Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
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A private investigator with a grudge against toons must help exonerate a rabbit framed for murder in a world where humans and cartoons coexist.
The story
Set in an alternative history Hollywood in 1947, where humans and cartoon characters (referred to as "toons") co-exist, Who Framed Roger Rabbit follows Eddie Valiant, a private investigator with a grudge against toons, who must help exonerate Roger, a toon who has been framed for murder. After the murder of Marvin Acme, the owner of the Acme Corporation, evidence implicates Roger. Eddie is hired by the owner of Maroon Cartoon Studios to investigate the case. As the investigation unfolds, Eddie must navigate a world where the line between reality and animation is blurred, while facing the threat of the 'dip', a chemical substance capable of destroying toons.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1947 Los Angeles, humans and 'toons' coexist. Eddie Valiant, a private investigator who dislikes toons, is hired by R.K. Maroon to investigate his star, Roger Rabbit. After the murder of Marvin Acme, Roger is framed for the crime. Eddie discovers that Roger is innocent and finds evidence of Acme's will. He learns that Judge Doom, a sinister human judge of Toontown, intends to use 'the dip' to destroy toons and seize Toontown for a freeway project. During the investigation, Eddie discovers that Roger's wife, Jessica, was being blackmailed by Maroon. After a series of confrontations, Eddie and Roger escape the Toon Patrol. In the climax, they reach the Acme factory where Doom reveals himself as a toon and the murderer of Eddie's brother. Eddie manages to destroy the dip machine, and the resulting explosion destroys the machinery. The film ends with the discovery that Acme's will was written in invisible ink, ensuring the toons inherit Toontown, and Eddie regains his sense of humor.
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 104
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Zemeckis
- Writers
- Jeffrey Price · screenplay; Peter S. Seaman · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Bob Hoskins · Eddie Valiant; Christopher Lloyd · Judge Doom; Stubby Kaye · Marvin Acme; Joanna Cassidy · Dolores; Charles Fleischer · Roger Rabbit
- Genres
- fantasy; comedy
- Themes
- coexistence; identity
- Tone and mood
- humorous; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- live-action/animation hybrid; mystery; noir
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim for its visuals, humor, writing, performances and groundbreaking combination of live-action and animation.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 8.5 · scale: 10 · review count: 76; Metacritic · score: 83 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Film Editing · Win; Academy Award · Best Sound Effects Editing · Win; Academy Award · Best Visual Effects · Win; Special Achievement Academy Award · animation direction · Win
- Production trivia
- The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2016.; It was the first and only time in animation history that characters from Disney's Mickey Mouse and Warner Bros' Looney Tunes franchises officially appeared on-screen together.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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