Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Director Robert Zemeckis backs up Back to the Future (1985) with this live action/animation mix, a family noir (if you will) set in a world where people co-exist with cartoons. When Roger Rabbit - a cartoon movie star - is accused of murder, his only hope at being proven innocent lies with a hard-drinking, 'toon-hating private detective (Bob Hoskins).
Featuring breakthrough craftsmanship in the way the film blends animation with the real world, the films was a massive hit, won three Oscars, and helped revitalise an interest in America's golden age of animation. The characters that populate Roger Rabbit include those from Disney (Mickey Mouse et al.), Warner Bros (Bugs Bunny et al.) and Fleischer (Betty Boop et al.).
Less1988Rating: PG100 minsUSA
AnimatedComedyCrimeKids & Family
- Director:
- Robert Zemeckis ('Back to the Future' trilogy, 'Flight', 'Cast Away')
- Writer:
- Jeffrey PricePeter S. Seaman
- Cast:
- Bob HoskinsChristopher LloydJoanna CassidyCharles FleischerRichard LeParmentier
Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Reviews
97%71 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Time Out
At its best, the humour is as cruel, violent, and surreal as vintage Chuck Jones. Supremely entertaining - especially for adults.
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Variety
The real stars are the animators, under British animation director Richard Williams, who pull off a technically amazing feat of having humans and Toons seem to be interacting with one another.
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Total Film
An ingenious blend of hand-drawn animation and live action, spliced with humour that's by turns madcap, surreal and violent, Roger Rabbit demonstrates that it's possible to push the technical boundaries while still cooking up decent characters and plots.
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The New York Times
Although this isn't the first time that cartoon characters have shared the screen with live actors, it's the first time they've done it on their own terms.
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Roger Ebert
Sheer, enchanted entertainment from the first frame to the last -- a joyous, giddy, goofy celebration of the kind of fun you can have with a movie camera.
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Los Angeles Times
For audiences who grew up with cartoons as a natural part of their moviegoing, the shock may not be the mix of live and animated folk--it may come from the truly revolutionary sight of great icons of rival studios cheerfully rubbing shoulders.
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Empire Magazine
The first blend of animation and live-action that seemed so natural we felt the characters were real. There's many a lad still harbouring a crush on Jessica Rabbit.
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BBC
Visually stunning and creatively superior, Zemeckis's work is frequently staggering and always entertaining.
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