Rating: 
Summary: You'll be on your couch for hours...
Review: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" finally came onto a DVD release (instead of that crappy 1999 release) that is teeming with extras.1) The Movie Based on the book "Who Censored Roger Rabbit" (which had the characters as comic strip stars instead of cartoon ones), the film has characters Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) and Roger Rabbit (voice by Charles Fleischer) hoping (no pun intended) through a murder mystery. Eddie is sent out to prove Roger's sensual wife Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner) is having an affair with the owner of the Acme company. Eddie succeeds and shows Roger the pictures, which makes Roger extremely sad and jealous. The day after it turns out that Mr. Acme was hit on the head with a safe (what else?) in the Acme Warehouse the night before. It also turns out that Roger was at the Acme Warehouse around the same time! All fingers point to Roger, as he must be the one who did it because he was jealous about Mr. Acme's "supposed" fling with Jessica. The evil and supicious Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) wants Roger for the murder...now. He has plans to excute him a new fashion that is being used to kill toons, Dip (which turns out is made of the same elements to clean animation cels in the commentary). Roger soon turns up at Eddie's office for help. Eddie, extremely reluctant at first, starts to grow a friendship with Roger. It comes to an hilarious end in this wonderful movie, and it is the only film to find Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny in one scene...together...talking to each other! 2) The Extras There are two discs: Family-Friendly and For the Enthusiast. Don't worry, the movie is on both discs. The family-friendly disc has sparse features, though. It also is very easy to navigate, and this disc doesn't have a director's commentary. Basically this disc was made so even a 5 year-old could get to the movie by himself. The extras on the family-friendly disc are 3 Roger Rabbit shorts, a breif 10-minute kid-friendly "Who Made Roger Rabbit", hosted by Roger himself, Charles Fleischer, and a "Trouble In Toontown" game. The 3 Roger Rabbit shorts are the only reason (except for the hidden original theatrical trailer. Hint: Push down on the main menu) to pop in the disc if you're a film enthusiast and/or a Roger Rabbit fan. They all feature the same basic story: In a Maroon Cartoon, Roger has to take care of Baby Herman and ends up in wild fashion. The real treat of each of these are the endings. Shown with Disney films through 1993, the shorts are extremely well thought out, clever, and hilarious with a personal touch by Mr. Spielburg himslef. The shorts are as of follows: *Tummy Trouble (1989, released with "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids") is the first animated short to be released by Disney since 1961. It was also the most expensive animated short at that time. It features Roger trying to help Baby Herman when he swallows a baby rattle. Wouldn't you know that a Roger Rabbit short helped the "Honey, I" franchise to get popular. Many Roger fans flocked to it to see the short, yet they were also pleasantly suprised to see what followed. (NOTE: Freeze-frame the part where Roger and Baby Herman are falling through the hospital floors, and they reach a bathroom. Mickey Mouse is inside one of the stalls) *Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990, shown with "Dick Tracy") immediately followed, also helping "Dick Tracy" get a decent run in the box office. It features Roger and Baby Herman trying to chase a red balloon, and yes, as the title suggest, ends on a wild roller coaster ride. Did you know that Spielburg wanted this short to preceed "Arachnaphobia"? *Trail Mix-Up (1993, shown with "A Far Off Place") was a big suprise to many Roger fans, as a short (this is also the last short) had not been produced and released in almost three years. It is also the first cartoon short to use computer animation, and it shows. This is defintely the best looking of the shorts, with excellent effects to keep you watching and laughing. It features Roger trying to chase Baby Herman through the forest, leading to a Splash Mountain-esque ride through a saw mill. The only bad thing about the shorts is that they don't come with commentary. Now, onto the "For the Enthusiast" disc, this IS the disc for film buffs. A little hard to navigate (they could've sharpened up the menu a bit), but wonderfully done. This disc features both the movie and the commentary, along with a slew of extras. The commentary is great, with Robert Zemickis and others who pitched in with the film. They offer great trivia, such as the fact that Judge Doom used to be the one who shot Bambi's mother! Other extras are a "Before and After" featurette, having Bob Hoskins going through Toontown...with both the final product and the original shot product with blue-screens simutaneously. Another is "On-Set!", a look at the Benny the Cab scenes before the animation. Another has puppet figures as stand-ins for the toons. "Toontown Confindental" is a trivia opition that allows you to have continous trivia along with the film. "Behind the Ears: The Making of Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is an excellent 36-minute documentary that you really just need to take the time and sit for. "The Pig-Head Sequence", a deleted scene is feature also here. It has Eddie snooping through Jessica's office, and Judge Doom finds out. To get back, the Judge has his weasels throw Eddie into Toontown. Eddie comes back with an animated pig head on his face. At his office, Eddie uses turpintine to get the pig head off. Now you know why Eddie wasn't wearing a shirt when Jessica came to greet him in the final film. "Valiant Files" combines image gallerys with a snoop-feature. You can look through Eddie's office for images, or just use the cheat sheet if you're lazy. This has some great images and drawings, a must-see. Well, that's pretty much the DVD in my words. A wonderful buy for all. The film has themes and language that a 10-12 year old could pick up and not be suitable for, but anyone with an age lower than that would not catch it. You'll be on your couch for hours, as my title says, watching this DVD...
