A page for characters from Flushed Away.
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Protagonists
Roddy
Roddy St. James
- Voiced by: Hugh Jackman, Oliver Muirhead (video game)
A posh, yet lonely, upper-class rat who lives a luxurious life in an apartment in Kensington...until he's flushed away into the sewers by a rat named Sid, forcing Roddy to embark on a quest to return home.
- Accidental Pervert: He has two moments with Rita.
- The first is when he tries to reach into her pocket to get a paperclip but ends up grabbing...something else.
Rita: There's a paperclip in my back pocket. See if you can get it. *shrieks* In the pocket! In the pocket!- The second is when Roddy is forced to grab onto Rita's pants when they're zip-lining over the city and accidentally sees a bit too much.
Roddy: No, no, no, no, don't break! There are things I want to do! Sights I want to see!(Rita's pants fall slightly, revealing the boxer shorts she wears as underwear)Roddy: ...that wasn't on the list. - Action Survivor: Living with an upper-class family has left Roddy with little to no experience with taking care of himself and he isn't as action-oriented as Rita. However, he eventually starts to learn how to pull his own weight and becomes more capable by the end of the film. It's ironic seeing how he's voiced by Hugh Jackman.
- Adrenaline Makeover: He becomes less of a Distressed Dude and more capable after throwing away his blazer.
- Amazon Chaser: He falls in love with Rita, an enterprising scavenger who is one of Toad's arch-enemies.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He may be full of himself at times and can be a bit of a pushover, but if he's in a bad mood, you don't wanna mess with him. Just ask Sid.
- Butt-Monkey: Roddy suffers some Amusing Injuries during about half of the movie, such as suffering an overly long Groin Attack when attempting to follow Rita after escaping the Toad.
- Distressed Dude: Played straight for the first half of the movie, with Roddy always getting into trouble with Toad's men and always needing to be rescued by Rita. This is later subverted when Roddy becomes more badass and ends up rescuing Rita during the final showdown.
- Fish out of Water: Seeing how he was a wealthy house pet, it makes sense that it takes him a while to adjust to life in the sewers.
- Guile Hero: Unlike Rita, much of Roddy's success comes from his wits and quick-thinking.
- Innocent Bystander: Roddy tries to paint himself as one, saying the exact words. Unfortunately, everyone else thought he introduced himself as "Millicent Bystander".
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: He is the Non-Action Guy Feminine Boy to Rita's Masculine Girl. He has no combat skills and gets hurt quite a lot until the very climax. He is also seen dressing up in a nice tuxedo at the beginning to show his once pampered personality.
- Non-Action Guy: Unlike Rita, Roddy doesn't do a lot of fighting. Most of his contributions come from quick thinking and improvisation.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Displayed perfectly in one scene. Roddy makes Rita optimistic that she'll be able to redeem herself of her poor lifestyle by telling her that he has real minerals stored within a box in his home. Right after she tells her that he'll have to trust his word, Rita spits into her hand for their truce and indicates that he has to spit into his own by saying "You, too," which he immediately misinterprets as having to spit into Rita's hand.Rita: Your own hand!
- Small Name, Big Ego: His big ego mostly comes from the fact his owners were upper-class. In a place like the sewers, his name and status up above amount to nothing.
- Took a Level in Badass: By the end of the film, Roddy has become more capable and independent to the point Rita decides to make him her first mate aboard the ''Jammy Dodger Mk. II.
- Wealthy Philanthropist: He agrees to help Rita's family out of poverty by offering her real minerals directly from his home if she helps him get back to the surface. During a brief Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario, the deal is temporarily off, but they eventually come to terms with one another and Rita finally earns her happy ending.
Rita
Rita Malone
- Voiced by: Kate Winslet, Susan Duerden (video game)
Roddy's near-complete opposite, a poor yet tough-as-nails sewer rat barely making ends meet in her efforts to support her large family, while also avoiding the clutches of the Toad.
- Action Girl: Dispatches the Toad's mooks easily and is good at getting out of troublenote .
- Action Hero: See The Lancer below.
- Deuteragonist: The story doesn't get going until she shows up.
- Fiery Redhead: Especially when Roddy breaks her father's prized ruby, realizing that her father had gone through so much trouble for a fraud.
