Flushed Away

Continuing on from Wallace And Gromit's reign at Aardman - Nick Park voices a slug in this new one - David Bowers and Sam Fell have directed Flushed Away, which suggests a secret James Bond fixation in a thoroughly enjoyable romp through the sewers.

Roddy St James (Hugh Jackman on vocals), a suave, yet lonely, Kensington mouse, used to a gilded cage and toys for company, finds his life turned upside down when the boorish Sid (Shane Richie), a leather clad punk rat, is blown out of the drain and takes over his house. But it is Roddy who gets flushed down the toilet into a subterranean city, controlled by a camp, yet sinister, The Toad (shades of Danger Mouse, with the rich, menacing voice of Ian McKellen) and a gangster underworld, populated by henchrats and frogs.

Roddy, desperate to return to the surface, seeks the help of the fast-talking, no nonsense Rita (Kate Winslet), skipper of the Jammy Dodger, who is on the run from The Toad, after stealing a ruby. Cue action on one of the many great boat chases through the sewers.

Characters and sets are finely drawn, memorably the pompous The Toad, his French detective cousin Le Frog (Jean Reno, of course) and henchfrogs, providing rich comedy moments for all IQs! My favourites are the strange slug/leech creatures that break into barbershop quartetery at the most surreal moments - touches of South Park and Spirited Away?

Matched with a lively plot and enjoyable romance (for the less cynical), it benefits from an excellent soul/rock soundtrack, blessedly Disney free.

Can Roddy save Rat City from The Toad's sinister plot? Hold your nose and suspend disbelief!

Eat your heart out, Were-Rabbit.