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Capone Says FLUSHED AWAY Upholds The Aardman Remarkable Factor!!
Hey, all. Capone in Chicago here.
Believe me when I say, I was holding my breath on this one. Aardman Animation has never produced a bad project. From Wallace and Gromit to Chicken Run to the “Creature Comforts” television series to dozens of wonderful shorts, the uniquely British Claymation house has always entertained me. But when I first heard the concept (some might say “conceit”) of the company’s latest project, I cringed. A CGI-animated feature that looks more or less like a Claymation work. I need to have more faith in these folks, because Flushed Away is a triumph, and it opens the door for more rapidly produced films from these folks.
The visuals are what hit you first. Because of the tremendous amount of water used in this tale of a pet mouse named Roddy (voiced by busy actor of the month Hugh Jackman) who ends up mixing it up with sewer rats and other creatures, there is absolutely no way Aardman could have done this story as a stop-motion work. But just because they went the CGI route doesn’t mean that Flushed Away is slick and polished. The filmmakers have gone out of their way to replicate the flawed character designs and slightly staggered motion of Claymation, and the result is subtle but remarkable (I could almost swear I saw a fingerprint or two in various characters’ bodies.
It doesn’t take long for you to stop caring about the film’s technical aspect and simply dive into this hilarious tale of the pampered Roddy trying to escape the eye-popping sewer-ized London under the streets of the city. And how’s this for a lineup of vocal talents? Kate Winslet as the saucy rodent Rita, who helps Roddy escape the clutches of Toad (Ian McKellen, putting on an extra-villainous tone to his voice) and his henchmen (Bill Nighy and Andy Serkis). But for some reason, my giggle factor went way up at the mid-film introducing of the French hitmen frogs (would that make them frogmen?) led by Le Frog (voiced by, who else, Jean Reno). And mark my words, children around the world will be demanding plush replicas of the slugs in this movie. They are the funniest things in this movie, and there are many to choose from.
Since its set largely in a sewer environment, Flushed Away has its fair share of slimy, grotesque elements to make audiences of all ages squirm with glee. And I have to say, the audience of hardened critics that I saw this film with laughed heartily throughout, which makes me wonder whether adults or children are going to get more out of this film. This has been an exciting year for animated film offerings (with a few exceptions), and I honestly have to say I don’t know which one of my favorite right now (I still have a soft spot for Over the Hedge, now on DVD, by the way), but Flushed Away is right up there.
Jackman is perfect as the British fop, who squeals like a little girl at the first sign of something disgusting. And Winslet’s working-class Rita is the perfect foil. The film has some nice lessons about not judging people based on where they live, and it finally offers Jackman a chance to actually end up with the girl for once this year (he hasn’t had much luck in films like Scoop, X-Men 3, The Prestige, or the upcoming The Fountain). Flushed Away is an unqualified success that will make you thrilled that animation houses like Aardman exist and thrive without pandering.
Capone
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...that is all.
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I feel a lot better about this whole thing now. Thanks Cap!
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...STOP HIRING NAMES INSTEAD OF REAL VOIcE ACTORS!!
I'm not talking about only THIS movie. And I don't wanna say that every On-Screen-Actor is worse than a professional voice actor (I'm sure that McKellen delivers his lines perfect!), but you are stealing lots of hard working voice actors their jobs! Or does Aardman (and Pixar and Dreamworks and Blue Sky and...) think people, who give their voices for millions of cartoons, video games and commercials every day are not good enough for the big screen? -
... until you mentioned "Over the Hedge," which washed over me like so much lukewarm milk. Safe, predictable and utterly devoid of imagination. If you can't decide whether "Flushed Away" is better, I'll wait for DVD. Too bad, cuz Aardman usually knocks it out of the park.
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Galactica, Flushed Away and a midnight Borat? Decisions, decisions...
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but way to spoil the ending of The Fountain. geez...JERK! ha...
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You might as well complain that big-name stars are taking jobs away from talented unknowns in regular movies as well. Big names draw big audiences. It has nothing to do with who's "good enough" for the big screen.
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Did you just tell me how The Fountain and The Prestige end up without warning you fucking ass bag?
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moron.
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Aardman has put digitally created fingerprints on CGI portions of their other works. I think it's a nice touch...get it, touch? I'm just too damn funny.
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can not wait for that one.
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Way to spoil four movies...dipshit.
