Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Creating a thread for this movie so we can gush over this movie!

I remember seeing this movie on TV a few times and every time I watched I thought it was unreal,there's no way it should have worked but by some miracle it did!

Also,I really appreciate how they featured toons from the era when color was'nt widely used,like Betty Boop.

Edited by Ultimatum on Sep 7th 2023 at 10:05:10 AM

I used to have this on VHS when I was very little (and too young to really understand it).

It's even funnier when you realize it's a parody of Chinatown.

As a kid I just knew this as "that film where the Disney characters and Looney Tunes interact".

One thing I've learned recently is because of the All Animation Is Disney mentality that plagues a lot of people who aren't that into animation, is they'll watch Roger Rabbit, and not understand or appreciate the novelty of this concept.

I love this movie.

When I was very young, the Dip scene gave me nightmares.

It's rather ironic in how it predates the overreliance on CGI and shows how to do it right. The production took incredible pains to include on-set props, visual references and other special effects so the animation could be matched and timed to it. Physical guns, water splashes, raking the blinds... all done in real time.

The freakiest scene to me was the reveal of Judge Doom's Toon nature. Followed by his own ironic demise by his own Dip.

I still mourn little shoe.

[Censored] Doom.

> It's rather ironic in how it predates the overreliance on CGI and shows how to do it right.

They had access to Green screens from what I can gather.

It's a testament to their acting talent that, in a film full of some of the most iconic cartoon figures ever made, Christopher Lloyd still steals the show.

A bit of Fridge Brilliance: the penguins from Mary Poppins appear in the movie, despite it taking place years before Mary Poppins premiered - but they appear as waiters, not as film actors. They've been working as waiters before they got their film debut!

Edited by Snicka on Sep 10th 2023 at 1:13:20 PM

An interesting thing is also that the toon artists are exploited by humans and can be a metaphor for several minorities.

Well yeah. Toontown = Chinatown.

Oh yes, that wasn't this explicit in the French dubs.

This movie is also a good demonstration that a detective movie can have an Obviously Evil antagonist and still be fun. Granted, Doom is introduced as an Inspector Javert / Hanging Judge type, trying to hunt down Roger for the murder he's accused of, but him being the actual murderer is not a big surprise.

Also, I noticed that the humans in the movie also act in an over-the-top, cartoony manner - not just Doom, who has a good reason for it, but also Eddie, Marvin Acme and a few others. But it makes sense - these are people who regularly interact with toons, so some of their mannerisms also become toon-like.

It's mentioned in the backstory that Eddie and his brother used to visit Toontown all the time and really enjoyed it. Eddie's even still good friends with a Toon despite his brother's murder at the hands of one souring him on them.

What's really great is that Eddie helps save the day not by acting like a typical hardboiled detective character, but by embracing his more "toony" side.

I also like the "joke" of Roger Rabbit and Jessica Rabbit.

In-universe, Roger Rabbit is the one who married down and most toons think she's the one who lucked out. Which is initially very funny and we assume that toons have very different beauty standards.

Except, Roger Rabbit is a famous comedian and movie star. There's nothing weird about it.

(And Roger and Jessica's relationship is also genuinely just affectionate, it's not about fame or money or looks)

So, triple subversion?

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Sep 11th 2023 at 2:54:52 AM

In-universe, Roger would be like a C-lister, wouldn't he?

I mean, he's no Goofy.

he'd be like a D lister

I dunno, I was thinking he was actually Maroon Cartoon's chief draw.

He's also the star of what appears to be a Tom and Jerry analog.

So if Maroon is running behind Disney and Warner, he's more likely a B-lister.

Either way, he's the star of his own cartoon shorts alongside Baby Herman. Which is what Bugs and Mickey are stars of at this time.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Sep 11th 2023 at 3:12:53 AM

I think the idea is supposed to be that Roger is the big star of a less powerful studio. So, basically, like a Woody Woodpecker but a few years earlier.

I guess if you're giving a ranking to it, a "B-lister" is probably a good bit.

Edited by KnownUnknown on Sep 11th 2023 at 6:47:19 AM

Fun thing that is very noir, Jessica WAS cheating on Roger.

It's just that doesn't diminish her love for her husband.

And it's never explained.

It's just...not important.

For what it's worth, she later explains that she was forced to play paddycake with Marvin Acme by R.K. Maroon. With the explicit threat that he would sabotage Roger's acting career if she didn't.

I funnily don't remember that part.

Has anyone read the novel this movie was based on? From what I heard, it's much more cynical, especially regarding Roger and Jessica's relationship.

Edited by windleopard on Sep 11th 2023 at 5:16:41 PM