Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #437 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-09-08
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Animated, Collector's Edition, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Russian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
This zany, eye-popping, knee-slapping landmark in combining animation with live-action ingeniously makes that uneasy combination itself (and the history of Hollywood) its subject. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is based on classic Los Angeles private-eye movies (and, specifically, Chinatown), with detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) investigating a case involving adultery, blackmail, murder, and a fiendish plot to replace LA's once-famous Red Car public transportation system with the automobiles and freeways that would later make it the nation's smog capital. Of course, his sleuthing takes him back to the place he dreads: Toontown, the ghetto for cartoons that abuts Hollywood and that was the site of a tragic incident in Eddie's past. In addition to intermingling cartoon characters with live actors and locations, Roger Rabbit also brings together the greatest array of cartoon stars in the history of motion pictures, from a variety of studios (Disney, Warner Bros, MGM, Fleischer, Universal, and elsewhere): Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Woody Woodpecker, Droopy Dog, and more! And, of course, there's Maroon Cartoon's greatest star, Roger Rabbit (voice by Charles Fleischer), who suspects his ultra-curvaceous wife, Jessica Rabbit (voice by Kathleen Turner: "I'm not bad; I'm just drawn that way"), of infidelity. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Contact), not since the early Looney Tunes' "You Oughtta Be in Pictures" has there been anything like Roger Rabbit. --Jim Emerson

Amazon.co.uk Review
The words unique and groundbreaking are often bandied around in cinema, but on its original release in 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a genuine landmark in filmmaking. It remains a movie that has lost none of its impact. While many special effects in the cinema have a tendency to date, what is most noticeable here is how vibrant and fresh the combination of real actors and animation still appears. Created long before the days of CGI and other computer-enhanced aids, the hand-drawn characters have a real frisson and life to them that stems from their cartoon heritage (Jessica Rabbit must still rank as one of the all time great screen sex symbols). The human performances are also superb, from Hoskins' downtrodden PI to Christopher Lloyd's insane villain. Those experiencing this film for the first time will find as much to enjoy here as those who saw it years ago.

On the DVD: Who Framed Roger Rabbit on disc focuses both on the film's fun element and its background. A collection of Roger shorts is included, along with a deleted scene and a clever interactive game. The documentary charting the history of the film is a little brief and presented in an annoyingly crazy style, yet is full of fascinating snippets, particularly the pre-animation footage and the secrets of the special effects team. It is slightly disappointing that there is so little input from any of the movie's key figures, though. Technically, the film's original print and soundtrack has been given a digital overhaul, allowing Spielberg and Zemeckis' astounding vision to burst into life on the small screen. But in the end this impressive package could have delivered even more. --Phil Udell

Special Features
Toontown Confidential
The Roger Rabbit Shorts
Who Made Roger Rabbit?
"Trouble in Toontown" Game
Deleted scene: Pighead Sequence
Languages: English, Russian
Subtitles: English, English for the hearing impaired, Russian, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic

Customer Reviews

Just Wonderful
Brilliant film and at an amazing price. My children (ages 8,6 and 3) absolutely adore this film. Bob Hoskins is amazing and the cartoons just look so real!

There's lots in this film for adults to see- over and over again.

One word of warning my children had previously only seen this film on video recorded from T.V. and that had had 2 or three bits cut out. Beware the 'dipping of the shoe' is in this version and they might get a bit upset.

Roger Rabbit. See it!
Who framed Roger Rabbit was hailed as a giant leap for animation. It blended the world of live action and cartoon seamlessly. It is a film that has never been bettered even though some have tried. But more than this it is one of the funniest animated films ever created. It has very engaging characters, superb plot and a plethora of cartoon cameos. All in all a fantastic cinematic treat!

The Rabbit Gets Some Justice At Last
Filmmakers have been combining animation and live action since the days of silent film--but 1988's WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT not only bested everything done previously, it set a standard that is unlikely to be surpassed. Although it has been available on VHS and in a mediocre DVD release for quite a few years, the film finally gets the star treatment in this "Vista Series" double DVD release, which includes the film in both pan-and-scan and letterbox formats and an assortment of extras, many of which are quite interesting.

The concept and story are well known: cartoon characters are not drawings, but are living entities who work in the film industry, and when Maroon Cartoon star Roger Rabbit is accused of murdering Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), he turns to private detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) for help. Trouble is, Eddie hates "Toons." After all, one of them offed his brother, and Eddie hasn't been sober since. The concept is a clever one, and the story could have gone in any number of directions--but ROGER RABBIT hops down a completely unexpected trail. Set in 1947 Los Angeles, the film uses classic "noir" elements (and references everything from THE MALTESE FALCON to CHINATOWN); it also makes considerable sly social commentary on racism, with the "Toons" performing in a Cotton Club-like nightclub, literally working for peanuts at the studios, and more or less confined to living in "Toontown," which might easily be read as social ghettoization. And all of these sidelights are interesting and entertaining. But the most attractive thing about ROGER RABBIT is that it is just plain fun to watch.

Part of that fun comes from the marvelous performances of Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd (as the evil Judge Doom), and Joanna Cassidy (Valiant's sidekick Delores), who lead the live action cast. Another chunk of the fun is the way in which the film cameos a host of famous cartoon characters, ranging from Betty Boop to Bugs Bunny and the Warner Bro.s gang to Dumbo--and animation buffs will love the fact that Betty Boop and Bugs Bunny, to name but two, are voiced by the artists (Mae Questel and Mel Blanc) who created the character voices in the first place. But the big deal here is the extremely believable way in which the "Toons" fit into the real world. They rendered with astonishing detail and remarkable three dimensionality. It's just an amazing thing to watch.

The overall DVD package is a bit odd, for it offers less in the way of bonuses than one might expect. The first disk includes a pan-and-scan version of the film, three Roger Rabbit/Baby Herman shorts, a kid-friendly documentary, and a CD-ROM game; the second disk offers the letterbox film with extras that will appeal to more mature viewers, most particularly on-set shots and a nifty documentary called "Behind the Ears." The upshot is really a one-disk release that has been expanded to two by the trick of cramming both pan-and-scan and letterbox versions into a single package. That's annoying--but even so, this is easily the best release of this film to date. It at gives the rabbit some justice at last, and I give it five stars on that basis.