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Damnit I had to create this account just to send a big FUCK YOU to Capone for fucking ruining part of the end for 4 movies that haven't even been released (Prestige-The Fountain-Scoop_Flushed Away) in most parts of the world. I can see you're so wrapped into the power rush that being a critic, and getting to see all these films before anyone else, can give, but how would you like it if I told you what happens at the end of Pan's Labyrinth, or who dies in Children of Men???? Because I can, you know! Fuck off and next time use your head when you write, not your dick. (apologies for the crass language, but I think this review actually deserves worse)
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The whole Hammy and the cafine drink was genius. The rotwieller "Play Play?" scene. There was some great stuff in that movie. Oh and havent all those movies Capone mentioned already been spoilled? I knew from reading this site that Hugh was unlucky on love this year. Frakkin hell we know the Prestige starts with Bale on trial for the murder of Jackman. How the hell was he going to get the girl in that one. lol. And youve all seen XMen 3 otherwise your not proper AICN geeks. The Fountain is the story of Hugh coping with the love of his life dying of cancer. We know all this. Desist or be blown out of an airlock a la Battlestar Galactica.
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busy, busy man
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the fountain would end happily? didn't you watch the trailer? he's floatin' through space by himself at the end. well...he does have that tree keeping him company
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all the marionettes in ware rabbit were latex rubber, so no fingerprints. same deal with corpse bride, yet people still yap on about fingerprints. now aardman make a cg movie and people are STILL seeing fingerprints!
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But you go to the movies to SEE these big names' faces on screen, not to just hear the voice! And you can hear their voices only in the english speaking countries, anyway, so you can't even advertise with Hugh Jackman in most countries!
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um... no we don't all know how the prestige starts because we haven't seen the frickin movie! and no we haven't all seen the trailer for the Fountain because Moriarty or whoever it was wisely recommended people to stay away from it because it revealed too much. It not complaining that people are talking about this, it's that it comes without warning in a review for another fucking movie where there is no spoiler tag to it... and have we seen flushed away, because he sure as hell let us all know that jackman got the girl in that one... Some of us prefer to watch a movie without knowing too much about it. All I'm asking is that we be allowed to shield ourselves if we choose. And now can nwe stop giving away fucking plot points and endings in the prestige and the fucking fountain!!!
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ah well that's saved me the price of those tickets then.
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Alright you cry babies and vulgarians, let me assure you that I have not spoiled the ending of any of Hugh Jackman movies for anyone in this review. Hugh Jackman's wife dies in the first few minutes of THE PRESTIGE. This is not a secret; I've seen it writen up in dozens of reviews; and it's the jumping off point of the whole movie. Also, if you know anything about THE FOUNTAIN, you know that the character played by Rachel Weisz is dying. Again, the whole purpose of the movie is Jackman seeking the means to keep her alive. I'm not saying whether she dies or not, just that she's very sick. When I said he hasn't faired well with women in his movie this year, all I meant was it hasn't been very easy for his characters to get the girl in the end. Everyone calm down and stow away your stink eyes and words of condemnation. Take a deep breath, maybe meditate for a few minutes, and then take a healthy bite out of my ass. Take care.
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Ok I took a bite, now please permit me to spit it back in your anush... The fact of the matter is, no matter how soon or late or what the shit happens in whatever movie, YOU sir, have told us part of the plot... some/many people choose to refrain from reading anything about plot details before they see a movie... see, it's part of the entertainment of watching it. Now maybe the specific details may not be what you think to be something that will ruin the movie, but it will certainly affect how people see the film, whether it be much or little. I could easily reveal a detail in Pan's Labyrinth which occurs at the beginning but which people will get upset about knowing before they actually sit in the cinema. Do I think it is crucial to the enjoyment of the film to not know what happens? Well, no, I enjoyed the film greatly the second and third times I watched it, but the point I'm making here is let people make their own fucking choices... don't force what would seem to be a rather big reveal on people before they've had a chance to decide whether or not they want to know! The reason so many are upset is that it comes as a throwaway line in a review for a totally different film (and you probably thought, knowing the full nature of the films you mentioned, what their importance levels are, but for an audience seeing the film for a first time, everything they deem to be important is important) and in this case it came as a shock. In raiders of the lost ark, knowing alfred molina's fate does not lessen the impact of the film, but it lessens the impact of the scene! All I (and I guess some others) would like to see is for you to at least own up that ok, maybe you didn't have to mention other films which to a large part of the world haven't been released, and that you'll put a spoiler sign in the future. It's a sign of respect to grant your readers the same privilege you've had: to watch the films as presented, without knowing more than you want to know about it.
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On a site that follows movies months even years in advance? It's your own fault for reading this site really. If you wanted the fresh viewing then you should have avoided this story all together! Don't blame Capone, blame your curiosity. Sure it sucks to have a movie spoiled so why take the chance by reading an AICN review? You should have just walked away....
