Should you bring the kids? Yes! Although with a name like "Flushed Away," you can bet there's plenty of crude humor. Still, the language is mild, and this movie is fine for kids 6 and older.

THE STORY: This CGI movie tells the story of an uptown rat named Roddy St. James (voiced by Hugh Jackman), living a life of luxury in an upscale Kensington flat in London. When an uncouth sewer rat named Sid (Shane Richie) intrudes on his lifestyle via the kitchen sink, Roddy tries to eliminate the unwelcome pest by luring him into the "whirlpool" (a.k.a the toilet). But Sid gets wise to the ruse, pushes Roddy in instead, and takes over the impeccable flat, reveling in the big screen TV and other amenities.

Roddy, meanwhile, is flushed into the underground sewers – a.k.a. Ratropolis – a raucous community inhabited by an assortment of colorful creatures. The subterranean city is much the same as London above, only seedier and made from salvaged garbage. The sewer's version of Big Ben, for instance, is a hodgepodge of clock parts and other odds and ends. Boats and buses are pieced together with whatever's available. Think Eliza Doolittle's world, only with rats, toads and slugs.

The refined Roddy is clearly out of his element. And his chances of getting back home? Not bloody likely! But he develops a partnership with Rita (Kate Winslet), a tough-talking rat who works the sewers in her faithful boat, the Jammy Dodger. She makes a deal – involving a precious ruby -- with Roddy to get him back home. 

But first they have to deal with the villainous Toad (Ian McKellen), who despises all rodents and wants them iced. Literally. So he dispatches his two hench-rats, Spike (Andy Serkis – yup, Gollum) and Whitey (Bill Nighy) to get the job done. When they fail, Toad has no choice but to call in his French cousin, a boarish mercenary named Le Frog (Jean Reno, who apparently is the only name on the list when filmmakers need a French character). He'll get the job done – after his five-hour dinner break, that is.

This movie is the combined effort of DreamWorks ("Shrek") and Aardman Animations ("Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit"). Though created on a computer, the characters still have the big mouths and clay-like features similar to Aardman's other clay-mation movies. 

With so many animated movies in recent years, you've got to be really special to rise above the pack. This one doesn't quite reach the stature of, say, "Finding Nemo" (although the little clown fish does make a cameo appearance). Still, the voices are spot-on and some of the characters are very funny -- notably, the skittish little slugs who scream and burst into song at a moment's notice.

BRINGING THE KIDS:

PRESCHOOLERS (ages 2-5): Set in a sewer, this movie has plenty of potty humor not really suitable for preschoolers. A better option is "The Rescuers Down Under". Still rodents, but it's a sweet story about two mice, Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor) and Bernard (Bob Newhart), who journey to Australia to save a boy and a rare golden eagle from poachers. Rated G, this movie has a few scenes of peril, but it's fine for 4- to 5-year-olds.

GRADE-SCHOOLERS (ages 6 - 10): If you think other kids' movies have plenty of crude humor, this one tops the list. Sid is crude, vulgar, and disgusting. And since Ratroplis is located in a sewer, many of the jokes revolve around poop, spit, and other bodily fluids. The take-away message: Roddy is forced to go out of his comfort zone, and kids might relate to that. He has to learn how to face danger out in the real world. And once he gets a taste of it, he sees that it's not so bad after all. Maybe even BETTER than his lonely life in a posh pad.

TWEEN / TEEN (ages 11+): While this movie skews towards the grade-school crowd, it's still very imaginative and a fun way for all ages to spend a couple of hours.