This is one of my recent finds. I had not added the DVD of Who Framed Roger Rabbit to my library and had been on a tear to try and find a copy to share with my daughters. Oddly enough, I could not find a copy anywhere locally, but thanks to Amazon I was able to snag a DVD set for about $14.
I remember reading all about this movie as it was being produced. I was still in college at art school and the stories were swirling around about this cool new animated + live action film was going to break all the rules.
Being a Mickey Mouse fan, as well as growing up on Looney Tunes cartoons, this was a dream come true. All my favorite cartoons together on one big screen.
The story of the film is taken from a book Who Censored Roger Rabbit by Gary K. Wolf and revolves around a talking rabbit, not that one, a private detective, a beautiful dame and a murder. In a classic sendup of the film noir style Who Framed Roger Rabbit tells an amazingly fun and whacky tale that runs rampant through the real and toon worlds; with all of the cartoon shenanigans of the classic Tex Avery style of zany.
If you have not seen this film, I really do not want to spoil much of the surprises. Suffice it to say, the rabbit and his detective pal take a wild ride to solve the crime and meet a host of cartoon stars along the way.
This DVD set also has some great behind-the-scenes information, shorts and other selected goodies that any fan will appreciate.
Budget for the film was estimated at $70 million and went on to gross over $150 million in the US alone, but that was an incredible figure for a production in the mid-late 80s.
The movie was nominated for numerous awards and won several Oscar’s in 1989:
- Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing – Charles Campbell, Louis L. Edermann
- Best Effects, Visual Effects – Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Ed Jones, George Gibbs
- Best Film Editing – Arthur Schmidt
- Special Achievement Award to Richard Williams for animation direction and creation of the cartoon characters.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
released: 1988
director: Robert Zemeckis
writers: Gary K. Wolf (novel “Who Censored Roger Rabbit?”), Jeffrey Price (screenplay) & Peter S. Seaman (screenplay)
starring: Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant, Christopher Lloyd as Judge Doom, Joanna Cassidy as Dolores, Charles Fleischer as Roger Rabbit / Benny The Cab / Greasy / Psycho (voice)
Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Full Screen, Live, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), French (Unknown), Spanish (Unknown)
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number of discs: 2
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Disney Home Video
DVD Release Date: March 25, 2003
Run Time: 104 minutes
Special Features
Fully restored and remastered
Two discs–one family-friendly, one for the enthusiast
“Who Made Roger Rabbit” featuette
“Behind the Ears: The True Story of Roger Rabbit” new documentary
Set-top game, “Trouble in Toontown”
Deleted scene, “The Pig Head Sequence”
“Toon Stand-Ins” featurette
Toontown Confidential–pop-up style trivia viewing mode
The Valiant Files–interactive set-top gallery
Split screen comparison
Companion booklet and collictable glossy
Roger Rabbit shorts: “Tummy Trouble,” “Rollercoaster Rabbit,” and “Trail Mix-Up”
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