Film Lookback: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

“Is that a rabbit in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?”

There is no movie studio more prevalent in today’s film world than the reigning empire that is Disney. The studio’s iron-fisted grip on the film industry is almost frightening. They would dare not collaborate with other film studios unless they were able to reap most of the rewards. But what if I told you that there was a time where Disney were not the massive monopoly that they are today, and that they were even willing to work with their biggest competitor, Warner Bros., in an attempt to make something truly ground-breaking. Some of you may be looking at the title of the film and think that I am reaching for something far deeper from a movie with a, seemingly, simple concept. But there is far more to this film than just a live action-animation hybrid with familiar characters from both Warner Bros. and Disney. It is a story with an underlying message about racism and overcoming one’s own bigotry. The book that this film is based on, ‘Who Censored Roger Rabbit?’ is much clearer on the comparisons to said racism. This movie provides us with one of the greatest landmarks in animation history as well as being a creative way of teaching us the importance of acceptance. This is Robert Zemeckis’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Our story places it’s focus on Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), an alcoholic and prejudiced detective that lives in a world where humans and cartoons live together. Eddie despises toons after his brother was killed by a mysterious toon with a high-pitched laugh. In this world, toons are actors that work in the familiar cartoons of the 40’s. One of these famous toons is Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer), an eccentric toon who is framed for the murder of Marvin Acme, the head of the Acme movie studio. Roger finds himself in the company of Eddie who begrudgingly agrees to help Roger clear his name. During all this, Roger’s flirtatious and provocative wife, Jessica (Kathleen Turner) is following the ventures of the irate detective. What her goal is and what her intentions are remain a mystery. All of this sleuthing and intrigue is wonderfully complimented by the villainous Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd), a chief officer assigned to track down Roger and a man who seems to have an even greater hatred for toons than Eddie.

In it’s most simplistic interpretation, this movie is a buddy cop mystery with a cartoon rabbit as one of the leads, but if you go deeper, you’ll find something that is both brimming in creativeness and social commentary. While not being the first movie to combine both live action and animation, it does a lot with the possibilities, it was truly a technological marvel of the time. In this world toons and humans follow their own unique rules of nature; humans are bound by the standard limitations of the real world, while toons operate on the rules of the infamous slapstick cartoons of the golden age. The only thing that can kill a toon is a mysterious acidic goop called ‘the dip’, otherwise they can take something like a grand piano to the head and still survive. The film makers have a lot of creative liberties with these ideas and it’s never wasted. The way the feverishly animated characters interact with the contrasting stiff look of the humans creates a heightened reality that one can easily accept, the concept is ridiculous but the movie is so indulged in it’s own reality that it’s easy to simply play along with these rules. Everything is like a childhood dream come to life, it’s something that you can’t help but smile at, allowing yourself to be taken away into a world of pure childish wonder.

The movie not only uses these elements to create something entertaining, but to also turn it into something thought-provoking. It’s easy to just view this movie as a fun-nonsensical flick with basic substance but if one looks deeper you can see the seedlings of an allegory for a perpetuating message about racism. The time period of which the film is set, the 40’s, is also a period of when racism was at a higher level. Many of the cartoons of the time would often mock people of color, so it’s only fitting that the film use characters that were prevalent during this era. Eddie uses the death of his brother as a reason to despise all toons, this is common with the themes of prejudice as many racists often use personal experiences as justification for their views. These comparisons are only heightened when we see that the toon world is separated from the human world. In contrast to Eddie, Roger provides a more welcoming disposition, trying to actively challenge Eddie’s personal gripes in the only way a toon knows how; through zany antics, though Roger has his more serious moments, including a scene where he literally stands atop a soap box while giving a speech.\

Outside of these elements, the movie is mostly viewed as a landmark of entertainment. Though I often go in to movies with a more critical eye, I still have a great love of pure entertainment. This movie delivers this very thing with amazing gusto. Each character provides a distinct personality that you can’t help but enjoy. The two leads work incredibly well together, this is notable due to them being two completely different entities. This is especially impressive as the two actors did not interact with each other. There is, somehow, a ton of chemistry between a human and a cartoon, being surprisingly organic. Jessica is a strong character than can easily be brushed off as lazy sex appeal, but she is shown to be a strong character that uses her sexuality as a weapon, playing on how many female characters of the era where simply used as an outlet for pent-up animators to unleash their misogynistic views in cartoon form. Judge Doom is the most animated of the entire cast, despite him being human, this plays into a later revelation that is only punctuated by Lloyd’s dedicated performance.

To top off all of these entertaining aspects is the innate joy one gets from seeing iconic characters like Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny sharing the screen for the first and only time, providing us with something that seems impossible in today’s media industry. One scene that is pure genius comes not from seeing the company mascots meeting, but instead from their lesser counterparts, Donald and Daffy duck. This one scene, which features the two iconic ducks having a fast-paced, violent piano battle, feels like the passionate scribbling of a dedicated fan who has been given the opportunity to bring his dream to life. The pacing, the energy, the simple visual of seeing these characters together is pure perfection. I have a great love and respect for the golden-age cartoons, they were made at a time when animation was often viewed as a all-encompassing medium rather than simply seen as a children’s format. Seeing this scene, coupled with the amazing visual of Toontown is like opening a door to your childhood. It’s something special that feels like it can only be brought to life through one’s imagination. To see this visualized is perfect.

This film will always have a special place in my heart. It’s not the most endearing movie, it’s not a movie that needs to be analyzed or picked apart, but it’s one that leaves an impression. I grew up on a lot of 80’s cinema, an era blanketed by the big-budget blockbuster movies. While my views on films have changed into something more analytical, I will always find myself referring to this decade as my favorite. This film encapsulates this very decade, despite it being a period piece, and is coupled by the timelessness of the cartoons of the early years. The allegories towards racism are certainly there, but at it’s base level, it’s simply entertaining. I would encourage you all to check it out, but I’m sure you’ve already seen this one. Check it out again anyway.

Side note: I can do a pretty mean Roger Rabbit impression, and Goofy while I’m at it.

Written review by C. Johnson.