User reviews

I'm a fan of both cartoons and film noir movies, and so Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a great experience to me. Set in the 1940's, in a shadowy atmosphere reminiscent of Bogart classics such as The Maltese Falcon, the movie blends in cartoon characters and live actors almost seamlessly. For me, one of the most interesting aspects of the movie was seeing Disney and Warner Bros cartoon characters in the same scenes - for the first time in film history, I believe. Who could forget the piano duel of Donald and Daffy? The live actors were a bit theatrical and over-dramatic at times, but not to an extent that would have made the film unbearable or bad. The cartoon characters saved a lot, too.

Fast-paced, entertaining film that can be viewed by anyone. I liked it very much.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of the zaniest and smartest movies to come out in a long time..Directed by Robert Zemeckis who later did Forrest Gump and Castaway among others, it stars Bob Hoskins as a washed up private eye in the 50s who gets dragged into a murder investigation in Toonland to help unravel a mystery and prove the innocence of a toon Roger Rabbit.

One of the real treats of the movie is Kathleen Turner who does the voice of Jessica Rabbit..She is a perfect choice with that sexy sultry voice. The movie is great fun for the whole family..there is a little innuendo but like Jessica says.."I'm not bad..I'm just drawn that way"

A real treat! Holds the record for most credits at the end of a movie (937!) On a scale of one to ten... 9

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is a wonder in the art of making films. Because it mixes live-action and cartoons, it was a challenge to be made. But that's exactly what makes it so distinguish and unique, especially considering that the idea works out so well. It's a different and original movie experience, a real winner.

Yet, the film is more than a combination of live-action and cartoons. It has a dark atmosphere with lots of suspense, almost like a thriller. Classic humor isn't forgotten either, with numerous funny lines and hysterical gags, as well as humorous characters. The joke about «uncle Thumper» is one of the funniest, but there are many others. There's also a hilarious piano acting with Donald Duck and Daffy Duck, which they play the same piano song as in Tom & Jerry's short "The Cat Concerto" and have their hilariously silly battle. In fact, the soundtrack of the movie is excellent, including Jessica Rabbit's song "Why don't you do right?" and a suspense music very similar to one from the original "Back to the Future".

Other movies that successfully mix live-action and cartoons are "Mary Poppins", "Pete's Dragon" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". Like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", those three movies combine this "marriage" very well. On the other hand, other movies such as "Space Jam" tried this idea but without the same success.

I believe that this movie was made in a unique moment of inspiration. The sceneries are great, the designs, the cartoons, the backgrounds, the details, the animation, the special effects, the artwork... everything was carefully made and I much welcome that. This is one of the greatest Disney films.

Great actors make the difference too. Bob Hoskins is English but speaks with an excellent American accent, not to mention that he does the amazing thing of acting against the air. Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, Alan Tilvern, Stubby Kaye, Cristopher Lloyd and Kathleen Turner are awesome too. Kathleen Turner is the voice of Jessica Rabbit, with that sexy and sensual voice. And... guess what! Even the singer Frank Sinatra has a minor role in this film as the hilarious but useless Singing Sword. Even without looking at the credits, who wouldn't recognize that great voice? Frank Sinatra's voice is just as recognizable as Nat King Cole's or Sterling Holloway's.

As for the characters, the weasels are a perfect example of chronical stupidity. They're humorous because they're always laughing, even though they know what happens to someone who can't stop laughing.

Marvin Acme is «the king of the jokes», always humorous and cheerful and at his funniest with his mythical hand-buzzer. Angelo is an idiot, drunk and greedy guy, but funny at the same time. Dolores is a great character. R. K. Maroon is an interesting character with half a dark side and half a good side. Judge Doom is a great villain, humorous, mysterious and somewhat sinister. Roger Rabbit is hilarious and very jolly - that's his only purpose as a cartoon, like he says himself. Jessica Rabbit is a very sexy cartoon, one of the most beautiful and sexiest ever - she's not bad, she's just drawn that way. Benny the Cab is funny. Baby Herman is a bit annoying - he might look innocent at first, but he is extremely rude and he loves to woo women. Eddie Valiant is another great character - grumpy, serious and funny sometimes. And he looks very much like my godfather in appearance.

The movie takes place in Hollywood, 1947. It does recreate the 40's very well. That influence is notorious in many ways, including the cars used.

Before finishing, let me say that I like rabbits very much. They're adorable and very cute animals, although in the cartoons they aren't as cute - but they're usually funny in cartoons.

This should definitely be on Top 250.

Stop and think about this movie for a minute, and you realize that we are unbelievably fortunate that it even exists.

