“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” is actually two terrific movies, an opener and a feature, that are both worth enjoying with any shorties over the age of 6.
This groundbreaking mix of live action and animation from 1988 starts with a bang, a rattle and a crash. Roger, the dimwitted titular rabbit, is sitting for the cookie-obsessed Baby Herman, and a long sequence of disasters follows Herman’s quest for the cookie jar.
The inventive series of Rube Goldberg-ian kitchen calamaties conjures up memories of the best in Warner Brothers and Disney slapstick over the decades.
Cut, suddenly, to the ‘toon movie set; it turns out Roger and Baby Herman are living, breathing characters who are the Toon Town part of a mixed universe. The ‘toons are directed in films by live humans, and the two life forms live uneasily side by side in Hollywood.
Hapless Roger is married to the spectacularly bodacious Jessica, a lounge singer whose body parts seem to have their own animator. The unlikely couple get caught up in a murder mystery with the live-action side of town.
The private investigator, a perfectly surly Bob Hoskins, must overcome his hatred of ‘toons to help out.
Like all the best family films, “Roger” speaks on many levels. The slapstick and character voices keep young ones more than engaged, while the commentary about ‘toon racism and the whole breaking-the-fourth-wall concept provokes the adult mind. The mixing of characters from many studios — Disney’s Donald and Warner’s Daffy ducks on dueling pianos, for example — demonstrate the complex back story of this ambitious production.
Rated: PG, with slapstick, some mature language, a few risque references most children won’t even notice.
Best suited for: Lovers of noir and classic animation, watching with children 6 or older
