Flushed Away

Flushed Away is a 2006 animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG and Aardman Features. The film was directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and Will Davies. The film stars the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Shane Richie, Bill Nighy, Andy Serkis and Jean Reno. In the film, a fancy rat named Roddy St. James is flushed down the toilet in his Kensington apartment and befriends a scavenger named Rita Malone in order to go home.

Flushed Away was the third and final DreamWorks and Aardman co-production following Chicken Run (2000) and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). Director Fell conceived the concept of rats falling in love in the sewers while working on Chicken Run. In 2001, Fell developed a story and pitched it to DreamWorks. The project was announced in July 2002, followed by comedy writing duo Clement and La Frenais being contracted to write the script, which had the working title Ratropolis. In 2003, Bowers joined Fell as co-director. It was the first Aardman project animated primarily in CGI animation instead of using their usual claymation – this was because using water on plasticine models can damage them.