While technically Flushed Away could be considered part of the wave of celebrity-voiced, anthropomorphic-animal movies that hit in 2005-2006 (Madagascar, Over the Hedge, The Wild, etc.), it doesn't inspire the same sense of déjà vu. For one thing, its voice actors are less recognizable than the likes of Bruce Willis and Chris Rock. For another, its look is very distinctive. Like Nick Park's Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, it's a joint production of Dream! Works Animation and Aardman Features, and although Park isn't ! involved , it retains his trademark blocky look of clay animation. But animating the movie by computer rather than by hand allows for some eye-popping tableaux, such as floodwaters rushing through the sewers and an entire town of little animated characters. It's a crazy thrill ride loaded with inside jokes and enough crude humor to earn a PG rating, and the band of singing slugs is also a hoot. --David Horiuchi
On the DVD
It's no surprise that the singing slugs are the stars of the DVD's bonus features. They're featured in two music videos (less than a minute total), and in a 13-minute segment an Aardman animator builds a slug out of plasticine. (In contrast, the lesson on drawing Roddy is a mere two minutes.) A song jukebox jumps to 10 musical points in the film, though the non-slug background music isn't really worth the jump. On the human side, there are eight-minute featurettes on the music and the voices, a set-top game that is easier to control than most! such featurettes (and easier to beat too), and a commentary track by directors David Bowers and Sam Fell in which they have a grand old time remembering their inside jokes and showering love on the Spike and Whitey characters. The DVD-ROM has access to 21 more online games. --David Horiuchi
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House has ! always t ackled fascinating cases and that continues this season, though the symptoms aren't overly dramatic by House standards. The team tries to save a man whose family history indicates that he will die of a heart attack before he turns 40. They try to help a brilliant scientist whose depression and addictions make him feel he's better suited for a simpler life as a courier. And Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) may once again be grappling with cancer. It's a credit to this show that while it features such a strong lead character, the costars don't get shafted in the process. Wilson is one of the show's most charming characters and, by default, has become House's best friend. The two of them share a home and bicker like an old married couple. When a woman they both are attracted to mistakenly assumes that they're a complicated gay couple, we can't help but laugh. But Wilson's love life is made difficult by the return of his ex-wife and House doesn't want to see his friend hurt a! gain. He can abuse Wilson, but he doesn't want her to do the same.
House's boss Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) has her own issues, juggling a harried personal life and the complications that come with trying to keep House in line. Chase (Jesse Spencer) falls under scrutiny this season after treating a controversial politician who he fears will murder innocent civilians. He finds himself struggling with the Hippocratic oath to treat all patients--even the ones he finds distasteful--to the best of his ability. And of the main characters on the show, one will be fired, another will profess their love for a colleague, and three of them will look for love via a speed-dating service. Yes, the story lines are all over the place, but then again, so is House. --Jae-Ha Kim
6:01 PM
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