Rating:
Summary: the WHOLE THING is great!!!
Review: I originally saw previews & working scenes for the upcoming 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' waaaay back in late 1984. This was on a 'Disney channel' special & the next 4 years had me curious of WHAT it would be like. Finally, in June 1988, it was released and the 'classic animation boom' trend had begun [leaving us with shows like 'The Simpsons' & numerous 'Hanna-Barbera' 'Disney' & other 'revival' cartoons in it's wake]. OK, I'll shut-up now about the origin & history trivia.[:-)]
The 1989 VHS release was nice, but WOW! -- This 2 DVD set is movie-release marketing AT IT'S BEST! Not just having two versions of the film [full frame & letter box] but all the extra's! I won't list them since all my fellow 'Roger' enthusiasts have already done a great job! Having 'Benny the Cab' take YOU on a tour of the town & studio is also weird & hilarious! It's really cool to see the infamous 'deleted Pig-Head scene' also [previously only known to us who bought 'art-books' etc. on this subject]. The 'tunnel' into 'Toon Town' is also more recognizable in THIS scene [I always wondered where it was filmed!] and is clearly the small 'tunnel' in Griffith Park, Hollywood Hills. [Unfortunately the tunnel in 'real life' doesn't take you to 'Toon Town', but the other side of the 'Observatory entrance' AND it isn't a mile long! ...aww gee-wiz!]
As another reviewer said, this film won several awards AND was a huge hit at the box office back then -- which caused me to hope they'd make a 'sequel', but never did. After seeing the interviews with the people who made the film, one of them [sorry, I forgot his name] said how 'difficult' it was to make, so I guess that answers MY question! [:-)]
Anyway, this is a VERY NICE home video release. Hollywood owes most of it's fame to great films like THIS one!
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Summary: *WhO dOeSn'T LiKe RoGeR RaBBiT??* ^~READ ME!!~^
Review: *THE FABULOUS BASICS*
When I first watched "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" the whole movie through about a week ago, I instantly loved it. The way real actors and actresses pretend to talk,argue,flirt,kiss, and interact with the animated drawings is astounding. The characters are wonderfully drawn, and their personalities (e.g. Roger's silliness, Jessica's slinkyness, Eddie's sourness...) explain them all too well.
*THE MOVIE *
This movie is about a grumpy detective (Eddie Valiant) who stumbles upon the case of his brother's death. His beloved brother and long-time partner was killed by a Toon (cartoon). There is a man (sorry I forgot his name, but he's played by Christopher Lloyd) who is the bad guy of the movie, (you can tell by his long black jacket, dark glasses, evil look and black top hat)and is trying to tell everyone that Roger, a silly toon Rabbit is the culprit. Eddie runs into this Rabbit and Roger desperetley pleas innocent. Eddie starts to believe Roger and finds out who the real killer is. Throughout the movie, the audience meets many new characters. Some are listed below: *Jessica Rabbit- Roger's voluptuous wife. She is a gorgeous woman with wits, looks, and to top it all off, that exaggerated body of her's which seems to help make the movie rated PG.
