The Rabbit Gets Some Justice
Filmmakers have been combining animation and live action since the days of silent film--but 1988's WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT not only bested everything done previously, it set a standard that is unlikely to be surpassed. Although it has been available on VHS and in a mediocre DVD release for quite a few years, the film finally gets the star treatment in this "Vista Series" double DVD release, which includes the film in both pan-and-scan and letterbox formats and an assortment of extras, many of which are quite interesting.
The concept and story are well known: cartoon characters are not drawings, but are living entities who work in the film industry, and when Maroon Cartoon star Roger Rabbit is accused of murdering Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), he turns to private detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) for help. Trouble is, Eddie hates "Toons." After all, one of them offed his brother, and Eddie hasn't been sober since. The concept is a clever one, and the story could have gone in any...
That's what I call one seriously disturbed Toon......
One of the great joys of movie-going is to see a concept, that on-the-face-of-it is so goofy and off-beat that it should never work, but, in the end, does work and works in spades! So it was for me with Who Framed Roger Rabbit. This Vista Series DVD brings the film to us with a crisp & clean picture, THX sound, and a beautifully packaged set of extras that include a very clever interactive menu, plus loads of goodies presented smartly, with humor and surprises.
Seeing the film again reminded me how impressed I was with the audacity and accomplishment of Bob Zemeckis and his collaborators on bringing off with care and intelligence, a sharp & funny film that plays to both children & adults. Who would have thunk it?
Taking a Chinatown-like story of early Los Angeles with some basis in fact (destroying the Red Line to make way for freeways) complete with murder & intrigue & marrying it to the screwy conceit that cartoon figures, aka Toons, actually lived and worked as live actors...
Tonsa 'toon fun!
I was 10 when "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" came out and it is just as much fun to watch now, maybe funnier because I missed some of the humor back then. Roger's a riot and his wife, Jessica Rabbit ("I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way"), is truly a toon vixen. Bob Hoskin's Eddie Valiant is sent to find out the truth when the owner of Toon Town is murdered after playing patty-cake (literally) with Jessica. Everyone assumes a jealous Roger did it and that washed-up detective Eddie can't hack it anymore. There is lots of subtle humor, like when Eddie asks for a scotch on the rocks in a 'toon bar and instead of ice he gets actual rocks. Eddie seriously hates Toon Town because his brother had a piano dropped on his head, but he eventually becomes pals with Roger, overcomes his hatred of Toon Town and clears Roger's name. Christopher Lloyd's Judge Doom is perfectly creepy and his squad of weasels are funny as they try to stop Eddie and Roger from discovering the...
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