Product: Who Framed Roger Rabbit [VHS] (1988)
Rating: 5.0
A Very Special Movie
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is quite simply a most magical filmmaking experience. It's a film that is truly brilliant in every way imaginable. From its plot, a brilliant homage to the great film noir thrillers of the 1940s', to the fantastic visuals, still impressive even today, to its smart, funny, fast paced script, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is a truly timeless piece of cinema.Taking place in 1947, Detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) is a hard boiled Hollywood private eye haunted by his past. He has gone from a well respected cop, to a brutal, booze swilling drunk. When Marvin Acme, owner of Acme Gag Factory and head of Toontown, is murdered, the prime suspect is Roger Rabbit (voiced by Charles Fleischer), Toontown's most famous star. Desparate to prove his innocence, Roger enlists Valiant for help, and manages to drive Valiant nuts. This doesn't sit well with the power hungry Judge Doom (a frighteningly brilliant Christopher Lloyd), who is intent on bringing Roger to justice. As Roger's innocence becomes more apparent, so does Doom's plot to destroy Toontown and turn it into a freeway (an homage to "Chinatown"). It is up to Valiant and Roger to save Toontown from total chaos. Not that these two are working alone: Valiant's on again, off again gal Dolores (Joanna Cassidy) helps out, and then of course their's Roger's mindbustingly sexy wife, Jessica (voiced like no other by Kathleen Turner, who imbues the character with such a vibrant amount of sex appeal that once can't help but fall in love with her, despite the fact that she's a cartoon).As I said, this is an absolutely brilliant piece of cinema, and it now looks even better on this special edition dvd, which is loaded with two discs worth of bonus features as well as superb picture and sound remastering job. This is a truly amazing movie that belongs in anyone's collection.