- Foil: She's one to Roddy. Rita is a somewhat humble, level-headed, self-sufficient person who barely has enough money to live in a barely stable house. Roddy lives in an actual mansion of privilege, and has somewhere to store rubies and jewels, but he is extremely lacking the sense to be self-sufficient.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's pretty tough as nails, but she cares and does everything for her family. Not to mention she doesn't go back on a deal.
- The Lancer: Unlike Roddy, she has a huge family, combat skills, Le Parkour and is infinitely more independent and capable.
- Mama Bear: Everything she does, she does for her family.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: She is the rambunctious Masculine Girl to Roddy's Feminine Boy, as she is quite athletic and very choleric-tempered.
- Tsundere: She's easily annoyed by Roddy's incompetence and inexperience, but eventually starts to warm up to him and turns out to be pretty nice once you get to know her. Even Le Frog lampshades this as he, Roddy and Rita approach the rapids beneath Hyde Park.Le Frog: Ah, English little girlie. She's so aggressive.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Downplayed. She wears male boxer shorts instead of women's underwear.
Villains
The Toad
The Toad
- Voiced by: Ian McKellen, David Shaughnessy (video game)
- Acrofatic: He's a toad, so being both agile and fat is a given.
- Affably Evil: He wavers between being this and Faux Affably Evil. During his first meeting with Roddy, Toad is actually quite hospitable and cordial, ecstatic to have another person from the upper class in a sewer filled with "pissants". It isn't until Roddy screws up and smashes half of his collection that Toad angrily orders Roddy to be frozen alongside Rita. And while he does plan to wipe out an entire city of rats, it doesn't stop him from being Sophisticated as Hell.
- Bad Boss: Though when most of your henchmen are rats that you personally hate, that's a given. But less justified is when the Toad frequently orders the mime Frog about and even kicks him aside in the climax.
- Berserk Button: There are three things he can't stand (besides rats): failure, his Mooks' incompetence, and having his prized royal possessions destroyed.
- Big Bad: He serves as the film's main antagonist who plots to destroy all rats.
- A Dog Named "Dog": A Toad Named Toad.
- The Don: He becomes this of Ratropolis.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Whilst he mistreats his subordinates, he has so many tadpoles to look after and he loves them dearly.
- Evil Counterpart: To Roddy. Both of them initially lived as pets of wealthy owners before being flushed away into the sewers. However, while Toad loathes every second he spends in the rat-infested sewers, Roddy eventually gives up his old life to become a permanent resident.
- Evil Is Hammy: What more could you expect from Ian McKellen?
- Expy: An arrogant, pompous toad named "Toad" who happens to be wealthy. He's basically an evil Mr. Toad From The Wind in the Willows.
- Fantastic Racism: He hates all rats to the point of obsession. Mostly because his original owner, Prince Charles, had him replaced by a rat and flushed him down the sewers.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Le Frog is the only one to hear it, but he does not believe getting flushed down the toilet by Prince Charles is a justification for his Fantastic Racism. Seemingly the only reason he listens to his cousin's nonsense regarding why he wants to kill all rats is because they're family.
- Green and Mean: He is a toad and he leads a mob of rats to help him with his evil plans.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: One of his greatest weapons is his tongue, which he uses to catch almost anything. Roddy manages to exploit this by getting Toad's tongue stuck in the gears of the flood gate, leaving both him and Le Frog tied to the gears.
- Laughably Evil: He's an evil toad for sure, but he's equally as comical. Though he's played as a serious threat in the climax.
- Lightning Bruiser: His punches break ice with no effort or discomfort and his jumps clear distances swiftly.
- Mask of Sanity: He acts sane when Roddy first meets him, but it immediately becomes apparent that he's quite ruthless once someone opposes him.Fly: He's a madman! Run away! Ruuu-
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Has skinny arms and is undeniably fat, but is also the strongest character in the movie.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Le Frog's blue.
- Rich Bastard: He lives an upper-class lifestyle. Clearly a result of being Prince Charles's old pet.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Toad is consistently annoyed by his bumbling henchmen and is usually forced to do most of the work.
- Taking You with Me: When the flood he planned for hits and he's stuck in its path by liquid nitrogen freezing him in place, having his flipper frozen onto a pipe, he tries to take Roddy and Rita down too. This fails, obviously.
- Tragic Villain: He wants to kill all the rats, but it's hard not to feel bad for him considering he was replaced by a rat by Prince Charles and flushed down the sewers.
