Since today is Oscar Day, this item in today's USA Weekend in the Sunday Journal caught my attention.
USA Weekend asked the CEO of Roto-Rooter, Spencer Lee, to give a review of the new animated film, "Flushed Away."
According to USA Weekend, the movie set in London's sewer system "is about a classy pet mouse named Roddy (voiced by Hugh Jackman), who is flushed down the toilet by an uncouth rodent intruder (Shane Richie). Roddy discovers a bustling world in the London sewers where a staple gun becomes an automatic weapon and hand mixers become speedboats. Disoriented and homesick, Roddy teams up with tailed gal pal Rita (Kate Winslet) to fight off the French frog mafia. "
Lee was chosen to give an "offbeat" review of the digitally animated film because as Chairman and CEO of the international plumbing and drain company, Lee "has rescued everything from MP3 players to GI Joe dolls from customers' pipes."
Lee gave a positive review about the film, but added the following:
"I'm thinking children who watch this might throw a small pet or toys down the toilet, thinking there is this underground world down there. In "Finding Nemo," Nemo is flushed down the toilet to freedom. After that movie came out, we got several calls from parents saying their kids flushed their fish, and we couldn't help them. We wouldn't have been able to help Roddy either, unless we could have stopped him from being pushed into the toilet." I know Lee's review was all in fun, but c'mon. This is not an animal or pet crisis. Parents should not refrain from taking their kids to see "Flushed Away," out of fear a guppy or goldfish might get tossed town the toilet.
"Flushed Away" is nothing.
You want cinema that messed with kids' minds? Try sixty-five years ago. In 1942, Walt Disney shocked theater-goers when Bambi's mother was gunned down. I doubt pre-schoolers needed support groups back then.
This one is real simple. Mom, Dad, tell Mary and Jimmy they are not to put Goldie in the toilet and flush.
In 2007, kids who play video games where human appendages explode into bits and pieces are not going to be scarred for life by "Flushed Away."
THE VOTE IS NO APRIL 3
