Who Framed Roger Rabbit

The 1988 film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a movie that could never truly be made again and the mere fact that it happened at all is miracle itself. The concept of various famous animation icons from various different studios being meshed together for a film was only made possible due to Disney in 1981 purchasing the film rights for the 1981 novel, Who Censored Roger Rabbit, written by Gary K Wolf in 1981, which in turn, resulted in an opportunity for collaboration. With a story packed with detective clichés and a noir style mixed with a cartoonish world and characters, the clashing of tones would be difficult to move to the big screen, especially with Disney holding the rights and not being the easiest company to make non-child friendly. But with the directing hand of Robert Zemeckis, being under the distribution banner of Touchstone (a company where Disney material with a bit more of an edge is better suited) as well as Amblin Entertainment (with Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall all acting as producers on this film) and a budget that astronomically reached to $30 million for the time, the film turned out a bigger success than even Disney could have predicted, becoming the second highest grossing film of 1988, won three Oscars for Best Editing, Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual effects, and helped spearhead a new era of animation including the Disney renaissance. It is a remarkable movie all these years later and has wonderfully stood the test of time. Set in a world where real life people and cartoon characters (or ‘Toons’) co-exist, toon-hating cop Eddie Valiant (played by Bob Hoskins) is thrown into his worst nightmare when he is forced to defend toon-star Roger Rabbit (voiced by Charles Fleischer) who has been convicted of murdering the head of the ACME corporation, Marvin Acme (played by Stubby Kaye). Although initially hesitant due to his own personal prejudice, Eddie quickly sees that the situation isn’t so cut and dry and agrees to help Roger find the true culprit. Now forced to be on the run since they are being tracked down by Judge Doom (played by Christopher Lloyd), these two opposites need to use both of their strengths in order to solve this mystery as well as learn the truth behind Acme’s supposedly blank will. Who Framed Roger Rabbit everybody was blown away by it, audiences, and critics alike. While the film is jammed packed with bucket loads of entertaining unique elements, the reasoning for why it’s so beloved by many is pretty illusive as many of these elements on their own are nothing that different, especially for the genre.

While the plot of the film is very loosely based on the novel, not much is kept similar outside of the fact that it’s a world where toons and people live together. Various characters and their motivations are changed or written out, the types of animated characters shown off are different, the rules of the world don’t operate in the same way and even the ending is a lot darker and fits more in line with a typical 1940s – 50s film noir detective story, whereas this film feels more comfortably 80s. While the book goes for harsher environments and gritty brutality, the film has a feel that is more akin more to a cartoon with a hint of a noir edge, but that doesn’t stop the film from still having a hint of an edge in regard to what it gets away with showing people. While there is no blood or anything that harmful to children, there is still a fair number of sexual innuendos, graphic content, scary imagery, and even a few deaths both humans and toons that really makes the film warrant that PG-13 rating (even sometimes going above it). Thankfully, it’s not just made for the sake of being edgy, as it really helps in creating a realized world and atmosphere as the balancing of cartoony antics and real-life detective problems match surprising well, and while the film isn’t as complicated as its book counterpart, the screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman isn’t without some intelligence either. The book, under its surface, was supposed to be a metaphor for the racial problem black actors and entertainers had to deal with during 1950s Hollywood and the movie does a very good job adding that element in without it ever being too in your face and like it takes time away from the main focus. Little touches like the lack of available police protection for toons, clubs that toons can serve and perform at but not eat at like the real life Harlem Cotton Club , the world of Toontown being extracted for a freeway much like what happened to real black communities, The Dip ( a weapon which kills toons) being very similar to a creation made by the Nazis, it works surprisingly well and never feels forced. The bizarre thing about the film is that while the plot unfolds the motives of the mystery in a very good manner with perfect pacing by Robert Zemeckis who is able to capture both the suave maturity but also likeable creativity of this premise, the mystery itself is honestly not that good as its beyond obvious who the main threat is, with more of the focus being on how and why it’s happening rather than who did it. While the rest of the movie is still engaging with an amazingly well-balanced tone and great pacing, the actual story does not really throw anyone for a loop.