Think about all the different cartoon characters who have cameos here. Think about how their respective owners had to put aside decades of competing against each other for gags that would last a few seconds of screen time. Realise that, before this movie, the idea of combining fully rendered animated characters with live action footage was considered impossible. And how the hell do you market a movie that includes both murder plots and fuzzy little cartoons?

This movie is a miracle.

I absolutely loved it as a kid, and although parts of it flew over my head I really did not care. I did know that this is what animation can do when all the "rules" are totally ignored. And why shouldn't they be?

Now, as an adult, I appreciate "Roger Rabbit" for its gutsyness. There is absolutely *nothing* like this anywhere. It gets a solid Ten.

I was a little surprised that "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" wasn't on the top 250. Almost everyone loves this film. It was a major breakthrough for movies. The cartoon world meets reality.

Bob Haskins is to die for in this film, he plays such a great American detective and he didn't have much to work with. After all when he was talking to Roger, he wasn't really talking to anybody since it was a cartoon character. I love the way he develops his role so much, how he goes from this stick-to-the-book and all cartoons are bad to this lovable goofy guy due to Roger's insatiable love for life and cartoons. It's silly because it's a cartoon, but Roger and Bob clicked so well and are unforgettable.

Christopher Lloyd... shudder! This guy gave me so many nightmares as a kid from his character as the judge. The ending where he reveals his true form, he is just terrifying and effective. Jessica Rabbit is so cool and sexy for a cartoon. She's just too much fun for this movie and is wonderful as a cartoon. "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way". My favorite scene is without a doubt when Eddie(played by Bob) is looking for Jessica and meets the crazy look-a-like in Toon Town. Just great and hilarious.

Come on, fans! This is a terrific movie and deserves to be on the top 250 films of all time! It's a break through for cinema history and movies in general. It's a great one! I'd highly recommend this for the family and friends or just a Saturday with nothing to do.

10/10

To make a great classic film i think it has to work on several different levels and this one not only plays on many different levels It scores tremendously.

It is a great childrens movie. With zany classic characters such as Roger, the Weasles, and Benny the Cab. They are original crazy and fun. Also it is a mystery. It plays perfectly as one of those Old 50's detective stories. It is a milestone in film making. The scenes of the "toons" and humans sharing a world is great. I think the best scene as special effects go, is the one where Eddie and Roger are handcuffed together in his office. It looks so real!!!!! This movie is fun and creative and will go down in movie history. I don't know what else to say it is simply the best.

Also do your self a favor and steer clear of the bad rip off Cool World.

The world of this film, with cartoons and humans living side by side, is very interesting and it does a lot with this setting. It also has a lot of comedy and throwbacks to classic detective films. It lives up to its premise and does a lot with its material. I wonder why there was no sequel.

When this original movie was conceived and released in 1988, it was seen as a movie for the kids, but it soon found its way into the hearts of moviegoers everywhere. This was a landmark movie, cementing skills from all areas of Hollywood, from the budding special effects industry, to the acting skills of Bob Hoskins, to the SUPERB directing skills of Robert Zemeckis, to create one of the most impressive movies in Hollywood.

While this movie was not the first of it's kind, it was definitely the first to have cartoons and real actors interact so seamlessly, and it is impressive that it was made over 15 years ago. Another impressive part of this movie is the soundtrack, using the classic 20's jazz song "Why Don't You Do Right?" to bring back the old jazz club scene, to make for a truly authentic feel from a cartoon character, as well as the detective music used all originally composed. All around, this movie is one that I Grew up with, and children and adults will be enjoying for decades to come, because Who Framed Roger Rabbit will be a classic in the movie world for a long long time.

