A Technical Marvel

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2003)

A technical marvel, animated virtuosity of the highest order, a film that still inspires awe even after all the digital advances that have followed it. Ostensibly directed by Robert Zemeckis, his presence is barely felt, overwhelmed by both the special effects and the overload of famous cartoon characters interacting with humans in this noir-ish fantasy of a forties Hollywood bordered by a ghetto populated with the animated characters of the period, used by the studios as a work force and treated as second-class citizens. Zemeckis' anonymity isn't much of a problem as the sheer ambition and comprehensiveness of the project makes it all giddily worthwhile; you can't stop loving the seamless mix of live and animated action. That said, the film is a bit too fast-paced and needlessly confusing and lead Bob Hoskins, as the private detective hired to investigate the murder of a human by `toon' Roger Rabbit, doesn't always acquit himself well, trying too hard to hide his British accent and embarrassingly made to act the buffoon towards the end. It's easy to see why the film can be considered a classic while Roger Rabbit himself remains far from legendary: as voiced by Charles Fleischer (who also voices several other characters as well), he's annoying, unfunny and instantly forgettable. Much more memorable are the characters of his sexy wife, Jessica (voiced by Kathleen Turner) and Christopher Lloyd as the villainous Judge Doom--they're delightfully tacky, carefully crafted and have a complexity that Roger fails to deliver. Many of the cartoon cameos are voiced by their original actors, including Mae Questel (as Betty Boop) and Mel Blanc (as most of the Warner Brothers representatives).