Who Framed Roger Rabbit Movie Review

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Rent Who Framed Roger Rabbit on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link) 
Written by: Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman (screenplay by), Gary K. Wolf (based on the book: "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" by)
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye, Joanna Cassidy
Rated: PG
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Plot
In 1947 Hollywood, a cartoon rabbit accused of murder enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.

Verdict
It's a surprisingly good movie that pushes the boundaries of what film can do. While the mash up of film noir and animation is certainly unique, still to this day, that's aided by a sharp script and the brilliant casting of Hoskins. He plays the straight man to the rabbit's comic relief. From the first scene where it's clear this isn't a typical cartoon to the conclusion, this does a great job of leveraging both genres to great effect. It balances silly and serious in an engrossing mystery unfolding in a fascinating world.
Watch It.

Review
This is only inspired by the book. While the characters are the same, the plot is significantly different, and only two lines of dialog made it into the movie from the book. The movie isn't the first to combine animation and live action, but it is the first where the two mediums interacted.

It's probably been thirty years since I've seen this, certainly long enough to forget most of it. This is a world where toons are not just sentient, they live along with humans. The first scene is a cartoon short with this cute baby, Herman, narrowly avoiding trouble as the buffonish Roger Rabbit tries to protect Herman. Then the director yells cut, and we get our first glimpse of this world. The 'baby' breaks character and is revealed to be a middle aged, cigar smoking, cartoon actor that only looks like a baby.

Bob Hoskins plays Eddie Valiant

This is animation meets film noir. It's the interaction between a reality we know and this cartoon world that defies physics. Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) barely makes ends meet as a private investigator. He hates toons as one killed his brother. He's hired by the studio to see if Roger's wife is having an affair with Marvin Acme. Eddie assumed she was a rabbit. She's nothing like he expected. He may not like toons, but he can't keep from staring at her. Eddie witnesses Acme and Jessica "playing patty-cake," and that upsets Roger.

Bob Hoskins plays, Charles Fleischer voices Eddie Valiant, Roger Rabbit

When Acme turns up dead, Roger is the likely suspect, but Eddie gets a tip that there may be a more sinister reason to kill Acme that's more than jealousy. Roger runs to Eddie, hoping for help. Eddie and his brother used to be top investigators for toons, but Roger hadn't heard about Eddie's brother. Roger is pursued by Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) and his Toon Patrol. He's a nefarious character that's found a way to erase the otherwise impervious toons. While this is a cartoon, it's not exactly for kids, twisting two genres into a great mash up. Cartoons provide a boost for the detective genre while the mystery matures the animation. It works surprisingly well, though it's aided by a solid script. Doom finds Roger and nearly erases him before Eddie intervenes.

Kathleen Turner voices, Bob Hoskins plays Jessica Rabbit, Eddie Valiant

When the studio head is killed, Eddie reluctantly enters toon town, thinking Jessica killed him to protect Roger. Eddie blames toons as a whole for his brother, and he has to face that down. It's obvious Judge Doom is at the heart of this. He's undeniably the villain. Doom reveals his plan to completely erase Toontown and build a highway. The only people standing in his way are Eddie, Roger, and Jessica. In an ominous prediction, it was said the Toon Squad would die laughing. That's exactly what Eddie tries to make happen to save the cartoon couple.

This concludes with Eddie and Judge Doom facing off with Eddie having to resort to cartoon gags in fighting for his life. No other mashup would provide Eddie such a colorful partner. As Roger states, he has to do the funniest thing in a given moment and that doesn't always work out for the best.

There's so many things this does well. Most detectives in the genre have a vice. While that's true, Eddie also has a vendetta against toons. That makes his pairing with Roger all the more difficult. Roger is never less than a character.The technical achievement of a human and cartoon interacting is still impressive. There's a reason we haven't seen many examples. It's a lot of effort, and this movie used a lot of practical effects to achieve it. The result is a world unlike any other.