*Baby Herman- a wisecracking baby who may look like an infant cherrub, but is really a cigar-smoking tough guy.
*Dolores- owns a cafe, helps Eddie with his case
*Mr. Acme- You know that in all of the Warner Brother cartoons the supplies such as TNT, instant black holes and invisible ink all are labeled "ACME", well, this is the man who invented all of these supplies. He is a plump, dough faced man who loves a good trick.
This movie is one that belongs in your classic collection, and you won't ever forget this lovable film for the whole family!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Fun just won't stop.
Review: Now, as we know, this movie broke ground back in 1988 with it's spectacular animation and sound effects, earning it FOUR (4) Oscars, which were for Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, 1988 Special Achievement in Animation Direction, and Best Film Editing. The movie was based after a book, called, Who Censored Roger Rabbit, but the movie will keep you glued to your screen with gags such as "The problem is I got a 50 year old lust in a three year old dinky", which, in turn, earned it a PG rating, and for this, you should caution, or should I say, take yield, in showing this to kids at the age where these things make a lasting impression. But for the young kids with out those thoughts, you have no problem, except in keeping them interested, because to a, say, five year old kid, some parts are hard to follow, but the appearances of Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Dumbo, and the Cast of Walt Disney's Fantasia will keep them on the look out for others like Tweety, Daffy Duck, those penguins from Mary Poppins and other familiar characters. For those older viewers there is the wonderful plot as alcoholic Eddie Valiant uncovers subplot after subplot to bring the movie to a colorful, breathtaking ending. The musical performance by Bob Hoskins while keeping your kids entertained, you entertained, and Grandpa entertained. The special features are great, they include deleted scenes, Audio Commentary, Three Roger shorts, a DVD game, a mini-documentary about the making of Roger Rabbit, Facts and trivia, Spilt screen comparison w/ and w/o animation, a in-depth, documentary, Toon stand-ins, showing the process of the animation, and a tad bit more. It also comes with two photos, glossed, of Roger and Jessica. In the end, you'll love it.
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Summary: Roger Rabbit DVD -- Version 2
Review: Reviewing the movie: "Who frameed Roger Rabbit" (without the question mark, because it's bad luck) was the "E.T." from the end of the eighties; when this movie was released, almost there was no CGI graphics in the movies (the "Digital era" began at the mid of the 90's); this movie was a land mark in the way of the making special effects and animation (every single animated frame was made with pencil and ink -- everything was drawed), but not only that, it's the first (and maybe the only and last) movie that brings together the Looney Tunes and the "Mouse Pack" among other Toons. This movie was directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) and produced by Steven Spielberg (Jaws, The Schindler's list) and it won 4 Academy Award (with a special achievement award for animation direction). The plot is about a detective, Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) that must help a Toon to clean his name of the charge of homicide, this toon is Roger Rabbit (Chales Fleischer); in this world, all the humans and the toons coexist hand in hand (even the toons that we saw in all the animated shorts from the 40's and 50's were actor under the contract of the many Hollywood studios); however, all the toons are segregated in a place named Toontown (here, we can see a couple of references of the racism that US lived in the post-war era). The movie is rated PG, because it's sexual innuendo and the mature subject (i feel that this movie is more oriented to adults than kids) Reviewind the DVD: This package contains 2 dvd: Family Friendly (with the Full screen format of the movie and the Roger Rabbit's animated shorts, among other kids oriented to kids, like games and puzzles) and For Enthusiasts (with the widescreen version, deleted scene (the famous "Pig Head"), comparisions before and after the toons where added to the film (specifically the Toontown secuence), production notes, audio documentary, featurettes, etc); the sound is very good (THX certified... even a speaker of mine fall down in the "THX sound"); the case of the dvd was something like a card-box (pretty, but i prefer the plastic cases); in the foreign language support, i feel that it could be better, the movie includes french, english and spanish tracks, but lacks form spanish subtitles (i think that it has french subtitles, but i'm not sure), the worst part is that all the extras has no subtitles at all! (not even english subtitles) so if you don't know english, you're going to suffer a little. Anyway, this DVD is much better that the first (that was released a couple of years, and if you love this movie, you'll love the dvd!
