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Story

Roddy St James (voiced by Hugh Jackman) is a pet rat who lives in luxury in London’s upper class Kensington district. Unfortunately for him, he is flushed down the toilet by an obnoxious sewer rat named Sid (Shane Richie). At the end of his sewer ride, Roddy finds a subterranean city full of rats, mice, frogs and singing slugs. He is less than impressed with both the city and its inhabitants, and is determined to find his way home. He teams up with a rather feisty rat called Rita (Kate Winslet), captain of a sewer boat named the Jammy Dodger.

The pair are attacked and taken prisoner by a couple of unsavoury sewer rats named Spike and Whitey (Andy Serkis and Bill Nighy) who work for the evil Toad (Ian McKellen). They eventually manage to escape. Roddy convinces Rita that if she aids him in returning to his above-ground life, he will reward her with riches to enable her to take care of her large extended family.

Roddy and Rita elude their pursuers and make their way back to Roddy’s home. Left on his own, Roddy starts to rethink his priorities.

Themes

None of concern

Violence

This movie contains some slapstick violence involving Roddy. For example, he:

  • knocks the heads and arms off toy dolls
  • smashes a toy soldier and pulls out its battery
  • is flushed down the toilet
  • slaps himself in the face
  • burns his hands on a cook top
  • is grabbed by a mechanical crane
  • is bashed in the head by loose flooring planks
  • falls on cement pavement
  • is struck a number of times in the groin
  • receives electric shocks
  • slaps Sid in the face
  • is chased through the sewers by rats on electric eggbeaters.

There is also slapstick violence involving other characters. For example:

  • Rita’s father, who is in a wheel chair, accidentally crushes three young rats against a wall.
  • Rita kicks a rat in the face.
  • Toad flicks out his long tongue to grab and eat passing flies, even when others beg him not to.
  • Two slugs try to kiss each other, which ends in one slug swallowing the other slug whole.
  • Some rats receive electrical shocks, and one rat is electrocuted when a toaster he is sitting on falls into the sewer.
  • Toad slaps a rat across the face.
  • Toad and a frog get their tongues tangled when they both attempt to catch a fly.
  • When Rita kicks a rat’s bottom, it falls into a box of pins that stick into its head.
  • Toad uses a staple gun to shoot down a balloon.
  • Tadpoles with sharp teeth bite a rat’s bottom.

The film also contains violent scenes of a slightly more serious and threatening nature. For example:

  • Spike and Whitey overpower and kidnap Roddy and Rita.
  • Toad threatens Roddy with a giant nutcracker.
  • Toad shows Roddy and Rita past enemies frozen in bottles.
  • Roddy and Rita are tied up together and placed in a bottle to be frozen.
  • Rita punches Roddy in the face.
  • Rita is bound and dangled over flood gates.

Sexual references

None

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

In one scene, Toad drinks from a wineglass.

Nudity and sexual activity

There are some sexual references in this movie. For example:

  • Toad runs his hands over a china bust of the queen and states ‘Smooth to the touch’ to which Roddy responds, ‘Easy tiger’.
  • While Rita and Roddy are tied up, she asks him to reach into her pocket for some wire. It’s clear from her reaction that he misses her pocket and touches her bottom.
  • Roddy refers to Rita hiding a ruby: ‘The booty’s in the booty’.
  • Roddy accidentally pulls down Rita’s pants to reveal knee length underwear, saying, ‘Of all the things I wanted to see that wasn’t on my list’.
  • Toad states, ‘Time to bring out the persuader’, which turns out to be a giant nutcracker.
  • Rita’s father makes a reference to Roddy making an honest woman of his daughter.
  • During one scene when Roddy is doing a Tom Jones impersonation, a large pair of women’s underpants fly through the air (supposedly thrown by Rita’s grandmother) and land on his face.

There are also several references to toilet humour.

Coarse language

This movie contains occasional low-level coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Flushed Away is an animated feature, which many older children and adults will enjoy and find amusing. The main message from this movie is that without friends and family material wealth is meaningless.

Supported By

  • Department of Social Services

Raising Children Network is supported by the Australian Government. Member organisations are the Parenting Research Centre and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute with The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health.

Member Organisations

  • Parenting Research Centre
  • The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne
  • Murdoch Children's Research Institute

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