The characters operate on a similar fashion to the story, that being that while they are likeable, acted really well and have a lot of good moments throughout the movie, they aren’t the most original characters and mostly follow through on the very expected archetypes you’d expect these kind of characters to go through. With that said, the execution on them is what makes them truly work, as most of the leading roles are written in a way to stay interesting in spite of being familiar, directed in a way to have inner layers that will be later shown off as the film continues, and acted in a way that is believable and entertaining. Bob Hoskins is a wonderful lead and the character of Eddie feels like a fantastically realized main character, with his struggle with overcome the death of his brother, his prejudice against toons and his alcoholism being simply delivered, but no less effective thanks to Hoskins fantastic acting, Roger is a character that you’d imagine would become irritating very quickly, but his stellar animation, Fleischer’s old-fashioned but charmingly upbeat voice, and the overall characters playfully wild demeanor makes him always enjoyable to watch, Roger’s humanoid cartoon girlfriend, Jessica (voiced by Kathleen Turner) is made to be more than just the sex object despite her design being humorously exaggerated (and another clear sign for the higher rating) with her uncertain moral standings and lusty vocal performance still making her a fun character to watch, and even a lot of the supporting actors like Joanna Cassidy, Alan Tilvern and Richard LeParmentier matching the vibe of the story perfectly without ever becoming too cartoonish . Judge Doom on the surface is a pretty generic. Christopher Lloyd is having fun in the role, his exaggerated crazed look and movements are pretty good hints to his true identity, and his reveal at the end is legitimately pretty terrifying, but his inclusion in the story mainly feels like an excuse to not do the book’s ending as it wouldn’t match the tone.

The animation section of the film was done and supervised by the famous three-time Oscar winning animator Richard Williams, who also did work on the unfinished feature film The Thief and the Cobbler, as well as doing the title sequences for What’s New Pussycat and the Pink Panther films. His overall portfolio of work is outstanding and his talent for the craft is on full display here, with techniques and visuals that are still breathtaking to witness to this day and have never truly been topped. Being tasked with bringing animated characters to life so effectively that they never feel like they occupy a separate space from the real people, is an amazing feat and with the help of other effects such as puppetry, models and camera tricks, these familiar and brand new characters have never felt more alive with how much the world around them connects with them like with light reflecting off them, shadows being on point and the interactions with people being slightly different but close enough to really be a landmark achievement. It also leads way into various opportunities have these classic cartoon characters interacting with each, and not just ones from people like Disney and Warner Bros, but also several other animation studios both new and old. Whether it’s a scene of Daffy Duck and Donald Duck contend for stage presence, or the various little easter eggs and reworks of classic characters which make for fantastic comedic one-offs, it’s a movie that knows how to appreciate and pay respect to animation. Even the production value for this film handled by Roger Cain and Elliot Scott makes this world feel retro and ripped right out of 1950s America, and there are several moments that play up the noir-esque quality in a way that highlights the film’s pretty ingenious visual storytelling (the scene involving Eddie’s desk is probably one of the best moments in cinematic history). The music done by Alan Silvestri is still a nice score with good ambiance and mood, and one that does not take over the scenes and works perfectly well as background music.

If you were just to look at a layout for this story, you wouldn’t be able to instantly understand why Who Framed Roger Rabbit would be such a monumental hit (outside of the obvious cool factor of seeing characters like Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse in the same room together). The characters are likeable but nothing special for the genre, the story is very well paced and flows remarkably well while also featuring the commentary underneath, yet is still hampered with an obvious end goal, and the technology is fantastic yet doesn’t seem to be the true cause of love for the picture. If anything, this a film that stuck with people so strongly because of its clear respect for this timeless characters. With characters from Disney, Warner Brothers, Fleischer Studios, Felix the Cat Productions, and many others in this movie, it provides a warm feeling of nostalgia and comfort seeing such beloved characters together in a film just hanging out not even doing anything that special. It is something that everybody who loves animation can get behind, and with all the other elements on top of it (which are all still wonderfully handled), it’s no surprise it worked out so well. Even if that were all that would come from the combined animation companies, it will always hold a place in the hearts of all who love animation.