Product: Who Framed Roger Rabbit [VHS] (1988)
Rating: 4.0
A modern classic
If you haven't seen it, this is a brilliant merger of live-actors and animated characters. Oh, it's been done before, all the way back to the 1930s or -40s, but never so well. The animated figures don't just talk to the live actors and cast shadows, they open doors, bump into things, and visibly press against the actors they are supposed to be touching. Just a few minutes in, disbelief is thoroughly suspended. The technical achievement sinks into the background (as it should), and the plot moves on.The story's a good one, too. There are lots of ins and outs, a complex land grab, a personal tragedy, and loyalties that surface under pressure. It's kid-safe and -comprehensible, but has enough to keep an adult interested.Not least is the remarkable legal feat of combining dozens of cartoon characters, with copyrights owned by competing studios. Disney, Warner Bros, and Hanna Barbera all contributed. Who ever expected to see Daffy Duck across from Donald? Bugs across from Mickey? Even minor characters appeared, like animated extras from Fantasia, Peter (of wolf fame), and the dragon from Disney's 1941 adaptation of Grahame's book, "The Reluctant Dragon". Of course, Roger, his wife Jessica ("I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way"), and lots of other `toons all came to life exclusively for this movie.It's not necessary to have kids in order to have a collection of kids' movies. This one's great for the kid in anybody.//wiredweird