Yeah it looks great but...

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2006)

This movie takes place in 1947 in an imaginary world where cartoons are alive. Roger Rabbit is framed for killing somebody. Down and out detective Bob Hoskins is hired to find out who did it.
This movie has a lot going for it. Virtually every cartoon character in existence (up till 1947) puts in an appearance. The animation is superb and the mix of live action with it is seamless. The movie starts off with a Looney Toons type cartoon--but sped up FAST! Also Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner) is VERY interesting to watch. This film is purportedly an allegory on how blacks were treated in 1940s Hollywwod--all the "toons" here are servants or waiters and all live in a separate section of town. There are also a ton of inside jokes. I liked it--but not completely.
Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd and Joanna Cassidy give terrible performances--but the script WAS against them and they were basically reacting to nothing. Roger Rabbit himself was a VERY annoying character--I could care less what happened to him. The storyline was vague and more than a little confusing--it kept coming to a screeching halt countless times when a "toon" made a cameo. No characterizations either--the cartoons are more 3-dimensional than the humans! The script also thinks it's more clever than it actually is.
I didn't like this much when it came out in 1988--it was a MONSTER hit. My feelings haven't changed much. Still--a lot of people liked this and kids will love it. Use your own judgment. For the animation and live action mix alone I give it a 7.
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."