My Movie Review on Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Reconstructed) · 10:32pm Jan 29th, 2019
When I was a boy, I used to not be able to watch this movie for reasons I had yet to understand.
But now, I make my sixth movie review by reviewing a movie I wasn’t allowed to watch before, but was worth watching at the right age: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".
Here's the rundown of it:
Taking place in Hollywood during the late 1940s, and in a world where humans and cartoon characters( or Toons for short) coexist in one world, the film stars Eddie Valiant who is a down-on-his-luck detective holding a hatred and grudge against Toons because of something bad happening from his past. He gets hired by R.K Maroon to investigate and solving an adultery scandal involving Jessica Rabbit, the wife of Roger Rabbit.
However, Marvin Acme, who was Jessica's alleged paramour and owner of ToonTown, is suddenly found to have been murdered the next day, with Roger suspected to be the killer. With Judge Doom and the Toon Patrol hot on his tail, Roger turns to Valiant for help, insisting that he's been framed.
Coming from a guy who saw the film not too long ago, I will admit that I didn't think it was perfect. At the same time, though, I thought it was an awesome movie regardless!
The animation done by Richard Williams and his team of animators was amazing!
It’s definitely the best I’ve seen since Mary Poppins! Every animated element, such as the cartoon characters and backgrounds, mixed perfectly with the live-action elements. The way Williams was able to give the toons these really off-the-wall moments, such as stretching certain parts of their body and changing shape, was full-on astonishing.
The direction done by Robert Zemeckis was additionally fantastic.
The camera angling was wonderful, especially with the positioning of where they try to get the characters into face-view. The cinematography the film had also gave the feeling of a great mystery film with cartoon characters in the mix, and it fit the early 1900s time period like a glove. My only issue was that there were some scenes that seemed to be too extendy & sluggish, a notable example being the final battle between Eddie Valient and Judge Doom.
Aside from that, though...
The film’s story was extremely original, even despite being loosely based off of a book called “Who Censored Roger Rabbit?”, which is apparently different storywise. Screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman did a wonderful job making a creative, thought-provoking narrative that can practically get people on the edge of their seats with its mystery and thrills. Plus, the humor and comedic-timings throughout the movie were nicely-worked, and it contained great heart and emotion.
The music by Alan Silvestri was enjoyable as well.
Silvestri's music was not only perfect for a detective film taking place in 1947, but also creating music that fits for one with cartoon characters. Plus, his score was one of the most emotionally-invested and personality-filled works of his career, and I can tell that he was having the time of his life being a part of the venture.
The acting, characters, and character development were top-notch too.
I was blown away by the moments when Roger Rabbit and Marvin Acme got redundant in some of their scenes, because I don’t think that’s something you see in a movie very often.
But, it was Bob Hoskins' performance as Eddie Valiant, Charles Fleischer's work as Roger Rabbit, and Christopher Lloyd's portrayal of Judge Doom that blew me away the most. Especially to where it was like they really were those characters.
Hoskins was perfect for Eddie Valiant. He definitely looked like a detective-type of character, of course. But, he also gave the character a really great personality, and the way his character talked was very realistic. Sure, the Eddie wasn't exactly the nicest person much of the time, but Hoskins's portrayal managed to translate the character as someone who was lovable and relatable regardless, especially as the film progressed. The character himself had awesome development.
Fleischer was the guy who definitely owned Roger. His comedic-timings were on point beyond compare, and it was amazing how he got the character to be someone to love regardless of his shortcomings.The fact that he also got to stand-in for his character on the screen also made Roger’s movements and interactions with the other characters very lifelike. On a side note, he did a great job at voicing Benny the Cab.
Finally, Christopher Lloyd's performance as Judge Doom is one he definitely deserves to be renowned for. As a real person, he completely fit the part of a lifelike cartoon character, even in disguise. His voice, as well as the way he made his character talk and move made him seem intimidating, and it was really awesome on how he was able to avoid blinking when the camera focused on him.
Overall, the film isn't perfect. But, it’s definitely worth the watch and is a really awesome film.
So, I rate “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” 4½ out of five stars.
This is the only movie that has Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse appearing in the same scene together.
That aside, I feel that Christopher Lloyd pretty much stole the spotlight with his portrayal of Judge Doom.
Spoiler alert:
There is something undeniably 'alien' about the way he carries the character; an almost deliberate method of subliminally telling the audience that this man is not human. While he very effectively wears the 'mask' of being human; once the charade is broken it suddenly hits you that the truth was staring down at you through venom filled eyes the entire time.
What's really striking to me about Doom is that it's only clear that he is playing a masquerade role after you've seen the big reveal in a previous run through. On the first go, this sinister and almost hollow man is a perfect representation of someone whose gained a zealous drive. This isn't a corrupted man taking advantage of a position of authority but rather a person who easily blends in with any other fanatic. Judge Doom represents the worst of us and when you discover that he is in fact a toon it drives down hard that his relatable antics aren't something that occurs in us 'normally'. There is clearly a representation of what evil looks like but evil is something of our own creation. It almost demands serious philosophical discussion about what it means to be human and whether or not having certain tendencies are an instinct we suppress or a choice we all make because it's just the path that felt 'right' for the time. On top of that, because his mannerisms are 'human enough'; it begs the question of at what point does someone with power become a monster? Granted this whole thing is shattered by the revelation that he was never human but up to that point he was possibly more human than us.
Of course...then you remember that in the movie's Canon: humanity created Toons. People had to imagine these characters for them to have life.
So then is Judge Doom the worst of all us or does he represent a clear end result of taking things too far?
Or perhaps the True villain is the unknown artist who drew him in the first place? This suggests that evil is not a matter of being greedy or fanatical; but instead it is just a perspective. For all the cruelty the character had; he did have the unquestioning loyalty of his private squad of Toon Enforcers, ready to kill their own kind at the drop of a hat. It wasn't that the weasels were afraid of the judge, they respected his authority and genuinely believed that he had it right.
How do the lyrics go...
All your demons are someone else's angels
This has been on my list, I will definitely watch it someday!
I have this masterpiece on DVD!
I never really got around to seeing this one. The closest I've come was seeing a Roger Rabbit short that came on a VHS copy of Honey, I Shrunk The Kids that I borrowed from the library once.
Glad to see your continuing with these reviews. I'm actually hoping to do my next one on The Prince of Egypt.
5004749
Hey, I’m planning on reviewing that movie too!
5004767
Nice! I actually just posted my review. Check it out when you can, and leave a comment to let me know what you think. And be sure to check out my other reviews! :)
5004783
Brilliant!
5004785
In spite of Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, this movie had sparse cursing from characters, even animated Toons like Herman and Benny. No wonder this movie was PG.
5004904
Yay. Obviously suited more for teens and adults.
5004941
Alan Silvestri seems to be associated with Zemeckis, as he was the music for the Back to the Future movies. He was also in the Stuart Little movies. Lately, he made the epicly legendary music for Marvel Studios' The Avengers, beforehand Captain America: The First Avenger.
5005142
You are correct in everything you said.
5005184
I love Alan's Avengers theme very much. Seems to endow inner power through teamwork and seemed to fit the the team in spite of their source material obviously music-less.