PG, 104 min.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Jeffrey Price,
Peter S. Seaman, Gary K. Wolf (novel)
Starring: Bob Hoskins,
Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Stubby Kaye, Alan Tilvern
Voices: Charles Fleischer,
Kathleen Turner, Lou Hirsch, Mae Questel, Mel Blanc, Tony Anselmo, Mary T.
Radford, Joe Alaskey, David Lander, June Foray, Russi Taylor, Richard Williams,
Wayne Allwine, Tony Pope, Frank Sinatra
I was never as taken with
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” as many others seemed to be. I always felt it was
loud and messy. It is, but I’m not so sure that’s a flaw anymore. I don’t think
the zaniness of cartoons like Looney Tunes are necessarily successful because
of those traits, however. Robert Zemeckis seemed to think that was the essence
of cartoons in his 1988 live action/cartoon hybrid.
What I missed about the film
when I was younger was its homage to the history of both cartoons and cinema.
Just about every famous cartoon character that ever graced a screen before this
film was made is referenced in some background of this movie somewhere, but a
great deal of classic cinema is referenced as well. When I was 15, I wouldn’t
have noticed that Valiant hangs his hat on the Maltese Falcon in his office,
for instance.
The truth is this is a
fairly good gumshoe detective story. It has all the calling cards of classic
noir. The innocent man accused. The damaged hero. The femme fatale who is
nothing what she seems to be. The scene-chewing villain. It’s a good introduction
to the genre for people needing a slightly juvenile push. And, it is amazing
that Disney was able to use all those other companies’ properties. Those Looney
Tunes are the most obvious crossovers. Others might have been public domain at
that time. I don’t really know.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment