Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) - ★★★★★

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Gary K. Wolf (Novel), Jeffrey Price (Screenplay)
Stars: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, Joanna Cassidy

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a funny, clever and nostalgic masterpiece. Fans of Disney and The Looney Tunes would no doubt get a kick out of seeing all of their favourite characters playing extras in this movie. It's a mixture of old Hollywood noir and modern comedy. As a child, this was my absolute favourite movie. As an adult, I can honestly say that this is one of the greatest movies of all time.


When famous cartoon character Roger Rabbit (Fleischer) is framed for murder, his only hope of proving his innocence lies with a man named Eddie (Hoskins), a detective who despises cartoons. In their quest to clear Roger's name and find the real murderer, they come across all sorts of crazy and dangerous toons.

Let me start off by saying Jessica Rabbit is the sexiest cartoon character in the history of the medium. She's like a mixture of Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and Veronica Lake. What I love about this movie is that each toon has their own hilarious niche. The old toons are the same as ever, providing laughs in unexpected ways. I loved the originality of the new toons, who were even funnier than the classics. Somebody give that rabbit his own show on Cartoon Network!

Bob Hoskins was spectacular as a rough, no-nonsense detective. He and Roger Rabbit make up one of the most hilarious partnerships in movie history. Even though Roger isn't even present, Hoskins' skilful acting always makes it feel like he is. The attention to detail was sublime, not a thing was out of place. Christopher Lloyd gave a bone-chilling performance as the evil Judge Doom. When I was younger, that character scared the living hell out of me.

This movie works because it respects the genre that it pays homage to. It follows the same formula as old Hollywood detective movies, but with the twist of following the comedic formula of famous cartoons. I never would have thought that you could combine the two. That's what makes this a masterpiece. Zemeckis did something that has never been done before and hasn't been done since. It's one of the most original, hilarious and oddly thrilling movies I've ever seen.