Hired to find out the reason a cartoon actor named "Roger Rabbit" (voice of Charles Fleischer) is not performing in his usual manner, a private detective named "Eddie Valiant" (Bob Hoskins) discovers that Roger's wife "Jessica Rabbit" (voice of Kathleen Turner) has been "playing pattycake" with a human by the name of "Marvin Acme" (Stubby Kaye). However, not long after the incriminating photos are shown to Roger, Stubby just happens to die a violent death-and everybody suspects it was Roger who did it. Everyone that is, except Jessica who tells Eddie that the entire affair was a setup and that she isn't a bad person but that she was simply "drawn that way". Although not totally convinced that Jessica is as innocent as she claims, something doesn't seem quite right to Eddie and as a result he decides investigate a little deeper. But what he doesn't realize is just how dangerous his quest for the truth will eventually become. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a very imaginative picture which made excellent use of portraying real actors next to a host of cartoon characters. Very imaginative indeed. Likewise, there is also a certain amount of mystery mixed in with the cartoonish atmosphere as well. That being said, I thought that this was an entertaining film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Oh, this is the first movie I've seen to have live characters and cartoons come together, maybe not for the first time, I've seen Jerry dance with Gene Kelly once, but that's another movie! Anyways this was my childhood favorite and perhaps an all time, and will always be a favorite to me. Every time I watch there is a magic moment, that the cartoons we all loved as kids are still the best today, even though we are into computer animation, Batman, X-Men, or anime, we can never say we hate those old Looney Toons or Disney shows. And the antics and jokes and gags and gimmicks they did will always remain the funniest, even though we dig jokes from Saturday Night Live or sex jokes these days. This is also the first time I've seen Disney and Warner cartoons for the first time! And not to mention Betty Boop and Droopy! Overall, this is the best animated and live movie the whole family can enjoy, and fans of the old cartoons will love. Recommended to all fans of cartoons of the golden years of Disney and Warner. Thank you Disney, thank you Warner. And if liked this, I recommend you play the video game Kingdom Hearts, this time it's Final Fantasy/Squaresoft and Disney together! >>>> 10/10

There's a great sequence in the 1945 film "Anchors Aweigh" where Gene Kelly dances with cartoon stars Tom & Jerry. Director Robert Zemeckis had always loved that movie, and in 1987 he decided to take the concept one step further. He wanted to see human characters co-exist with fully animated cartoons, in a three-dimensional space. Moreover, Robert Zemeckis wanted to do it for an entire movie.

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" takes place in 1947, in an alternative Hollywood where people and cartoon characters live side-by-side. One of these "toons" is called Roger, and he is accused of murder. Now it's up to our prejudiced and often drunken "hero" to exonerate him.

Before the cameras started rolling, Zemeckis explained that he was working from three clearly defined premises. The film was to maintain Disney's high-quality of animation, Warner Bros' characterization and legendary cartoonist Tex Avery's zany humour. To ensure that this was made possible, Zemeckis hired Canadian animator Richard Williams to personally supervise all the hand-drawn sequences.

The resulting movie was unique in several ways. For example, it was the first (and only) time in animation history that Walt Disney's characters Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck performed together with Warner Bros' Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Their appearances were regulated in a detailed contract which stipulated that all the cartoon stars would receive an equal amount of screen time.

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" premiered in the United States in 1988. Due to its "spicy" theme, the film was released by the studio's adult-oriented Touchstone division. It was a critical and commercial success, rekindling an interest in the Golden Age of Cartoons and sparking the so-called Disney Renaissance. Richard Williams won a well-deserved Special Achievement Oscar for his animation direction.

This movie is excellent! It's funny, suspenseful,& witty. The leads, Roger & Eddie are likable in their own unique ways and the FX are breathtaking! Bob Hoskins & Chris Lloyd deserved Oscar nods IMO.

WFRR is what most of today's CGI films "pretend" to be! A mature, family film that people of many generations can enjoy!

Anyone who hasn't seen this film I definitely recommend it! If you like quirky comedies,fantasies, suspenseful films, or are a cartoon geek watch WFRR!...

As a huge fan of all things comedic, I love the film's message about laughter!

When the film opens, detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) is this disenchanted, cynical alkie who hasn't gotten over the murder of his brother who was killed by a toon...Because of this Eddie[ who was once known for his penchant for solving toon-related cases, getting the colorful playful creatures out of trouble] resents ALL toons now and refuses to work for or with them.

Too bad Roger Rabbit doesn't know this. He is a toon who is wanted for a murder he didn't commit and hounded by the creepy & corrupt judge/jury/executioner : Judge Doom. Thus he seeks Valiant's help. During their search for the true killer and their evasion of Judge Doom & his weasel cohorts, Eddie wonders how Roger can have such an exuberant clownlike spirit in the face of possible death. Roger tells Eddie "a laugh can be a very powerful thing, why sometimes in life it's the only weapon we have."

The tone of the film is a mixture of dark noir frenetic tooniness a sultry yet strong damsel (the one and only Jessica Rabbit) and social racial allegory.

The film's theme of minorities (the toons) vs. genocide & "the man" (Judge Doom)....And of Eddie's prejudices against toons (due to his brother's murder) disappearing at the end, thus he overcomes his alcoholism and grief or Roger's very motto of "Laughter is a powerful weapon" and how that helps Eddie in the final showdown (by killing the weasels with laughter and thwarting Judge Doom with a toon prop that malfunctions his diabolical machine).

