My latest ‘Retro Review‘ does flout my self made rules just a little bit considering I’ve already seen this film, however it is a first time viewing for Mark and its been such a long time since I’ve watched it myself that I think I can justify a teensy little rule breaking.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starting: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer
Awards: Oscar winner for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Film Editing.
Set in a world where cartoon characters live and work alongside humans, Who Framed Roger Rabbit tells the story of jaded toon-hating detective, Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) who is given the job of finding out whether toon star Roger Rabbit’s (Charles Fleischer) wife Jessica is playing ‘patty cake’ with someone else.
However when the beloved owner the Acme Company and Toontown, Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye) is murdered and Roger Rabbit is the prime suspect, Eddie must put his predujices aside and help clear Roger’s name before he gets ‘dipped’ by the power-hungry Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd).
The story is one that has been done many times over but the hilarious over the top antics, risqué jokes that go over children’s heads and great performances help make the film as good today as it ever was.
Bob Hoskins delights as the tough, cynical detective with the soft centre, and Christopher Lloyds’ trademark brand of zany eccentricity is perfect for a film such as this. In the world of ‘toons, Fleischer’s voice brings the character of Roger Rabbit to life just as much as the animation does, and I think it’s fair to say that Jessica Rabbit is just a foxy as ever.
Watching today, the idea of animation and live action side by side is not that unusual but back in 1988, the idea was ground-breaking and had never been done before on such a scale. And whilst the concept may have transcended the generations, to this day, some thirty-odd years later, no other film has managed to unite both Looney Tunes and Disney characters on one screen.
Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed this film just as much as before, if not more so now that I am old enough and wise enough to understand the jokes. I am also happy to report that Mark enjoyed it too.
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit is available to view on Disney+ or to buy on Amazon.
I don’t think I’ve seen the whole film, just clips I think. I don’t know why but I’m not that keen on live action with cartoons together :/ But hey if I get the chance I should go into it with an open mind.
Oh my goodness, it has been so long since I saw this. I loved it waaaay back in the 80s. It also had a Nintendo game that I played and played and played. 🙂
I didn’t know it had a game, that’s pretty cool, bet it was a bit trippy 🤣
I really was!
Never actually seen this movie but I’ve always been curious about it – maybe I’ll give it a try while we’ve got all this extra time! x