Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
 Forget
the big-name actors in movies like Grand Hotel, Around
the World in 80 Days, Murder on the Orient Express and Mars
Attacks! Here's the real all-star cast: Mickey, Bugs, Donald,
Daffy, Goofy, Yosemite Sam, Betty Boop, Woody Woodpecker, Droopy
and more, along with a long-eared newcomer named Roger.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? not only boasted the most
impressive cartoon line-up in movie history, it was a
groundbreaking achievement in mixing those toon actors with
live-action stars like Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd. It also happened to be more fun than you can shake a portable
hole at.
Like any good movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? begins
with a short cartoon - Somethin's Cookin'. Manic bunny
Roger Rabbit is left in charge of adorable Baby Herman, who gets
into one dangerous situation after another. Roger risks life and
furry limb to protect his charge, but when a refrigerator falls on
his head and a flock of bluebirds circle his noggin, it's the last
straw.
Live-action human director Raoul J. Raoul shouts,
"Cut!" and a now foul-mouthed and cigar-smoking Baby
Herman complains that Roger's blowing his lines (he was supposed
to see stars, not birds), and Roger is threatened with being
fired.
It's Hollywood, 1947, and in an upstairs office at Maroon
Cartoons, studio honcho R.K. Maroon hires detective Eddie Valiant
on a job.
Roger's been distracted by his shapely cartoon wife Jessica,
and Maroon thinks she's been "playing pattycake" with
gag tycoon Marvin Acme.
Eddie hates toons (one killed his brother), but he needs the
cash. Over at the Ink and Paint Club - where Betty Boop is a
cigarette girl and Donald and Daffy Duck wage a war of duelling
pianos - Eddie gets photos of Jessica's pattycake affair.
Roger is crushed by the photos, and the next morning Marvin
Acme turns up dead.
Naturally, Roger is the chief suspect, and creepy lawman Judge
Doom promises to find him and throw him in the "Dip" - a
combination of turpentine, acetone and benzene, the only way to
kill a toon.
A panicked Roger forces Eddie to take his case, and the two set
out to unravel a complex plot involving L.A's planned freeway
system, a mysterious will, and the neighbouring world of Toontown,
home to cartoon characters great and small.
Simply put, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was unlike any film
the world had ever seen. Not only was the technique first rate -
cartoons cast shadows, carried real silver trays, spat real water,
etc. - but the story, based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who
Censored Roger Rabbit?, was a unique blend of 1940s film noir
with the classic cartoons of the same decade.
The film itself was the result of an unprecedented
collaborative effort. Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future)
got directing credit, but Richard Williams' animation direction
(which won a Special Oscar) was just as vital.
Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman adapted the novel to the screen,
adding non-stop gags, one-liners and inside jokes, while executive
producer Steven Spielberg personally helped arrange the teaming of
Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, MGM and Universal cartoon
characters, a potential legal nightmare.
Of course, none of this mattered to the kids in the cinemas,
and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? knew it. The movie never let
its innovation spoil its fun. Fast, funny and filled with
recognisable faces, the film was a young moviegoer's dream come
true, and it was family entertainment in the best sense of the
word.
As the critics praised the movie's genius, children of all ages
made Who Framed Roger Rabbit? one of the biggest hits of
the year.
Roger himself became a Disney cartoon star in his own right,
appearing in shorts before movies like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
and Dick Tracy, staking a claim to join his A-list co-stars
in the Toontown Hall of Fame.
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