Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Vista Series)
May 2003 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Many film producers have endeavored to mix animation with live action. MGM put Jerry the cartoon mouse into a dance number in Anchors Away (1945). The Disney studio mixed cartoon characters into its live-action Song of the South in 1946. The same studio went on to successfully marry cartoon characters and live actors in Mary Poppins (1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). Though these are all excellent examples, they pale before the perfection achieved in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The mix of animation and live action in this 1988 film is singularly believable. It helps that the plot is set in 1947 Hollywood at the lot that produces Maroon Cartoons. Marvin Acme, owner of the factory that produces all those imaginative Acme products, is murdered. Acme was also the owner of Toontown, an animated area located adjacent to Hollywood, and it is suspected that Maroon Cartoons’ star Roger Rabbit was the murderer. Roger begs former Toon crusader, gumshoe Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), to pursue an investigation to get him off the hook. The ensuing chases, deceptions, intrigues, and action sequences provide over an hour and a half of the most entertaining footage ever shot using a Tinsel Town theme.

It must be a hitherto unknown supposition that lawyers enjoy cartoons, because it must have taken a herd of them a long time to work out all the legal logistics for this movie. Their efforts allowed cartoon characters from different studios to appear in the same movie. Donald and Daffy, Duck that is, battle it out in a duo piano number at a Toon bar; Dumbo flies by a window; even Betty Boop, still in black and white, turns up as a waitress. Almost everyone’s favorite pops up at some point: Bugs, Tweety, Mickey and Minnie, Yosemite Sam, they are all there. Add the new Toons, wacky Roger with his voluptuous wife Jessica, a Veronica Lake look-alike with a superstructure that makes Dolly Parton look flat, and round things out to perfection with Christopher Lloyd as Judge Doom, a sinister villain on Roger’s trail. It all adds up to perfect casting.

The special effects still look ideal, and the new THX transfer reveals all. Whether it’s the intricate tweed in the period jackets of the day, the bright polka-dot dresses, or the garish colors in the Toon costumes, every detail is sharp and clear, and devoid of edge enhancement or any other artifact. The sound is just as detailed as the picture. The surrounds are never used except to complement the action on the screen. Since they are only there when we really need them, these back channels are most effective. In this two-disc set, the movie is presented in both a 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic transfer (disc 2) and a 1.33 transfer that seems a blend of full frame and pan and scan (disc 1).

There are tons of extras, and most of them as much fun as the movie. The original film opens with a Maroon Toons cartoon starring Roger and Baby Herman (who smokes cigars off camera), so it seems logical that there were three spin-off cartoons used to open other movies. These are spectacularly produced chase thrillers in the spirit of Tom and Jerry, and feature animation equal to that found in the original film. Rollercoaster Rabbit, which finds Roger trying to take care of Baby Herman at an amusement park, features some of the most effective surround sound that I have ever heard.

These cartoons are all on disc 1, which also contains "Who Made Roger Rabbit," a hysterical documentary hosted by Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger. The first disc concludes with "Trouble in Toontown," which is a set-top DVD game.

Disc 2, which showcases the widescreen anamorphic transfer of the movie, has a spirited and entertaining commentary by director Robert Zemeckis, with the participation of Frank Marshall, Jeffrey Price, Peter Seaman, Steve Starkey, and Ken Ralston. It contains a somewhat bizarre deleted scene, and many small documentaries that shed a great deal of light on the filmmaking process. There is also "Toontown Confidential." This is a viewing option that, when turned on, exhibits subtitles that you can read while you watch the movie. The subtitles are loaded with trivia fun and facts.

This affordable DVD set contains hours and hours of delightful family viewing. A great value-for-dollar item, it is also a sure winner to go on the best DVD of 2003 list.

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