An 80's Classic & Robert Zemeckis' Best

Rating: 8/10 (23 October 2011)

No doubt, this movie is a classic. Honestly, who hasn't seen this movie? As I see it, this film ranks up there with GHOST BUSTERS, BACK TO THE FUTURE, and the INDIANA JONES (original) trilogy as one of the most memorable films of the '80s. It's entertaining for both kids and adults, equal parts loony and suspenseful. Based on a mystery novel by Gary K. Wolf (which I'm now reminded I really want to read), the film is set in a world where cartoons and real life coexists side-by-side, also known as every kid's dream. Cartoon characters inhabit a colorful world known as Toontown that somehow exists next to Los Angeles (awfully convenient, really). The movie is a wacky adventure mixed with film noir set in the late 1940s. Private detective Eddie Valiant is hired to trail the wife of famed cartoon star Roger Rabbit and prove that she's having an affair with cartoon gadget mogul Marvin Acme. Roger doesn't respond to the news well and, when Marvin Acme turns up dead, Roger's the number one suspect. Roger pleads with Valiant, a toon-hater since the day one dropped a piano on his brother's head, to help clear his name and protect him from the brooding Judge Doom. Doom has developed a chemical mixture known as "dip" and it's the only real means of killing a toon, which he appears to do with great pleasure. Valiant is the one man who can clear Roger's name, find Acme's true killer, and unravel a conspiracy that may result in the end of Toontown.
If you've somehow gone this long without seeing this movie, there's something wrong with you and you need to remedy it as soon as possible. It doesn't matter how old a person is, there's something here for everyone. For example, it's the only time we've been able to see the world's most beloved cartoon characters from all major studios come together in the same film: Mickey Mouse skydiving with Bugs Bunny, Donald and Daffy Duck in a piano battle, etc. It's enough to blow a kid's mind and nostalgic enough that anyone who grew up on these cartoons will get a kick out of it. That's not to say the movie is all cartoon zaniness. I'll be honest and I'm sure I'm not the only one who can say that Judge Doom scared the ever-loving crap out of me when I was younger. Christopher Lloyd is down-right creepy as the film's antagonist, dressed all in black with an evil deliberate feel to every move he makes. The scene in the Acme Warehouse where he demonstrates the effectiveness of his dip on a cartoon shoe is pretty messed up when you think about it. He dips the shoe into the toxic mixture and when he pulls his gloved hand out of the barrel, it's covered in goopy red ink/paint to really drive home the point that he just killed the toon. And don't get me started on the final act where Valiant confronts the villain. I'll spare excessive details for the uninitiated, but I was four-years-old when the movie came and I still remember how terrified I was. I'm just saying.
The characters in this movie have become iconic: Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman, and especially Jessica Rabbit (who's been widely recognized as the hottest cartoon creation ever, no doubt due in part to Kathleen Turner's vocal performance). They may never be as widely beloved as the classic characters (Mickey, Bugs, etc.) but they left their mark on my childhood just the same. Judge Doom is a crazy S.O.B. and ranks as one of my all-time favorite movie villains, and Bob Hoskins is a great sport for all the craziness as Eddie Valiant. The story is complex enough for an adult audience with some older humor sprinkled in for the "grown-ups" to get a laugh and the kids get a zany ride in a world where cartoons are real. No offense to BACK TO THE FUTURE and it's massive fan base (of which I'm a part), but I think this film is Robert Zemeckis' best.