American Pop-culture & escapism ARE powerful weapons against misery, hatred & life's hardships in general. And they help unite all different walks of life.

WFRR takes place in the WWII era towards the 50s...While the 40's were a time of American unity, escapism & pop-culture (what the "toons" represent) The 50's were more about cold hard, capitalism technology & being superior..I feel that the megalomaniac villain represents THAT as well as the racial/cultural insensitivity that came with the 50's.

But no matter how you interpret WFRR it's an American masterpiece! There seems to be some controversy on what age it is appropriate for....Be warned this film IS violent loud climatic and more likely than not, will scare a young child. But if you are a parent you have to know your kid and realize what will give him or her nightmares. Having said that, even if you won't let junior watch it, that doesn't mean you, yourself can't enjoy it, the next time it comes on Encore Mystery.

There are a lot of "Judge Dooms" these days...People who are perpetually serious & full of themselves & really have NO sense of humor at all...Don't be a Judge Doom...Watch this movie!

It is impossible not to enjoy Roger Rabbit for its inventiveness...but after that, what else is left? You certainly don't care about the characters. Roger himself is extremely annoying for the most part. In fact, the best part of the film for me was the beginning... about 5 full minutes of pure cartoon fun, between Roger and a baby - reminiscent of the kinds of situations that we usually see Wile E; Coyote getting himself into. It was a scream. Bu then the rest of the film takes over, an d after the first few minutes of being amazed at the technical slight of hand...it begins to go downhill. By two-thirds of the way through, I was barely paying attention any more. The only thing that kept me awake was trying to see how many different cartoon characters I could recognize and remember where they came from originally.

So all in all, I couldn't find myself capable of giving it more than a 5... if I were voting on the first 5 minutes I would have given it a 9; if I were voting just on technical merit i would give it a 10... but as a whole? I much preferred Peter Pan or Mary Poppins or Ratatouille

One word, outstanding! i loved this when I was a kid. I'm 16 now and i still love it. The live action with the animation was perfectly blended, and I was howling with laughter at the beginning. The story is perfect, about a rabbit framed for a murder, when he suspects his wife of cheating on him. Bob Hoskins was brilliant as the melancholy drunk private eye, while Christopher Lloyd has great fun as the very scary villain. I would never have guessed the ending in a million years, totally unpredictable, and quite scary too. The real stars were the toons. Some of the funniest scenes were with them, like Eddie in ToonTown, and the weasels were a blast. reminded me of the Untouchables, actually. I didn't know for ages, that Kathaleen Turner voiced Jessica Rabbit, wow that woman is beautiful. Turner voiced Jessica brilliantly. in conclusion, a hugely satisfying part animated comedy, that both kids and adults will love. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I say this film is a family film because that is what it is. Anyone in the family will like it. It pitches it's animated rabbit to the kids, and for the teens and adults, they can look for humor in other things. The plot is a complicated one (like most detective mysteries) that brings a drunken detective back to the detective game of cartoons. Sometimes funny, sometimes compassionate, always entertaining. With director Zemeckis bringing one of the best animated films in a film that is half live action/half animated. It is a landmark in visual effects and nothing like this will ever come around again. A+

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" appears to be a film for the kiddies on first glance, but this is a somewhat complicated murder mystery that never gets old or dull. The animated title character has been framed and now he is out to clear his name with the help of a human detective (Bob Hoskins). Robert Zemeckis cemented his ability to make a film with this winner. The special effects, which are remarkable, never detract from the story and in the end they add a great dimension to this fine motion picture. Overlooked in 1988, but the best film from that weak year. 5 stars out of 5.

On paper I should like this film more than I did, since it's an homage to the old Looney Tunes cartoons mashed up with film noir, things I love, and had special effects integrating animation with real actors that still hold up today. I like how subversive it is, with the darkness of the toxic chemical substance and the critique of consumerism and corruption. I didn't like the new toons - the character and voice of Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer) was unappealing, and the giant boobs on Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner) were too much. Something about it lacked the charm of the old cartoons, as if it was working too hard to get all the references and slapstick in. It's certainly watchable, and amusing to pick up on all of its references, but fell a little short for me.

I have never seen another movie like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Sure, there are other movies that blend animation with live action, such as "Space Jam", but no other does it as seamlessly and more importantly, as entertainingly. The movie opens with a cartoon which by itself is hysterical. What follows immediately after the cartoon is even funnier and sets the tone for the zaniness and unexpectedness of the film. The jokes and sight gags are non-stop and the actors interact so perfectly with the cartoons that Toon Town seems to be a real place. Bob Hoskins is wonderful as the down-on-his-luck private eye who ends up protecting Roger Rabbit and Christopher Lloyd is equally great (and terrifying) as the evil Judge Doom. But the movie belongs to Roger Rabbit; Charles Fleischer deserved at least an Oscar nomination for his fantastic voicing of the character. Roger Rabbit is an instant classic cartoon character and has countless hilarious lines. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is great for kids but even better for teenagers and adults. I know that I now enjoy it even more than I did when I saw it for the first time as a seven year old. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is one of the most enjoyable films ever made, and as Roger Rabbit says, perhaps describing the movie as a whole, "My whole purpose in life is to make... people... laugh!" I give this movie my highest recommendation possible to kids and adults: 10/10!

I watched this movie again many years later and it is still just as entertaining. The only strange thing is to see characters from Disney and Warner together, today it would be impossible.

It's amazing that this movie exists; a live action-animation hybrid that serves as a love letter to classic cartoons; both Bugs and Mickey. Very fun movie.

Really. I can't. I can't stand Roger's screaming. It's too bad, because I liked the film when it first came out. It's an incredibly creative effort, very entertaining to have all those familiar cartoon characters making cameos, good performances, good story, all that. I remember Toon Town, the little car, the exquisite effects blending the live-action and animation... what's not to like? It was ahead of its time.

But a few years ago when I tried to watch it again, to re-live the good memories, I had to turn it off. Roger's constant shrieking was so distracting I began to hate him within the first 20 minutes. Good character voice... but WAY too over-the-top, WAY too loud. As a kid I could take it; as a grown-up I just can't.

That WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT was made at all is a marvel to me-- I'm sure getting all the studios that owned these characters to agree to let them all on the screen was a real feat-- but I have no doubt it was made at just the right time in movie history. The 80s saw an upswing in interest in the classic Hollywood animations of the 30s and 40s, and the 70s nostalgia for classic noir was still lingering, leading to classics like BODY HEAT. Somehow, this led to a perfect combination of ideas. The special effects technology of the 1980s also allowed the fusion of live action and animation to be done in a manner far more sophisticated than past decades.

So yeah, I consider ROGER RABBIT a great film. The story is both a spoof of noir conventions and a dramatic story you can take just seriously enough, populated by memorable and endearing characters. Everyone does great work, but you have to give it to Bob Hoskins, who toes the line between comedy and hardboiled drama well. It's often described as a kid's movie, though with the sheer amount of sexual jokes and extreme cartoon violence, I am shocked some moral watchdog has yet to complain (at least, I've never heard of anyone complaining about this movie's content, not even from those who think things like HAPPY FEET and HARRY POTTER were directed by Satan himself).

The idea of a sequel was in talks for a few years, but to be real, I am glad they never came to be. In our age of rehashes and reboots and sequels twenty to thirty years after the fact, it's been proven repeatedly that you just can't re-catch lightning in a bottle.

Zemeckis' film boasts all the requirements of film noir - loser detective, femme fatale, patsy, shadowy noir look, corrupt big business interests - and yet is really an anti-noir: the negative stereotypes are reversed; the dissolution of boundaries and breakdown of reason, so traumatic in noir, is here celebrated.

This is the work of the animation half, itself a form hostile to boundaries and reason, even if the thriller mechanics means it is not quite as liberated as the average Looney Toon. Not only is this (possibly) the first blockbuster film to allude to Joyce's 'Ulysses' (the Toon Town/Night Town sequence), but is also an allegory of the McCarthy era, reminding us how animation bravely protested when live action kept schtum.

I appreciated the inventiveness of this when it came out in the late '80s It was quite the "talk" of the business the way they mixed live characters with cartoon characters. That now has been copied, of course, but this was one-a-kind when it was released.

For me, I never could warm up to the film. I tried several times but found Bob Hoskins and the animated characters so loud and so abrasive that it turned me off, big-time. Yeah, I was as amazed as anyone at some of the scenes, how seamlessly they blended it all to make it look so real. However, that abrasiveness wears thin, particularly after you've seen this movie at least once. This is like watching a loud: fun for awhile, but 100 straight minutes?! Tooo long.

Warning: this is NOT a kids' movie. One reviewer here writes "is's a great family film"....antihero writes "any member of the family will like it,",,on and on and on. Oh, man are the film world (and its critics so out of touch .There are some swear words, sexual innuendos and blatant sexual overtones every time the character "Jessica" is on screen with her huge breasts, thin waist and gyrating hips. Folks, that's why this is adult viewing. Adults - not kids - get it?