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I don't think I could have put it any better than DOGSOUP, Steele. You are reading AICN, whether the review has a Spoiler Warning or not, plot points are going to be revealed in most reviews. And it doesn't matter, because I didn't spoil shit as a rule. Once you've seen THE FOUNTAIN, come find me and we'll see if you still think I've ruined your movie-going experieince. And by all means, spoil the shit out of PAN'S LABYRINTH and CHILDREN OF MEN because I've already seen them. But more importantly, knowing key plot points before I see a movie doesn't get my panties in a bunch. If you don't like to know too much in advance, you need to stay far away from this site because from this point forward, I'M SPOILING EVERYTHING, MOTHERFUCKERS!!! Okay, not really, but I'm tempted...
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If the spoiler had come in an article discussing the movies that were mentioned fine... now it just so happens that they didn't. That is my point. And no I will not spoil pan's labyrinth or children of men because I'm sure many people wouldn't like that... it's not all about you, you know. And for a website that survives on people visiting it, you might want to show a little more interest in listening to what people have to say...
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I care a great deal about what people who read this site think. And 99.99 percent of them want a little more information than most of your run-of-the-mill print or TV critics give them. Sometimes that includes spoilers; not in my reviews, but in many others. And why is it okay for me to spill all sorts of detailed and intricate plot points about FLUSHED AWAY (at least I assume it's okay since you didn't complain about it), but any little smige on THE FOUNTAIN is somehow forbidden? Is it my fault you had all of your hopes pinned on one movie this year? I repeat what I said before, if you don't like excessive detail in your film reviews, don't read the site.
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is that I've waited 5 fucking years for the FOUNTAIN. I know very minimal plot details and despite how miniscule you may think the reveal is, I learned about it in advance by reading a review for freaking FLUSHED AWAY. Most people who read this site are well aware of the spoilers and I for one am careful to avoid ones for films I am very interested in. There was absolutely no reason to reveal that information, it adds nothing to your review or your point. I also didn't know Jackman's wife dies in the beginning of the Prestige. That would have been a fun twist, but now it will absolutely 0 effect on me because I thought it would be ok to check out a review about an aardman CGI-claymation feature.
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You gave away spoilers for unreleased films in an unrelated review, you cannot blame the reader, the fault lies solely on your head, accept it and move on. The more you defend your, understandable to a certain degree, mistake the more important it becomes and the more you look a dick.
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and i'm someone who will readily say, i couldn't care less about The Fountain, or Flushed Away, and i constantly read spoilers. i think the problem that some folks are having is that, when you read a review for Flushed Away, the last thing you expect is to get plot information about The Fountain. when that happens, you can't blame the reader...you can say, "if you don't want spoilers, you shouldn't read AICN" and for the most part that is true. however, you might only care about spoilers for a particular film, so you read every article BUT the ones regarding that film...see, it's kind of like this...if i tape the Super Bowl and avoid the score like the plague (kind of like in Seinfeld when Jerry is avoiding the Mets score), i can't be to blame if one of my friends inadvertently lets some info slip, even if he doesn't give away the end result...like, "it was a great game, it's just too bad the refs seemed to be on the Steelers payroll all game"...it's not giving me the score, but it's pretty much telling me what to expect. with that said, when you say, "offers Jackman a chance to actually end up with the girl for once this year (he hasn’t had much luck in films like Scoop, X-Men 3, The Prestige, or the upcoming The Fountain)," it reads like a bigtime spoiler. you said that you didn't say whether Weisz lives or dies, but the way it reads, the implication is that she's effed in the A. and not in the good way, either. the sentence reads differently than i'm sure you intended, and therefore looks like a spoiled plot point.
and now if you'll excuse me, i've got some drinking to do. -
This seriously pisses me off. I’ve avoided everything about the Fountain since the very begining, and now you fucking ruin the movie in a review of Flush Away. Fuck you AICN.
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"it finally offers Jackman a chance to actually end up with the girl for once this year (he hasn’t had much luck in films like Scoop, X-Men 3, The Prestige, or the upcoming The Fountain)." No matter what you meant to convey ("I'm not saying whether she dies or not, just that she's very sick."), what that sentence says is Hugh Jackman does not "get the girl" in those mentioned films, as opposed to in Flushed Away. Now, having seen The Prestige, I know that angle really doesn't matter in the movie. However, as far as I can tell, The Fountain is a man's 1000 year endeavor to save his love, and you just said that he does not end up with her, which kinda seems to me like you just gave away the end of the movie. Dig? So which is it? You can't admit that you might have fucked up? Or are you a poor writer? Of course in the end, what the fuck does any of this matter? its a flushed away review. hardly the pit or pinnacle of any of our lives.
