Who Framed Roger Rabbit ?

Although long since superseded by CGI animation and now largely forgotten this box-office and critical success that won three Oscars (for sound and visual effects and editing) combining traditional ink-and-paint cartoon characters and real actors was state-of-the art for its day.

Screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman adapted the script from Gary Wolf's 1981 novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" in what is a spoof of 1940s film noir. Despite the presence of every famous American cartoon character (voiced in the main by the original talent, Mel Blanc and Charles Fleisher) as well as new ones like Roger Rabbit it's hardly a kid's movie, being, like its model, way too convoluted and addressed to adult concerns (particularly in the pants department). This however from the latter perspective is a good thing.

Coming out of the Spielberg school of mainstream entertainment (Spielberg was an executive producer) Zemeckis helms the project with brio grounded in impressive craftsmanship. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is a one-off that deserves re-visiting.

FYI: For another take on the film noir spoof see Carl Reiner/Steve Martin's Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

 

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