The geniuses at Aardman Animation, who gave us the “Wallace and Gromit” movies and “Chicken Run”, are at it again with “Flushed Away.” This is Aardman’s first effort with computer generated animation but the look and the charm of their stop-action films is alive and well below the strrets of London.
The story centers around a mouse named Roddy (voice by Hugh Jackman) who’s life as a house pet is turned upside down when a sewer rat invades his home while his human owners are on vacation. Sid, the rat, sends Roddy into the sewers of London with one flush. He then meets-up with Rita (voiced wonderfully by Kate Winslet). Together they fight for survival against an evil toad named Toad and his bumbling henchmen.
“Flushed Away” is non-stop action from start to finish. There are so many funny scenes and lines that you’ve got to watch it several times to catch them all. There are loads of great characters. The best may be the singing slugs who provide most of the music and many of the big laughs.
“Flushed Away” is rated PG, but’s it’s good for everybody. However very young viewers may have trouble understanding the British accents and may miss some of the jokes.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Flushed Away” gets a solid B. It made my list of the Top 5 animated movies of 2006.
Lights Camera Jackson (a.k.a. Jackson Murphy) began his career as a film critic/entertainment reporter in 2006 at the age of 7. Jackson has written nearly 1,000 reviews of new releases. All together he has seen more than 1,500 films. In 2010, Jackson became the youngest person to win a NY Emmy Award, for his on-air movie reviews on Time Warner TV station, Capital News 9.
LCJ appears every Friday morning on WGNA-FM . His movie reviews are also posted on his website, his YouTube channel and the popular website Cultjer.com. He is also a contributing writer for Jerry Beck’s AnimationScoop.com. Jackson hosts the weekly internet pop culture news show “LCJ LIVE” (every Sunday at Noon ET). And “The LCJ Q&A Podcast” features interviews with celebrities and filmmakers. Among those who have joined LCJ on the show are comedy legend Gilbert Gottfried, “Wallace & Gromit” creator Nick Park, Emmy-winning game show host Todd Newton and Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Lights Camera Jackson has been co-starring in photographs with his favorite celebrities since he was 6 years old. “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest appeared in the first. Seacrest was a VIP guest at a local telethon. Jackson, a big fan of “Idol”, approached Seacrest during a break and asked for an autograph. The “Idol” star eagerly obliged. Jackson and Ryan then posed for this photo.
Since then Jackson’s collection of photos with stars from film, TV, stage and sports has grown to over 400. Every one represents a special moment in the life/career of Lights Camera Jackson and includes its own unique backstory.