- Wicked Cultured: If his lair has anything to say about it. Makes sense given his wealthy origins and trying to recreate it to the best of his abilities.
Le Frog
Le Frog
- Voiced by: Jean Reno, Steve Blum (video game)
- Advertised Extra: Despite being the film's secondary antagonist, he only has about less than 25 minutes of screen time.
- Affably Evil: Compared to Toad, Le Frog is much more civil towards Rita and Roddy. He is also more benevolent towards his men and even has meals with them, since he changes his mind about leaving immediately when one of them asks about dinner and decides to wait 5 hours first.
- Casanova Wannabe: Le Frog establishes himself as one towards Rita, kneeling down and kissing her hand when he introduces himself aboard the Jammy Dodger. Far from being impressed, she just slaps him.Le Frog: You're going to pay for that, my little chocolate croissant!
- A Dog Named "Dog": Like his English cousin, he's a frog literally named "The Frog", in the same way that said cousin is called "The Toad".
- The Dragon: To The Toad.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The only real reason he helps Toad is because he is family. He also cares for his nephews and nieces, demanding Toad give his kids a puppy after his plan falls through.Le Frog: (about Toad) He's cuckoo, but family.
- French Jerk: A Green and Mean frog, rude to everybody, arrogant, and French. Lampshaded after the Toad recounts his backstory:Toad: You find my pain funny?!
Le Frog: I find everyone's pain funny, but my own... [shrugs defensively] I'm French! '['chuckles]'' - Hoist by His Own Petard: Just like Toad's. See his above.
- More Despicable Minion: Le Frog is a much bigger jerk but much more competent than his cousin, and also lacks the Toad's sympathetic backstory.
- National Stereotypes: Of France, obviously. He's rude, dislikes the British, is a literal frog with a moustache, drinks coffee, has very long (as in, five-hour) mealtimes, includes a Mime Artist and accordion player among his troops, and is voiced by Jean Reno.
- Punch-Clock Villain: While he's not exactly a great guy himself, Le Frog is clearly not as ruthless or obsessed with the devastation of rats as Toad is. He only works with him because he's family. He also is seemingly spared in the ending as he and his crew were seen looking for a ride back to France rather than being left in an ambiguous fate like Toad.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Toad's red. Toad loathes all forms of rats and will stop at nothing to see his plans through, whereas Le Frog is more laid-back, wanting to enjoy the finer things in life.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Much like his cousin, Toad, he can get pretty exasperated by his henchmen, though not as frequently as the Toad.Le Frog: Okay, men. To action!
Le Frog's men: (all raise their hands in unison) We surrender!
Le Frog: NO! NOT THAT ONE, YOU IDIOTS! The kung-fu thing!
Spike
Spike
- Voiced by: Andy Serkis, Carlos Alazraqui (video game)
- Ax-Crazy: Spike is clearly quite unhinged, as witnessed by his constant twitching and crazed expressions, and is obsessed with committing violence, even going so far as to proclaim he despises happy endings at the end of the film.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: The Little to Whitey's Big.
- Boisterous Weakling: Spike's pretty ineffective without Whitey's muscle.
- Bumbling Henchmen Duo: He and Whitey are two rats working for Toad, going through much slapstick as they chase Roddy and Rita.
- Butt-Monkey: Is subjected to some brutal slapstick throughout the film; including falling from a great height multiple times, being crushed, frozen in ice, and having his family jewels repeatedly thrashed.
- The Chew Toy: Spike is basically the evil version of Roddy, as he too is always put through something extremely painful with less sympathy.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Invoked in a conversation with Whitey.Whitey: Are you sure about this, Spike? These things are s'posed to be dangerous!Spike: Danger is my middle name!Whitey: I thought it was Leslie.
- Karma Houdini: While he does get hit by a wine bottle, he and Whitey never face any legal consequences for their actions.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: Is the most abused character in the movie, but you won’t be feeling sorry for him since he is also a henchrat.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He and Whitey are only working for Toad to pay the bills. Once Toad is defeated, they seem to have stopped being evil altogether, although Spike still loves unhappy endings "with lots of violence".
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Whitey's Blue.
- Those Two Guys: With Whitey.
- Torture Technician: With a nutcracker he calls the "Persuader".
