David Bowers
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Connections, in both directions
Despite being deeply steeped in British culture and dry humor, though, the film from directors David Bowers and Sam Fell (and an army of writers) simply lacks the simple, delicate charm that has marked everything Aardman Features has ever produced on its own (like “Chicken Run” and the Oscar-winning “Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”).
After beginning its partnership with Hollywood's DreamWorks studio, Aardman stuck to its guns with the charming Chicken Run.
Like other films produced by DreamWorks and Aardman Animation (Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), Flushed Away is loaded with groan-worthy puns ("Pardon me, my fly's undone," says The Toad when an insect he swallowed tries to escape) and pop-culture references (I spotted nods to James Bond, Superman, The Fly, Batman, Lady and the Tramp, Finding Nemo and Mary Poppins, among others), and it playfully mocks horror-movie clichés, as well (the old fisherman who takes Roddy to the docks where Rita can be found speaks into a bottle to make his voice echo).
Much of it is also quite funny, which shouldn't be much of a surprise; Tracey Ullman was one of the creative consultants, and the screenplay was co-written by Peter Lord, who co-directed Aardman's 2000 hit "Chicken Run."
Flushed Away, the new feature from Aardman Animations (the animation studio that also produced Chicken Run and the ingenious Wallace & Gromit films) revels in its British-ness â itâs full of bone-dry wit, football references, and ribs on the French â and I was hooked from the first shot of Tower Bridge.
Aardman does goofy Claymation wit, DreamWorks does shiny blockbuster computer-generated imagery, and when the two collaborated on "Chicken Run" and "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," the big behemoth generally let the little guys alone.
Like other films produced by DreamWorks and Aardman Animation (Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), Flushed Away is loaded with groan-worthy puns ("Pardon me, my fly's undone," says The Toad when an insect he swallowed tries to escape) and pop-culture references (I spotted nods to James Bond, Superman, The Fly, Batman, Lady and the Tramp, Finding Nemo and Mary Poppins, among others), and it playfully mocks horror-movie clichés, as well (the old fisherman who takes Roddy to the docks where Rita can be found speaks into a bottle to make his voice echo).
Sharp-eyed viewers should watch for parodies of and winking nods to earlier Aardman works, as well as "The Lion King," "Lady and the Tramp" and other animated classics.
Kids will recognize throwaway homages to Lady and the Tramp and Finding Nemo , while grownups may blink at the sight of a cockroach reading Kafka’s Metamorphosis.
As another critic once remarked about Shark Tale, this movie has lots and lots of plot, and lots of gags to go with each new plot twist, but it's difficult at times to figure out what the story is.
Much like 2004’s Shark Tale, Flushed Away has too many references that kids simply won’t get, including tips of the hat to old school Batman and singer Tom Jones.
Last year's Curse of the Were-Rabbit was one of this critic's favorite films, but the folks at Aardman seem to have aligned themselves with a project more on par with Shark Tale when it comes to creativity and uniqueness this time around.
, the Hollywood studio behind "Shrek," "Shark Tale," and "Madagascar."
It’s akin to the undersea Times Square of Shark Tale , except that Shark Tale, while it obviously had real fish, lacked the fish-out-of-water dynamic that Roddy provides.
Like other films produced by DreamWorks and Aardman Animation (Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), Flushed Away is loaded with groan-worthy puns ("Pardon me, my fly's undone," says The Toad when an insect he swallowed tries to escape) and pop-culture references (I spotted nods to James Bond, Superman, The Fly, Batman, Lady and the Tramp, Finding Nemo and Mary Poppins, among others), and it playfully mocks horror-movie clichés, as well (the old fisherman who takes Roddy to the docks where Rita can be found speaks into a bottle to make his voice echo).
Almost everyone, however, will get the Finding Nemo reference ("Have you seen my dad?"), and it's innocuous enough that Disney shouldn't be annoyed.
Kids will recognize throwaway homages to Lady and the Tramp and Finding Nemo , while grownups may blink at the sight of a cockroach reading Kafka’s Metamorphosis.
This brightly lit film was shot by Jack N Green, a cinematographer noted for his mastery of chiaroscuro in such Clint Eastwood pictures as Unforgiven and Bird.
Like other films produced by DreamWorks and Aardman Animation (Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), Flushed Away is loaded with groan-worthy puns ("Pardon me, my fly's undone," says The Toad when an insect he swallowed tries to escape) and pop-culture references (I spotted nods to James Bond, Superman, The Fly, Batman, Lady and the Tramp, Finding Nemo and Mary Poppins, among others), and it playfully mocks horror-movie clichés, as well (the old fisherman who takes Roddy to the docks where Rita can be found speaks into a bottle to make his voice echo).
Granted, codirectors David Bowers and Sam Fell, both of who share story credit with two of the film's five credited screenwriters, are debuting directors, but Aardman's Nick Park scored two Oscar nominations and one win for his first two shorts back in 1989 ("A Grand Day Out," Wallace and Gromit's introduction, and "Creature Comforts").
A Christmas Story (1983)
Directed by Bob Clark
influenced Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)
Themes
Last year's original was a surprise hit, turning Jeff Kinney's popular series of kids' books into a bouncy screen version that seemed born in wry memories filtered through fond reminiscences like those in "A Christmas Story" or "The Wonder Years."
