(Movie) Toon in! A look at Who Framed Roger Rabbit

I can't remember the last time I watched this movie. It was possibly back when I was little.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of those movies you don't forget. However, you can also never remember why that is.

Is it because of the blend of live action and cartoon? Is it because of Jessica Rabbit? Or is it because of terrifying Judge Doom?

Let's review.

Story/Dialogue: Story goes that Eddie Valiant, a drunk, down on his luck P.I is trying to scrounge money together by taking whatever jobs he can get his hands on.
His latest job? Catching toon star Roger Rabbit's wife playing, 'Patty Cake' with an industry mogul.
When he finds out, Roger gets drunk and leaves.
The next morning the mogul is dead and Roger, without alibi, is the main suspect.

Enter Judge Doom, a terrifying man who is capable of killing toons thanks to his concoction called 'Dip'.

Valiant must now clear Roger's name and unravel the mystery behind the mogul's missing will.

For dialogue, it's just as wacky as the toons that play their part in the film. I find it hilarious that they get a lot of them to swear, making it more than just a kid's cartoon. Watching a cartoon gorilla call Bob Hoskins a smartass made me laugh.

The humour was a little too over the top for my liking, though.

Cinematography: The blend of animation and live action is one of the key pieces of Roger Rabbit that I thoroughly enjoyed. Scenes like Daffy and Donald playing piano was amusing. Watching how actors and toons interacted with each other was clever.

The lighting was like something out of a noir film. It made it a stark contrast to its whacky exterior and I think that's what I really enjoyed about the film as a whole.

Also, major props to the cameramen for keeping the framing tight and the movement smooth.


Audio: The only notable thing out of this segment is Bob Hoskins' little musical number. Other than that, the music didn't really offer anything of import.

That aside, the sound effects were what made me laugh. Cannon fire, explosions and various other crazy toon sounds were fantastic.

Overall: This movie was beyond ridiculous. Talking taxis driving cars (I had a bit of an existential crisis watching that, actually,) drowning rabbits, killing weasels with laughter, destroying toons with a special acidic concoction.

With that said, it's aged quite well film wise.

As far as characters go, you find that you don't tend to get too attached to them.

You are taken on a tour of 1947 Los Angeles, but see awfully little of Toon Town. I would have liked to have seen more worldbuilding go on.

All this summed up, I award Who Framed Roger Rabbit with 3.5 stars.