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Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Special Edition) [1988]
from Touchstone Home Video
starring Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye
directed by Robert Zemeckis

Features:

• Animated
• Collector's Edition
• PAL

Editorial Review:

This zany, eye-popping, knee-slapping landmark in combining animation with live-action ingeniously makes that uneasy combination itself (and the history of Hollywood) its subject. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is based on classic Los Angeles private-eye movies (and, specifically, Chinatown), with detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) investigating a case involving adultery, blackmail, murder, and a fiendish plot to replace LA's once-famous Red Car public transportation system with the automobiles and freeways that would later make it the nation's smog capital. Of course, his sleuthing takes him back to the place he dreads: Toontown, the ghetto for cartoons that abuts Hollywood and that was the site of a tragic incident in Eddie's past. In addition to intermingling cartoon characters with live actors and locations, Roger Rabbit also brings together the greatest array of cartoon stars in the history of motion pictures, from a variety of studios (Disney, Warner Bros, MGM, Fleischer, Universal, and elsewhere): Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Woody Woodpecker, Droopy Dog, and more! And, of course, there's Maroon Cartoon's greatest star, Roger Rabbit (voice by Charles Fleischer), who suspects his ultra-curvaceous wife, Jessica Rabbit (voice by Kathleen Turner: "I'm not bad; I'm just drawn that way"), of infidelity. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Contact), not since the early Looney Tunes' "You Oughtta Be in Pictures" has there been anything like Roger Rabbit. --Jim Emerson

The words unique and groundbreaking are often bandied around in cinema, but on its original release in 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a genuine landmark in filmmaking. It remains a movie that has lost none of its impact. While many special effects in the cinema have a tendency to date, what is most noticeable here is how vibrant and fresh the combination of real actors and animation still appears. Created long before the days of CGI and other computer-enhanced aids, the hand-drawn characters have a real frisson and life to them that stems from their cartoon heritage (Jessica Rabbit must still rank as one of the all time great screen sex symbols). The human performances are also superb, from Hoskins' downtrodden PI to Christopher Lloyd's insane villain. Those experiencing this film for the first time will find as much to enjoy here as those who saw it years ago.

On the DVD: Who Framed Roger Rabbit on disc focuses both on the film's fun element and its background. A collection of Roger shorts is included, along with a deleted scene and a clever interactive game. The documentary charting the history of the film is a little brief and presented in an annoyingly crazy style, yet is full of fascinating snippets, particularly the pre-animation footage and the secrets of the special effects team. It is slightly disappointing that there is so little input from any of the movie's key figures, though. Technically, the film's original print and soundtrack has been given a digital overhaul, allowing Spielberg and Zemeckis' astounding vision to burst into life on the small screen. But in the end this impressive package could have delivered even more. --Phil Udell

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0

• Groundbreaking and unsurpassed
  The plot has been well-summarised in other reviews, but hats off first to animator Richard Williams, the man who not only created the cartoon characters but made them interact so convincingly with the humans. Nowadays we take computer animation so much for granted it would be easy to underestimate the complexity and painstaking detail involved in not only reproducing so many well-loved cartoon characters but integrating them, and the original toon characters of the movie, frame by frame, 14 to the second,... more info

• Great comic spin on crime movies and cartoons
  This is a very inventive, technically brilliant cartoon. It has a lot of incredibly funny scenes and a great many superb comic in jokes.
  For the time this was made, the special effects are stunning. This is a great piece of entertainment.
  

• Brilliant!
  No matter how many times I watch this movie, it never fails to make me laugh.
  "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is a masterpiece, a classic and this DVD is one that everyone should own with so many special features and extras of which are great bonuses.

• FANTASTIC!!
  This is a brilliant family film. Bob Hoskins is great in this & has superb comic timing matched up against Roger Rabbit. Kathleen Turner is also brilliant as the voice of the sexy Jessica Rabbit. Special mention also goes to Christopher Lloyd as the baddy Doom. Lloyd (who was at the time in between doing his stints as Doc Brown in BTTF) delivers his line faultlessly. I can't say enough good things about this film. Well recommended!!

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