Granted, codirectors David Bowers and Sam Fell, both of who share story credit with two of the film's five credited screenwriters, are debuting directors, but Aardman's Nick Park scored two Oscar nominations and one win for his first two shorts back in 1989 ("A Grand Day Out," Wallace and Gromit's introduction, and "Creature Comforts").
Like "Flushed Away" (2006) but unlike the stop-motion Oscar-winning shorts and "Wallace & Gromit" adventures that established Aardman's reputation for quality, "Arthur Christmas" is digitally animated, so it lacks the charm of Aardman's signature Plasticine figures and Claymation-like environments.
Their first release, 2000's " Chicken Run ," was quirky and heartwarming in the best sense of both terms, while 2005's " Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit " and 2006's " Flushed Away " left something to be desired, over calculated slapsticks with a quarter of the charm intended.
With the exception of Pixar, no animation studio working today delivers more consistently enjoyable films than the folks at Aardman, and while they cut their teeth with the plasticine adventures of Wallace & Gromit and the birds of Chicken Run, Aardman demonstrated they could embrace computer animation and not lose the distinctive feel and personality of their work with 2006’s underappreciated Flushed Away.
The Aardman studios, previously responsible for “Flushed Away” (2006), “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (2005), and “Chicken Run” (2000), again showcase their animators’ great attention to detail and wild visual imagination.
Aardman Animation, best known for the charming "Wallace and Gromit" cartoons, branched out from Plasticene stop-motion work to computer animation with Flushed Away (2006); this yuletide feature is the studio's second CGI project and the first in 3-D.
With that dull ouch, hopes for a brisk, tailed cousin of “The Third Man” vanish.
This is the second stop-motion animated feature from Laika to be made in 3D, but while one can see parallels to their earlier "Coraline," "ParaNorman," written by that film's storyboard supervisor Chris Butler and codirected by him and Sam Fell ("Flushed Away," "The Tale of Despereaux"), has a weaker story which is stretched out far enough to produce sag, ironic for a film whose every frame must be meticulously constructed.
Directed by Sam Fell (responsible for the decrepit Flushed Away) and newcomer Chris Butler, ParaNorman opens with a brilliant nod to the genre.
Butler, who also penned the ParaNorman script and was a storyboard artist on Coraline, and Fell, who directed the animated flicks The Tale of Despereaux and Flushed Away, create a wonderfully quirky world here in ParaNorman that feels vibrantly melancholy with so many horror homages peppered throughout that you'll need at least a second viewing to be able to catch most of them.
(The veteran Sam Fell, of the less spooky Flushed Away and The Tale of Despereaux, is a co-director.)
It also has some of the elements of the British studio Aardman Animations ("Wallace and Gromit"); "ParaNorman" is directed by Sam Fell (who co-directed Aardman's "Flushed Away") and Chris Butler, who also wrote it.
Co-directors Chris Butler (a Burton acolyte who wrote the screenplay) and Sam Fell (one of the brains behind the underappreciated Aardman effort Flushed Away ) try to remove some of the bite from the casually macabre material; for example, these slack-jawed Puritan undead never actually crave flesh.
This brightly lit film was shot by Jack N Green, a cinematographer noted for his mastery of chiaroscuro in such Clint Eastwood pictures as Unforgiven and Bird.
American Graffiti (1973)
Directed by George Lucas
influenced Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)
Characters
Indeed, Holly, the willowy blonde (Peyton List) for whom young Greg falls is a full foot taller than her admirer, and looks of an age to be hanging out with Rodrick -- or cruisin' in "American Graffiti"'s iconic white T-bird.
Sharp-eyed viewers should watch for parodies of and winking nods to earlier Aardman works, as well as "The Lion King," "Lady and the Tramp" and other animated classics.
Risky Business (1983)
Directed by Paul Brickman
influenced Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)
Rodrick goes all Risky Business on them, locking his brother in the basement and throwing a raucous party fueled entirely by soft drinks.
It's another inspired element of "Flushed Away" to create scenes that duplicate and even enhance set pieces that are staples of real-life actioners (such as the "Mission: Impossible" franchise).
A Perfect Getaway (2009)
Directed by David Twohy
influenced Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)
As Greg's mom Susan, Rachael Harris (2009's " The Hangover ") gets more to do this time since the focus is on the family rather than at-school antics, though Steve Zahn (2009's " A Perfect Getaway ") still hasn't gotten his moment to shine as father Frank.
Making funny faces behind his assertive wife as she lectures the kids, mugging it up when stymied by the simplest matter, wagging his finger at his errant sons -- this moronic creature is the best that filmmakers can offer Christian Bale 's superb co-star in "Rescue Dawn," the stone-cold psycho in "A Perfect Getaway"?
Then there’s a frog character named Bufo (Pitbull) that will remind audiences of the villain in Flushed Away , and a hip (and overly familiar) glowworm named Nim Galuu (Steven Tyler) who gets in a song during the movie—something even Beyoncé (who gives voice to Queen Tara) didn’t get to do.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Directed by Bob Persichetti
influenced by Flushed Away (2006)
In the hands of directors Bob Persichetti (storyboard artist on The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Flushed Away), Peter Ramsey (director of Rise of the Guardians), and Rodney Rothman (screenwriter on Grudge Match and 22 Jump Street), there is an obvious and eclectic blend of styles on display that perfectly matches the narrative’s multi-format approach to the character of its hero: Spider-Man.