Whitey
Whitey
- Voiced by: Bill Nighy, Steve Blum (video game)
- Affably Evil: He's actually soft-spoken and ones of the few characters to care about Spike's well-being, despite working for the main Big Bad, and even then he's only doing this as part of his job.
- Albinos Are Freaks: Rita calls him a "pink-eyed freak" at one point.
- Animal Testing: Mentions he used to be a lab rat.
- Bald of Evil: "Evil" is debatable, but Whitey notes being used as a lab rat for testing shampoo made his hair fall out (though he cheerfully adds it did clear up his dandruff).
- Big Guy, Little Guy: The Big to Spike's Little.
- The Brute: Whitey is the main muscle of the Toad's men.
- Bumbling Henchmen Duo: He and Spike are two rats working for Toad, going through much slapstick as they chase Roddy and Rita.
- Dumb Muscle: As big and tough as he is, Whitey's really lacking in the brains department. It could be a side effect of the fact he was used in shampoo experiments before living in the sewers.
- Gentle Giant: As tough as he is, Whitey doesn't actually do much to try and harm Rita and Roddy.
- Heel–Face Turn: At the Dance Party Ending of the film, it is revealed that he turned against the Toad and Le Frog after Roddy and Rita defeated them. Given he was mostly a Face to begin with, it isn’t jarring.
- Meaningful Name: He's an albino rat named "Whitey."
- Minion with an F in Evil: He is the nicest of the folks working for Toad, and never once tries to hurt the heroes.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He is only working for Toad to pay the bills. Once Toad is defeated, he seems to have stopped being evil all together.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Even supports this trope by wearing mittens during the freezer scene.Spike: Hitmen don't wear mittens! Take 'em off! You're embarrassing me!
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to Spike's Red.
- Those Two Guys: With Spike.
- Top-Heavy Guy: Whitey's legs are pretty stubby compared to his upper body.
- Would Hit a Girl: When he first captures Rita and brings her to the Toad, he is noticeably quite rough on her, trying to restrain her by force just as strongly as he does Roddy despite being a girl. He also yanks her chain towards him and silences her with extreme force when she tries to defy the Toad.
Other Characters
Sid
Sid
- Voiced by: Shane Richie, Carlos Alazraqui (video game)
- Advertised Extra: Appeared in quite a lot of trailers and posters, but in the end he only appears in the movie itself a select few times. Though not too egregious as he turns out to be Small Role, Big Impact.
- Fat Idiot: Subverted: he initially appears to be nothing more than a fat moron more concerned with his own pleasure than anything else, but he quickly realizes that Roddy is trying to trick him and sends him down the toilet instead.
- Gasshole: His very first scene has him burping so loudly it knocks the cake frosting off his body.
- The Hedonist: Unconcerned with anything more than satisfying his own selfish urges.
- Hourglass Plot: The movie begins with Sid, a thuggish sewer rat, invading the wimpy Roddy's home and making a total pushover out of him. Following his experiences down the sewers, Roddy returns as a hardened, bitter rat with a foul temper and a commanding personality, whereas Sid's time living the luxurious lifestyle rubs the edge out of him and he's reduced to being an even bigger wimp than Roddy used to be, with the latter now pushing Sid around.
- Jerkass: Is shown to be nothing but an unrepentant jerk to Roddy during their initial meeting, as he eats his food, uses his stuff, tries to make Roddy his butler, and eventually sends him down the toilet.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After he sends Roddy down the toilet, the constant life of luxury eventually turns him into an utter wimp that Roddy himself easily pushes around when they meet up again. And then there's the cat.
- Small Role, Big Impact:
- If it weren't for him, Roddy would have never ended up in the sewers.
- Sid telling Roddy that football fans typically hold their bathroom breaks until half-time makes him realise what Toad’s plan really is, as everyone would simultaneously take breaks and flush their toilets, causing the rat population to get flushed away once the floodgates were open.
- Spanner in the Works: He is a jerk that flushes Roddy away so he can act on his hedonistic desires. However, this cruel act led to the very reason why the sewer rats were able to survive Toad flooding their city.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: Upon ending up at Roddy's house, he refuses to leave and gets Roddy banished to the sewers after the latter tries to get rid of him.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After living the good life, Sid loses his rough edge and is a good deal nicer to Roddy once the latter returns home.
- Uncertain Doom: Given that Roddy's owners now have a cat, Sid's prospects of survival are bleak, to say the least.
