What's The Password?

Rating: 10/10 (18 February 2011)

if you don't know the password, i ain't gonna tell ya.
for those of you who luv roger and know the password, you know what i'm talking bout.
'Roger Rabbit' is one of Disney's best accomplishments and a true cinema classic that actually does make a certain amount of contribution to cinema technique and style.
the combination of live action and hand drawn animation is hardly ever explored or done. there are endless experiments in CGI but very few utilizing this classic cinema technique. there are very few projects outside of Disney that do this. even Disney, who pioneered the technique, rarely used it outside of his television show and for theatrical features. aside from the amazing 'Three Caballeros', there are really only a handful of Disney classics using the process. 'Song of the South', 'Mary Poppins', 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks', and 'Pete's Dragon' are the only Disney films that use this process which is strange that there are so few because Disney pioneered it. Disney pretty much invented it with the early 'Alice' comedies which were earlier than the Fleischer 'KoKo' cartoons. and aside from 'Space Jam' and 'Bullwinkle', it's almost never done by anyone else.
that's why 'Roger Rabbit' is such a interesting, and in my opinion, a truly pioneering Hollywood classic and a film that makes more contributions to cinema then it's usually given credit for.
not to mention the brilliant performances which actually rival the astonishing technical aspect of the film. Bob Hoskins is incredible in this and should have been nominated for a Oscar. he probably should have won. Christopher Lloyd is terrifying and brilliantly villainous. in fact Lloyd's Judge is probably one of cinema's weirdest and scariest villains ever conceived. not much to say about Joanna Cassidy here except that she is one of those truly rare actresses who can absolutely do no wrong. like Hoskins and Lloyd, she is outstanding and wonderfully inspired in this and actually has one of the film's best lines, "is he always this funny? or only on days when he's wanted for murder?". let's also not forget the sheer hilarity of Charles Fleischer's Roger. not only is Fleischer's Roger one of the best voices in cartoon history, it is also one of the very best performances of our recent times. Fleischer's Roger is both deftly comical and endearingly lovable. Roger's neurosis and insecure behavior are very human and very relatable.
this film is also very Disney. sure it was produced by Disney's Touchstone division and it featured many Warner Bros. character's as well as just about every nostalgic cartoon character from the golden age of cartoons. but it was animated mostly by Disney animators, and any film that has an appearance by Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell, is pretty much a Disney experience since those character's never appear outside of Disney films and shows.
this film also has Mickey Mouse and Bugsy Bunny appearing together for the first and only time. Mick and B.Bunny's screen time together is very brief probably because they were basically rivals. Mickey was always rather amiable and pleasant toward the Bunny, but Bugs was always rather critical and scornful of the congenial modest mouse. i always felt that the Bunny was secretly jealous of the mouse's sense of compassion and social abilities. i admire the Bunny very much as a comedian, but let's be realistic and honest, the Bunny is really a asocial personality type.
'Roger rabbit' is one of my very favorite cinema fantasies. truly magical and inspired and a great technical achievement. for those people that don't really get Disney classics or 'Roger Rabbit', and still don't know the "password", maybe you should watch the film again, learn the password, think about it, and maybe then you might just understand and change your mind. this is a classic for true devotees.