Who Framed Roger Rabbit
With all the back and forth between Sony and Marvel over the rights to a single character, now is the perfect time to step back to a different time when character rights was an easier animal. Spider-Man as a film character has long been owned by Sony, and earlier this year Marvel and Sony had some tense negotiations over whether or not Spider-Man could appear in Marvel’s upcoming Civil War. Sure, there’s a lot of money at stake, for both sides. However, from an outsider’s perspective the studios both looked obstinate, unyielding. Each wanted to squeeze as much money out of the character as possible and neither was willing to bend for the greater creative good, which almost derailed the project.
Marvel and Sony should have taken a page from Robert Zemeckis’s playbook. While he didn’t get all the characters he wanted to appear in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, he managed to nab 140 preexisting characters from Disney, Warner Bros., MGM and many others. With familiar faces to populate his world, Who Framed Roger Rabbit feels instantly familiar; the audience doesn’t feel overwhelmed by having to absorb a ton of new characters. The arrangements made for all the characters to appear in Who Framed Roger Rabbit were done for the greater creative good, and the film is a classic partly because of that.
Part of Who Framed Roger Rabbit’s success is how the familiar characters are kept to the background, popping up in cameo roles to deliver one or two lines before going away again, allowing the main characters to develop and remain the focus of the movie.
And what a movie! Who Framed Roger Rabbit has been a favorite of mine ever since its 1988 release. I’ve gone back to it every so often over the years and am always happy to see how well the film holds up. By being set in 1947, the film avoids the trappings of being an Eighties film, which also allows several anachronistic elements to be played for laughs (like Eddie getting cigarettes from a pack of kids). All the actors nail their roles perfectly. Eddie Valiant is the jewel in Bob Hoskins’s acting crown and Christopher Lloyd is never more evil than when he plays Judge Doom. The scene where Judge Doom gleefully kills a cartoon shoe still hits me hard. (All credit to Nancy Cartwright, who voiced the shoe and went on to fame a year later as the voice of Bart Simpson.)
Things I noticed on this rewatch: Jessica Rabbit’s introduction is flawless. Not only is it an amazing introduction to her character, but the way the animation is done (lights, shadows, character interactions) still impresses me after all these years. Droopy Dog has five lines and they’re all hilarious. There’s a few background jokes I never caught as a child (like the cattle call at the beginning of the movie). As an adult I’m more aware of how much Eddie drinks, especially with all the subtle references to his alcoholism I never caught on to as a kid.
While the jokes may be considered genteel these days, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is still a technical masterpiece and contains enough humor to impress even the most cynical modern moviegoer. The script is tight and well-paced. And thanks to director Zemeckis, the world is rich and filled with familiar faces. Next time Marvel Studios need to license one of their characters back, they should call on Zemeckis.
tl;drs
Quick summary: When Roger Rabbit is framed for murder, the only person who can clear his name is Eddie Valiant, an alcoholic gumshoe with a chip on his shoulder for toons.
Too many writers? Nope; two screenwriters worked from an original novel.
Recommended if you like: Animation feats, Brits growling their way through an American accent.
Better than I expected? Nearly 30 years later and I’m still catching jokes (like the cows rehearsing their lines and waiting to attend a ‘cattle call’).
Worse than I hoped? Picture quality improvements means a few of the scenes are obviously staged (usually when someone is getting thrown around).
Would it work better in a different medium? While I don’t think it’ll ever happen, I still hope for the long-promised sequel.
Verdict: One of those movies that holds up over time, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a movie I could watch again and again.
Related Reading: 15 Things You May Not Know about Who Framed Roger Rabbit at Mentalfloss
