The film stars the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Shane Richie, Bill Nighy, Andy Serkis and Jean Reno.

One night, while his owners are away on holiday, a sewer rat named Sid emerges of the sink's drain and decides to stay and watch the 2006 FIFA World Cup final.

He is told to seek out Rita Malone, an enterprising scavenger who works the drains in her faithful boat, the Jammy Dodger and who might be able to help him get home.

Rita takes the ruby, and a unique electric master cable needed to control Ratropolis' sewer floodgates.

During Roddy's stay, he overhears a conversation that leads him to believe that Rita is selling him out to the Toad, so he reneges on the deal and steals the Jammy Dodger.

It is revealed that the Toad was Prince Charles' favorite childhood pet until he was abruptly replaced by a rat and flushed down a toilet, resulting in his hatred of rodents.

It would have also been expensive to composite CGI into shots that include water, of which there are many in the movie, so the company chose to make Flushed Away their first all-CGI production.

In July 2014, the film's distribution rights were purchased by DreamWorks Animation from Paramount Pictures and transferred to 20th Century Fox[14] before reverting to Universal Studios in 2018.

[17] Todd McCarthy of Variety gave the film a negative review, saying "As directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, first-time feature helmers with long-term Aardman affiliations, the film boasts undeniably smart and eye-catching qualities that are significantly diluted by the relentlessly frantic and overbearing behavior of most characters; someone is always loudly imposing himself upon another, to diminishing returns of enjoyment.

"[18] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+, saying "Flushed Away lacks the action-contraption dottiness of a Wallace and Gromit adventure, but it hits its own sweet spot of demented delight.

"[20] Jan Stuart of Newsday gave the film two out of four stars, saying "Despite the efforts of five writers and Aardman's trademark puppets, with their malleable eyebrows and cheeks bulging like those of a mumps sufferer, none of these characters are particularly endearing.

"[22] Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film three out of four stars, saying "The short attention spans of directors David Bowers and Sam Fell are mostly forgivable because the movie is filled with so many entertaining characters.

"[23] Richard Corliss of Time gave the film a negative review, saying, "Deficient in the comedy of reticence and discouragement that is Aardman's (or maybe just Nick Park's) unique strength.

"[24] Ted Fry of The Seattle Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying, "Fans of Wallace and Gromit may be puzzled by a visual disconnect in Flushed Away.

"[25] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe gave the film two and a half stars out of five, saying, "Kids will probably be in stinky-sewage heaven with the new computer-animated critter comedy Flushed Away, but even they may realize they're up the proverbial creek in a boat with a faulty motor.

"[26] Jack Mathews of the New York Daily News gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "Though Flushed Away duplicates the stop-motion, clay animation look of Aardman's earlier Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit, it was made using computer software, and its liberated action sequences are truly dazzling.