Review of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) by Filipeneto — 04 Mar 2018

In this film, the iconic Roger Rabbit is charged with murder and will have to resort to a human detective who hates cartoons to prove his innocence. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Jeffrey Price, the film features performances by Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd, as well as the voices of Charles Fleischer and Lou Hirsch.

This film did something that, until then, was extremely rare: put human actors interacting with animated characters. And this was done with quality and a welcome realism. I excused to say, I believe, that the cartoons are the strong dish of the film, as well as the countless comic situations they star in. Bob Haskins shone in his role, skillfully balancing a comic character who maintains, throughout most of the film, a serious and even grumpy attitude. Of course, his most angry phrases eventually turn him into something even funnier. Christopher Lloyd comes late but in excellent performance, as villain. Cold as ice, insensitive to no end, he gave life to a memorable character with personality traits worthy of a Nazi executioner. Among the cartoons, Roger Rabbit and his sculptural wife, Jessica, deserve all the highlight.

This is a family film that will easily appeal to all ages. The bright colors of the cartoons are appealing, contrasting with the more serious environment of the "real world" and flesh and blood actors. The special, visual and sound effects are excellent. The costumes are good and help the public to locate the story around the forties. The soundtrack is good and the music sung by Jessica, a jazz classic "Why don't You Do Right", is memorable.