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Robert Zemeckis is quite an animation innovator. Before returning to live-action filmmaking with 2012’s grim addiction drama, Flight, he spent much of the beginning of the 21st century working in motion capture—for movies like A Christmas Carol and Beowulf. But long before he started dressing his actors in tight, green bodysuits to create lifelike animation, he paired live characters with animated ones in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
In this wildly original adventure, Bob Hoskins stars as Eddie Valiant, a down-and-out private investigator who’s hired by cartoon mogul R. K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern) to help his biggest star. It seems that Roger Rabbit (voiced by Charles Fleischer) has been distracted lately, and it’s hurting the studio’s bottom line. Maroon suspects that Roger’s behavior has something to do with his gorgeous wife, Jessica (voiced by Kathleen Turner), and her rumored dalliances—so he asks Valiant to follow her.
After Valiant snaps pictures of Jessica in a compromising position with Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), Roger comes unglued. So when Acme is found murdered the next morning, Roger is the #1 suspect. The wanted ‘toon comes to Valiant for help—but the ‘toon-hating detective isn’t sure that he wants to get involved.
Part animated comedy, part hard-boiled crime thriller, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is just as clever and innovative today as it was 25 years ago, when it was first released in theaters. On one hand, it’s an action-packed adventure, filled with car chases and shoot-outs—but those car chases just happen to take place in an animated cab, and the action sequences often involve animated weasels.
The unique mix of old-school action and cartoon camp definitely sounds strange—yet Zemeckis, producer Steven Spielberg, and their cast and crew spent several years making it all work. As a result, the effects are astonishing—with ‘toon characters seemingly handling live objects while having surprisingly believable conversations with live characters. And Hoskins does a spectacular job of selling it all, making it look like he really can see the animated characters around him. He makes it look so effortless, in fact, that, after a while, you might just forget that the characters weren’t all standing on the set, delivering their lines together. When you stop to think about it, though, it’s ground-breaking stuff—and even now, all these years later, it’s pretty remarkable to watch this brilliant blend of animation and live action.
Adding to the fun, meanwhile, are the clever little touches—especially the cartoon cameos, which bring Bugs and Daffy together with Mickey and Donald, Betty Boop, and the cast of Fantasia. Really, it’s an animation lover’s dream.
Back in 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was unlike anything that audiences had seen before (outside those few scenes in Mary Poppins, that is). And we haven’t really seen anything quite like it since, either. So if it’s been a while since you last joined this gritty gumshoe and his silly sidekick on their wild-and-crazy adventure, it’s definitely worth another look.
Blu-ray Review:
After reuniting with Eddie and Roger for another viewing of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? fans of Robert Zemeckis’s eye-popping animated/live-action crime thriller will want to take a few minutes to check out the Blu-ray release’s collection of extras.
Special features include three Roger Rabbit shorts, a commentary, a deleted scene, and more. But the most interesting features are the ones that take viewers behind the scenes to witness the movie-making magic that went into making this ground-breaking film. Extras like Before and After, Toon Stand-Ins, and On Set! show actual pre-animation footage that’s sure to give fans an even greater appreciation of this challenging production.
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