Friday, November 25, 2016

Movie Review: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988)

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Movie"Who Framed Roger Rabbit"
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Year: 1988
Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes

After being photographed playing 'patty cake' with Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner), Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), the owner of Toon Town, has a safe dropped on his head. The prime suspect in his murder is Jessica's husband Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer), who swears he is innocent. He enlists the help of private investigator Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), who coincidentally took the incriminating photos in the first place in order to clear his name.

Directed by Robert Zemekis and produced by Steven Spielberg, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is a groundbreaking film that seamlessly integrates both live action and traditional animation into one movie. It was the most expensive film ever made at the time of its release in 1988, costing $70 million to make. This seems low by today's standards where the average summer blockbusters breaks nine figures, but back then, it was a lot of money. The film went on to gross $329 million worldwide and was the second highest grossing movie of 1988 behind the Academy Award best picture winner "Rain Man." The film is not without its accolades. It was nominated for six Oscars and took home three, as well as a special achievement award from the Academy. Though none of the acting got recognized, Bob Hoskins is fantastic as Eddie Valiant, the private investigator whose love for life and toons are crushed when his brother gets crushed by a piano. Hoskins is so convincing in this role, we were shocked when we learned (many years later, we might add) he was actually British. Christopher Lloyd is also quite goofy and outlandish as the ominous Judge Doom. Much of the remainder of the cast are animated. The titular Roger Rabbit is voiced by Charles Fleischer, and his sultry wife Jessica Rabbit is voiced by Kathleen Turner. Though she is uncredited in the role, this is one of her most memorable parts. Roger is an absolutely hilarious character, and Bob Hoskins does a great job working with a co-star who isn't even there. Of course, this is something that has become more and more common in modern cinema with the use of motion capture and CGI integration, but it wasn't all that common back in 1988, especially done with the perfection seen in this "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" The fact that animated characters regularly interact with real world physical objects, something modern CGI characters don't have to often do, is an extremely impressive feat of movie magic.

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is a film that has really stood the test of time. It is still just as great today as it was when it was first released. We very much enjoy pulling this movie out from time to time to see a premium mix of animation and live action coming together in a funny, fun, delightfully outrageous movie.

My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 9/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. As do we! It's always fun to break this one out and watch it again and again!

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