intended audience won't care much anyway come Thanksgiving.
BC
