The Ultimate Toon Caper

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2013)

Wouldn't it be great if cartoons lived among people in the real world? Imagine how different the world could be. Honestly, it might drive a few people insane, but I believe the majority of us would be totally fine with it. Well unfortunately, that kind of fantasy isn't around so in place of that, we have this movie that honestly would make every single cartoon lover fall over with happiness. Just like The Avengers (2012) where that contained all the favorite characters, so does this - all one's favorite cartoon characters are all in one movie.
What's interesting is that this movie plays like a regular detective movie but with cartoons. This is a unique step because any film after that to incorporate cartoons into their story would be just to stop an evil mastermind with a supporting human character that just didn't give the audience the believability they needed to have the best connection with. So this story does take place in the 1940's, but, that's when times and the technology used was simpler and crimes were solved with just a few clues. The plot revolves around a cartoon star named Roger Rabbit who ends up getting framed for homicide.
Leading this investigation is a troubled detective named Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) who has a tragic history. Together, when these two are paired up, it makes an interesting watch due to how well this whole movie was made. And it's not just this duo that makes the film an interesting watch. Along with the set of famous cartoons that have their own cameos in this picture, comes a bunch of new characters that also display their own charm. The Weasels, Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd), Baby Herman and several others are an interesting bunch of cartoons.
The most astounding element to this film is the animation and puppetry used to make the cartoons look as lifelike and three-dimensional as possible. It is by far, the most convincing live-action special effects ever done for a live-action cartoon film. It may have been done for the other films to come after, but it just doesn't match the quality here. The effects just look so much more real. Also the musical score provided by Alan Silvestri may have not been special in a sense that it provided a main theme for Roger Rabbit, but he have one for Eddie Valiant and much of it were jazzy tunes involving bass lines. This helped support the period that the story takes place. However, the music was a little short on running time. But either way, it must be seen; it has Warner Brother and Disney cartoons sharing the same frame!
If one wants to experience a cartoon ensemble movie, this is the one to see. The acting is superb, the characters are lovable and it has a great story.