Who Framed Roger Rabbit

After Disney launched the Touchstone brand, it was time to do a hybrid fantasy comedy. The result was Who Framed Roger Rabbit, released June 24, 1988. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, of Back to the Future fame with Steven Spielberg as an executive producer. Based on the novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, the film starred Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd. The film made $329.8 million worldwide and sparked a renewed interest in the Golden Age of Animation.

Set in 1947 Los Angeles, cartoon characters live alongside human beings as an ethnic minority. Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer), a Toon movie star, is on the run from Judge Doom (Lloyd) after having been accused of murdering cartoon prop maker Marvin Acme. His only hope is the alcoholic private investigator Eddie Valiant (Hoskins) who refuses to work for Toons since his brother was killed by one. However, Valiant is sucked into the investigation and finds much more than he expected.

Hoskins was quite the actor and this film just shows it. He manages to effectively become one half of a comedic duo when the other half wasn’t even there. For most of the film, he’s just talking to himself. But Hoskins loved acting so much and had so much faith in the film itself that you can’t tell. And that’s not even going into his character.

Eddie is a racist. Pure and simple. He hates Toons and will never work for them after what one did to his brother. It’s not a good reason, but it’s a reason that shows how easily reactive we are in situations that affect us so much. And that’s even before the movie starts. He’s even more realistic in that he can’t let go and he hates Roger because of something that he had no power over. And Roger’s antics don’t help. At least not at first. It’s not until he he’s been exposed to Roger continually talking about the need for laughter and faced with necessity to face his past and go into Toontown does he realize just what an ass he’s been and that he can’t keep his mind focused on the past. It’s also gradual because he doesn’t keep hating on Roger, he slowly warms up to him before he has to go to Toontown.

And only then can he really face Judge Doom. And that confrontation is pure gold. It might seem like it comes out of nowhere, what with the athleticism and acrobatics, but remember, an early shot showed that he and his brother worked for the circus. He’s using skills he already knew and a newfound love for humor. And it’s really fun to watch.

Doom is also an interesting character. He’s obviously evil, and doesn’t care that everyone knows it either. But the interesting part comes in the subtlety that’s involved in personifying the character. Lloyd didn’t blink at all while on camera. Just to give him more of an inhuman feel. And it’s thanks to Doug Walker, that I noticed something else. In every scene he’s in, his clothing is flapping in some sort of breeze. Even if there’s no source. He’s just a villain masquerading as law and doesn’t care who knows it. That’s evil personified and he does a really good job.

Most of the side characters are pretty fun and the animation isn’t that bad either, especially for how the Toons interact with the humans. And Eddie being immersed in Toontown is one of the better parts of the film. It gets even better when realized that all the animation is hand drawn, which is a real feat in what they do with the humans. While it’s not as vibrant as Elliot was in Pete’s Dragon, the way it’s done helps to blend in more with the noir-ish type of film.

Also, not only is this film great for its content, acting and characters, but for the impact it had. If this film wasn’t made, then the general public wouldn’t have had a renewed desire for the animation present in the Golden Age. We would have had Batman: TAS, The Simpsons, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Beavis and Butthead, Rugrats, Cow and Chicken and countless other cartoons would never have been made. Nor would we have Pixar or the Disney Renaissance. This film is partly responsible for all of those.

Final Call: The best hybrid I’ve seen. It’s a great film and had a great cultural impact. #11.