Product: Who Framed Roger Rabbit [VHS] (1988)
Rating: 5.0
A true classic
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" represents a breakthrough in film making. Though live action and animation had been mixed together before, it had never been done as well as it had here, thanks to the combined efforts of two excellent filmmakers (Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg). Add to that a top-notch script, and you've got an excellent movie on your hands.The acting can't be faulted. Bob Hoskins does an excellent job as embittered, toon-hating private eye Eddie Valiant...his New York accent is so convincing that you'd never know he was hiding a strong Cockney accent behind it. Kathleen Turner does a great job as Jessica Rabbit (who fully deserves her status as sexiest cartoon character ever created), as does Charles Fleischer as the title character. And Christopher Lloyd makes an excellent villain as the terrifying Judge Doom. There are also plenty of cameos from famous cartoon characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck, Goofy, Daffy Duck and Betty Boop. Many of them are voiced by the actors who used to voice them all those years, adding a real touch of authenticy to the movie.The plot isn't fabulously original. Cartoon character Roger Rabbit is framed for the murder of Toontown owner Marvin Acme, and he hires Eddie Valiant, who despite his hatred of toons (one murdered his brother years ago) agrees to take the case. It leads to the discovery that the whole of Toontown is in danger. Like I said, not fabulously original. But it's made up by plenty of humour and excitement in the script, as well as some moments that were true classics (Donald Duck and Daffy Duck playing a duet on the piano is a great scene, as is the finale in which nearly every pre-1950s cartoon character puts in an appearance.The only thing that really lets this movie down for me is the large amount of anachronisms. The movie is set in 1947, yet many cartoon characters from the 1950s and 1960s appear. But personally, the more the merrier I say. This is a great film, and well worth watching.However, a word of warning for parents...in spite of what you might think, this is NOT a children's movie. The plot centres around sex and death, and is also a tad too complicated for younger viewers (how many children know what getting set up means?). There are numerous double-entrendes and alcohol and sex references, and of course the inclusion of a cartoon sex symbol (Jessica Rabbit). There's also a fair bit of swearing (most of it is quite mild, but the word "n*gger" is used at one point early in the film). So if you're thinking of showing this to your children, I would think twice!