Rating:
Summary: Great fun and visually impressive!
Review: Animated movies have continued to improve successively with each passing year culminating with entire movies composed only of computer graphics. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is an exceptional fusion of live action and animation that helped break the mold. The continuity of the scenes are so fluid that you can't distinguish the seperation of the live from the animated. There are no computer graphics whatsoever and all the animation is hand drawn which is pretty incredible. If you're one of the viewers, like myself, who opted to avoid the first release of this movie on DVD for something better, then you know that the Vista Series release is something special and a wonderful 2 disc set at a great price. Split between one disc for children and families and one disc for special feature enthusiasts, there is enough material here to keep everyone pleased for hours. The demonstrations of the melding technique of live action and animation is especially interesting. The movie itself is vibrantly colorful and crystal clear. DTS surround sound is superb and compliments the whole experience. Filled with great humor from start to finish and a huge cast of cartoon characters from all genre's past and present, this movie is a top-notch crowd pleaser all around. This is a great addition to any DVD collection and comes highly recommended to all.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny
Review: this is a classic. it's really funny and the way they combined cartoons with people believably was really cool. You should see it
Rating:
Summary: A classic innovative masterpiece!!!
Review: Who Framed Roger Rabbit is nothing short of a masterpiece and way ahead of its time. At first glance, the film appears to be for the kiddies, but this is a somewhat complicated murder mystery with plenty of dark humor and hilarious jokes. The special effects and flawless blend of animation and live action--which are remarkable--never detract from the story and in the end they add a great dimension to this fine motion picture. Simply put, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a landmark film. You could sit and marvel at the breathtaking special effects, and be fooled into thinking that they are the only reason it is any good. But even though the special effects are stunning, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a film experience like no other. It's a brilliant piece of work, utilising numerous elements to make it unforgettable. It blends comedy, film noir, romance, drama, horror, and any other style you can think of, into one roller coaster ride of a movie. The film takes us back to 1947, into the hectic life of Hollywood. The only difference here is that Toons are living, breathing creations, that interact with humans. Toons live in Toon Town (obviously) but also come out to play in our world, and also to make a living in the glitzy world of showbiz. Roger Rabbit is a big star with Maroon Cartoons, but life isn't being very good to him lately. He can't seem to get a scene right, and no matter how many times he bangs his head, he just won't see stars. Studio owner R.K. Maroon is suspicious that Roger's wife, the seriously smouldering Jessica Rabbit, is being adulterous, so he enlists the help of private detective Eddie Valiant to catch her out. Eddie is a bitter, sullen man, and has a deep hatred for Toons ever since his brother and partner Teddy was killed by one (via a piano being dropped on his head). Still, Eddie takes the case, and catches Jessica playing "patty cake" with Marvin Acme, the head of the Acme Corporation, responsible for such things as hand buzzers and singing swords. When Roger finds out, he becomes hysterical, and vanishes into the night. The next morning, Acme is found dead, and Roger becomes the prime suspect in the case. On the run, Roger hooks up with Valiant, and swears that he was set up, an intriguing mystery in a truly wonderful film. Who Framed Roger Rabbit never slips up in the quality department on any level. The performances are strong, the script switches from comedy to drama with ease, the direction is potent, and the special effects are amazing. Even after over a decade, they still look as fresh and real as ever. Bob Hoskins does a great job as Valiant; completely believable as a sour man out of his depth on a job he could do without. Christopher Lloyd is suitably terrifying as Judge Doom. His climactic scenes are ones that will stay with you long after the film has ended. Joanna Cassidy is under-used but effective as Dolores, giving a sexy and snappy performance. The vocal performances are also first rate; Charles Fleischer is perfect as maniacal Roger, and Kathleen Turner makes Jessica into one of the most sensual animated characters ever created. Robert Zemeckis does a great job directing the piece, and you can't review the film without mentioning the many cameos from popular cartoon stars. Highlights include Donald Duck and Daffy Duck in a war of piano skills, and Tweety Bird's rather callous treatment of Eddie as he clings to his life off the side of a skyscraper. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is an essential film that everyone simply needs to see. Once seen, it will stay with you forever. A film deserving of the term "classic".
