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    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1980s
    Movies - 1980s Movies - W 4 Mins Read

    Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

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    Forget the big-name actors in movies like Around the World in 80 Days, Murder on the Orient Express and Mars Attacks!

    Here’s the real all-star cast: Mickey, Bugs, Donald, Daffy, Goofy, Yosemite Sam, Betty Boop, Woody Woodpecker, Droopy and more, along with a long-eared newcomer named Roger. . .

    Who Framed Roger Rabbit? not only boasted the most impressive cartoon lineup in movie history, it was a groundbreaking achievement in mixing those toon actors with live-action stars like Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd. It also happened to be more fun than you can shake a portable hole at.

    rogerrabbit_021Like any good movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? begins with a short cartoon – Somethin’s Cookin’. Manic bunny Roger Rabbit is left in charge of adorable Baby Herman, who gets into one dangerous situation after another.

    Roger risks life and furry limb to protect his charge, but when a refrigerator falls on his head and a flock of bluebirds circle his noggin, it’s the last straw.

    Live-action human director Raoul J. Raoul shouts, “Cut!” and a now foul-mouthed and cigar-smoking Baby Herman complains that Roger’s blowing his lines (he was supposed to see stars, not birds), and Roger is threatened with being fired.

    It’s Hollywood, 1947, and in an upstairs office at Maroon Cartoons, studio honcho R.K. Maroon hires detective Eddie Valiant on a job.

    rogerrabbit_012

    Roger’s been distracted by his shapely cartoon wife Jessica, and Maroon thinks she’s been “playing pattycake” with gag tycoon Marvin Acme.

    Eddie hates toons (one killed his brother), but he needs the cash. Over at the Ink and Paint Club – where Betty Boop is a cigarette girl and Donald and Daffy Duck wage a war of duelling pianos – Eddie gets photos of Jessica’s pattycake affair.

    Roger is crushed by the photos, and the next morning Marvin Acme turns up dead.

    Naturally, Roger is the chief suspect, and creepy lawman Judge Doom promises to find him and throw him in the “Dip” – a combination of turpentine, acetone and benzene, the only way to kill a toon.

    rogerrabbit

    A panicked Roger forces Eddie to take his case, and the two set out to unravel a complex plot involving L.A’s planned freeway system, a mysterious will, and the neighbouring world of Toontown, home to cartoon characters great and small.

    Simply put, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was unlike any film the world had ever seen.

    Not only was the technique first rate – cartoons cast shadows, carried real silver trays, spat real water, etc. – but the story, based on Gary K. Wolf’s novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, was a unique blend of 1940s film noir with the classic cartoons of the same decade.

    The film itself was the result of an unprecedented collaborative effort. Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) got directing credit, but Richard Williams’ animation direction (which won a special Oscar) was just as vital.

    Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman adapted the novel to the screen, adding non-stop gags, one-liners and inside jokes, while executive producer Steven Spielberg personally helped arrange the teaming of Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, MGM and Universal cartoon characters, a potential legal nightmare.

    rogerrabbit_025Of course, none of this mattered to the kids in the cinemas, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? knew it.

    The movie never let its innovation spoil its fun.

    Fast, funny and filled with recognisable faces, the film was a young moviegoer’s dream come true, and it was family entertainment in the best sense of the word.

    As the critics praised the movie’s genius, children of all ages made Who Framed Roger Rabbit? one of the biggest hits of the year.

    Roger himself became a Disney cartoon star in his own right, appearing in shorts before movies like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and Dick Tracy (1990), staking a claim to join his A-list co-stars in the Toontown Hall of Fame.

    Eddie Valiant
    Bob Hoskins
    Judge Doom

    Christopher Lloyd
    Dolores

    Joanna Cassidy
    Roger Rabbit

    Charles Fleischer
    Benny the Cab

    Charles Fleischer
    Greasy

    Charles Fleischer
    Psycho

    Charles Fleischer
    Marvin Acme

    Stubby Kaye
    R.K. Maroon

    Alan Tilvern
    Lt. Santino

    Richard Le Parmentier
    Baby Herman

    Lou Hirsch
    Jessica Rabbit

    Kathleen Turner
    Jessica Rabbit (singing)

    Amy Irving
    Raoul J. Raoul

    Joel Silver
    Augie

    Paul Springer
    Angelo

    Richard Ridings
    Stretch

    Mike Edmonds
    Soldier

    Lindsay Holiday
    Editor

    Morgan Deare
    Bongo the Gorilla

    Morgan Deare
    Teddy Valiant

    Eugene Guirterrez
    Mrs. Herman

    April Winchell
    Betty Boop

    Mae Questel
    Bugs Bunny

    Mel Blanc
    Daffy Duck

    Mel Blanc
    Porky Pig

    Mel Blanc
    Sylvester

    Mel Blanc
    Tweety

    Mel Blanc
    Donald Duck

    Tony Anselmo
    Yosemite Sam

    Joe Alaskey
    Mickey Mouse 

    Wayne Allwine
    Minnie Mouse

    Russi Taylor
    Goofy

    Tony Pope
    Pinocchio

    Peter Westy
    Woody Woodpecker

    Cherry Davis
    Lena Hyena

    June Foray
    Droopy

    Richard Williams
    Singing Sword

    Frank Sinatra

    Director
    Robert Zemeckis

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