Great fun film for both adults and older kids

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2003)

Down on his luck Eddie Valiant is hired by cartoon studio producer RK Maroon to help get his main star, Roger Rabbit, to focus on the job rather than his wife. To do this Valiant is told to get photographs of Jessica Rabbit with another man. He does this but it only serves to send Roger into a rage and he storms off the lot. When the man that was photographed with Jessica turns up dead the next day, Roger is wanted by the police and the toon hating Judge Doom. Roger goes to Valiant to help him, but is there more to the story than meets the eye?
I saw this film years ago in the cinema as a child and loved it then just as much as I do now. The plot is a classic bit of noir - complete with drunken, bitter private dick, a beautiful but untrustworthy femme fatale, plot twists and a patsy. The twist here is that this is a kids film (more or less) and that it features cartoon characters! This works well - making it accessible for kids but still clever enough for adults.
That's not to say that the adults won't like the cartoons too. With so many famous characters making cameos there is plenty of cartoons for adults to enjoy. The humour of the film is quite violent and may not be appropriate for younger children - especially the steamroller scene near the end which I found a little upsetting when I saw this as a preteen. Regardless of that the film is still pretty funny and can be enjoyed by most, even if kids won't get the plot or references to other movies.
Hoskins is good - he fits the rundown noir mould well but can also clown when he has to. Lloyd is a great bad guy - scary enough to bother kids but not comic to the point that he is a clown character to adults. Jessica Rabbit sticks in the mind, likely one of the best femme fatales if she were real, she is voiced really well by Turner and the animation fits her voice well. Fleischer's Roger is good for a cartoon character but it is often the other cartoon characters that are more enjoyable; not only the various cameos but also the weasels and the taxicab.
Overall this is a good movie but maybe not for young kids due to the dark edge and some scary scenes. However for older children and adults this is real good fun - a good plot, a noir atmosphere and a clever twist on the creation of cartoons in the real world.