Rating: 
Summary: A CLASSIC BUT NOT RESTORED
Review: The fourth home video incarnation of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? is a fully-loaded, double disc set with tons of extras and a great commentary track. The film has never looked better. There's a family friendly full screen version as well as a pristine widescreen transfer. Part film noir, part period who dunnit and part cartoon, this breakthrough mixed genre is most remarkable for Bob Hoskins' incredible performance as an American gumshoe's bad acid trip into a demented toon town. And there's not a single frame of computer generated imagery. The publicity material claims this is a restored version, but alas the infamous frames (about 76 minutes into the film) of a panty-less Jessica Rabbit remain excised. I could find no Disney spokesperson who would comment on this silly censorship. Sorry, you'll have to see the original VHS tape or the laser disc if you want to be titillated by Jessica's cartoon crotch. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Blending of Animation and Live Action
Review: It seems difficult to believe that this movie came out in 1988. As I watched the new Vista Series release, one part of me kept thinking computer graphics, but I knew that there were no digital computer effects in this movie. All the effects that you see are a combination of animation and physical special effects. However, you do not need to know that there were no computer effects in this movie to enjoy it. The story: Roger Rabbit was framed for the murder of Marvin Acme, played by Stubby Kaye. Bob Hoskins, playing gumshoe Eddie Valiant, finds that he has been suckered into being part of setting poor Roger up to take the fall. Sounds like film noire, and in fact it is, with one tiny twist; Roger Rabbit and many of the characters in this movie are "Toons", short for cartoons, of course. What follows is a twist on the detective movies of the 30s and 40s, only with everything larger than life and with a good dose of humor. The animation in this movie is nothing short of fantastic. The special effects used to simulate the interaction of the cartoon characters and the human actors are so seamless that eventually you accept that the cartoon characters are "real". The animation was so good that the movie won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1988, along with several other Academy Awards. One fascinating feature of the animated characters is the appearance by characters from multiple studios. Though Touchstone Pictures, a division of Disney, made this film, there are Warner Brothers characters, Woody Woodpecker, Betty Boop, Droopy Dog and a host of Disney characters from Dumbo to Donald Duck. Such inter-studio cooperation is unusual, but works extremely well for this movie, making the movie much more believable and enjoyable. The combination of film noire, animation and humor in the movie make the movie suitable for adults and children. However, some scenes are somewhat intense, garnering the movie a PG rating, so parents should consider whether the movie is suitable for the youngest members of the family. While I could spend more time on the movie itself, I think the movie speaks for itself. It was highly lauded by a number of critics when it came out, and the movie did very well at the box office and in release on video. Instead, I'd rather focus on the features of the Vista Series release. This release contains two DVDs, with more features and extras than I was aware existed. The two DVD's contain three animated shorts that were made after the success of "Who Made Roger Rabbit". There are commentaries, pictures, and several features related to how portions of the movie were filmed. One of the most interesting features show comparisons between Bob Hoskins and his actions against a blue screen in comparison to how the final scenes came out. Another interesting feature shows how plastic dolls were used to aid in setting up shots. A deleted scene with Bob Hoskins in a pig's head is also included, along with the reasons the scene was deleted. One of the complaints regarding the previous releases has been that there was this wealth of material available, but not available on a video release. I think much of the material regarding how this movie was made and the trivia associated with it is included in this DVD. I spent several hours going through the material and I'm not sure that I've seen it all yet. I only have one small complaint regarding all this material. The material was not well-organized and I had a hard time finding specific features, and found myself jumping from screen to screen to find everything. In fact, I'm not sure I've found it all yet. Of course, that also means you get the thrill of discovery each time you find a feature listed on the box that you struggled to find in the first place. For the aficionado of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" that has sought more information about the movie than was previously available, your version of this DVD is here. The movie itself is just as fresh and amazing today as it was in 1988. The extras are numerous and are nearly worth the price of the DVD by themselves. Five stars for a film that will likely continue to amaze audiences for decades to come.
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