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HAHAHA Exactly1 Get over yourselves people! Let's put it in another way. If you go see The Fountain and despite Capone "Spoiing" it for you it turns out to be the biggest most badass movie you ever see in your life. If that is the absolute HIGHLIGHT of your whole life then you wasted it. I doubledog DARE any of you to NOT see The Fountain now. "Well I was going to see it, even waited with baited breath for 5 years for it, but since that cockgobbler Capone implyed that perhaps the outcome isn't all bunnies and roses for the movies lovers fuck it! I don't even need to see it now? I don't give a fuck if they use magnified water drops for the scenes of space in all its chaotic glory instead of CGI it just isn't worth it anymore!" Oops. Sorry guys. I spoiled something for you. I ruined the suprise you'd have gotten when THEY SHOW OUTER SPACE. You can't keep away. You'll see it and if it is HALF of what we've been hearing none of this "Capone-Spoiled-It-On-A-Flushed-Away-Review" bullshit will even make a dent in your memory. Of course you know what this means. You people can't read any more AICN stories until after you've seen The Fountain. You never know who will spill what where and why. If you are all really that high and mighty about yourselves and your fresh viewing pleasure then I won't see any of you in any TB's until after the movie is out. Good luck with that!
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...but check out my lame ass spam that has NOTHING to do with anything anyone cares about! http://evilfuckingleechessuckuwebollshairytesticles.com/ihavenoselfworthandshoulddie
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I enjoyed this flick not to mentions the little sight gags, the costume changes, too true the slugs were hilarious, but the thing that was the best was Ian's sooooo over the top performance...there really need to be a catagory for voice acting...oscar wise.
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((And why is it okay for me to spill all sorts of detailed and intricate plot points about FLUSHED AWAY (at least I assume it's okay since you didn't complain about it), but any little smige on THE FOUNTAIN is somehow forbidden?))
Are you really that big of a moron? Of course it’s okay to give us some bits of plot details for Flushed Away because this is a review of Flushed Away. It’s not okay to give away something as big as you did for the Fountain because this is not a review for the Fountain. That’s like writing a review for the Lion King then giving away the ending for Memento. There's no sense in it; that’s just you being a complete asshole. -
Yeah Capone you dropped the ball on this one. "gets the girl FOR ONCE" followed by a list of movies clearly implies he does NOT get the girl in those movies. Given that The Fountain is a LOVE STORY and a QUEST TO SAVE HIS DYING WIFE, I'd say that's pretty much the defining spoiler of the entire film. That's a pretty crappy thing to do in a review for a far less anticipated movie. Well done... I wonder if I'll find an apology when I check back here tomorrow?
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...I didn't know about Jackman's wife dying when I first saw The Prestige. And yes, I do see how its a launching point for the entire movie, it still surprised me as I had no idea what direction the movie was taking, and made it that much more enjoyable as I was literally holding my breathe whenever she did die, just waiting and hoping for her to come back to life as its a chilling moment in the film. And here you are.. having ruined that in a review for Flushed Away of all things. Though it's easy to argue that could be information given away in a review for The Prestige, you just can't get away with it here Capone, so I agree with everyone saying its all about picking and choosing the stories we do and don't want to know spoilers about.
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It used to be that animation was the one place where you didn't know who everyone was. It seems like such a waste of money to hire these name actors just to do voices. Does anyone really give a shit if Will Smith is the talking fish? Is the next Godzilla movie gonna have Johnny Depp in the suit?
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No edit? No apology? No class. That's the last time I read one of your reviews.
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they're displaceing those who do voice acting as a living. Even videogames are getting big name stars for their voices. It's getting to the point that there are only ten working actors in Hollywood.
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Capone is right. You can tell things aren't going to work out so well in The Prestige and The Fountain just from first glance. They don't look like feel-good romances to me. We already know about X-men 3. And what the hell is Scoopy-Doo?
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well the problem, skeletonparty, is that why the hell is it mentioned in a review about flushed away... and by first glance, some of us have chosen not to take a first glance at the movies, stayed away from the trailers and reviews (on one occasion on I think it is Moriarty's suggestion!) and now we are slapped in the face with information that WILL affect our viewing of the film, whether we wanted that info or not. Sure in the larger scope of things it won't start any wars and won't kill anyone, but the least one could expect, the LEAST is that there be a banner put up or a warning so that people who want to stay away from that particular information do so. And if people have forgotten, Capone DOES mention that Jackman gets the girl in this film to... so really there should be a spoiler banner on the Flushed Away review as well. I find Capone's reactions to these criticisms to be immature and disrespectful, and therefore any respect I had for him is severly reduced. It's a shame because the Flushed Away review was actually pretty good... until those last lines. And Capone's refusal to accept his mistake or rectify it has blown this talkback out of proportion.
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