What Makes "Who Framed Roger Rabit?" Great.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is a film that walks a tightrope with both the challenges of juggling the nostalgia and awe of seeing this classic cartoon characters in the real world with real people as well as other cartoon characters that you never thought would be on screen together. It does all that masterfully, but the other part of that tightrope is you caught to have an engaging story with memorable characters that can effectively work off the world you create, and that balance of those two things is where this film truly shines.

Taking place in 1947 during the golden age of both Hollywood and American Animation, the film is set in a fictionalized version of Los Angeles where humans and "Toons" as their called co-exist, and everybody loves the Toons except for Detective Eddy Valiant (Bob Hoskins), an alcoholic who always has a bottle of Alcohol and a wise-ass remark on him at all times. After a tragedy that involved a Toon dropping a piano on his brothers head, Eddy has (seemingly) developed a disdain for all things Toons. Despite this prejudice, Eddy soon finds himself in a mess after a job he is hired for ends with the murder of business tycoon "Marvin Acme" (Stubby Kaye). The Evidence seems to point to Cartoon Star Roger Rabbit who goes to Eddy for help in clearing his name while avoiding the clutches of the sinister"Judge Doom" (Christopher Lloyd).

The film is an absolute treat to anyone who has ever loved the golden age of animation, almost every iconic character in animation at the time from companies like Disney, Warner Bros, MGM, and more make an appearance in some way, shape, or form. It really is amazing that all these companies put their rivalries aside and allowed their characters to flourish in such an amazing way. It allows for some great moments such as a piano battle between Daffy Duck and Donald Duck, and a ride through "Toon Town" where Eddy is bombarded with Cartoon Characters, including Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny at the same time, a scene that blew everyone's mind including mine, as a kid before I saw this movie I never thought I"d see that, but there it was. The way that director Robert Zemeckis his effects team mash the live action with the animation is done in a way that hasn't been done before or since. The way they interact, touch each other is a technical marvel. The scene that makes this stand out has got to be the introduction to "Jessica Rabbit" in which she performs at a club, the way she walks around the real stage and flirts with the patrons is brought to life so effectively, she blends in with the set so well and the way she flirts and messes around with Eddy and how she physically touches him is so well done. Add that to the great camera work by Dean Cundey and some great lighting to the scene, and you have one of the most impressive uses of visual effects in cinema history.

While one of the film's goals is to be a tribute to the Golden Age of Animation, it also makes sure to add a compelling narrative with compelling characters. Bob Hoskins is terrific as Eddy Valiant, While at first glance he seems like just a simple downer with a disdain for Toons, you soon find there are more layers to his character then you thought before. He is presented as a man in a state of grieving and the film really captures that in a great scene in Eddy's apartment where he looks through some of his old pictures and newspaper headlines involving him and his brother which reveal that they were detective duo who worked with and had a love for Toons. This brings some legit happiness to Eddy that We hadn't seen in the film up until that point, it is both heartwarming and sad, and the slow jazz score by Alan Silvestri adds to the emotional ouch of the scene. It's after this scene and scenes throughout the film that we can interpret that the reason Eddy doesn't like to be around Toons not because he hates them, but because they did once make him so happy, and being around them perhaps makes him miss his brother and his old life too much. Now don't get me wrong, the film still is first and foremost a buddy comedy with some great comedic moments between Roger and Eddy, Roger Rabbit could have easily become annoying at some point in the film, but he never reaches that point and his over the top Cartoon characteristics make for great chemistry with the deadbeat Eddy, and you have got to give Hoskins and the actors credit these rules can't be easy, having to act on screen with someone that isn't really there must be quite the challenge. Speaking of which, the supporting roles are also very memorable, I love how many of the characters are as over the top as the Toons. Despite their small roles Stubby Kaye and Alan Tilvern are great as Marvin Acme and R.K Maroon respectably, Joanna Cassidy is great as Eddy's love interest, and of course, the great character actor Christopher Lloyd is amazing as Judge Doom. I love how he doesn't even hide that he is the bad guy with the all black attire, and his menacing line delivery, nothing about Lloyd's performance is subtle and that's why it's so great.

Zemeckis and screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman also show such attention to detail in regards to the time period. The art direction and the costume design just scream 1940s Los Angeles. They also pay tribute to the major genre of the time, and that is "Film-Noir", which dominated Hollywood after WW2. It has all the staples of films of the genre and time like jazz soundtrack by Alan Silvestri, the protagonist taking a job that becomes more than what he bargained for, the Femme Fatal in Jessica Rabbit, and the use of shadows in which the film has a clever joke in which Eddy's shadow responds with a "Gazunrite" after Eddy sneezes, and Eddy has a classic double take of Eddy simply responding "Thanks" before turning around again. The film also has very cleverly established rules in its world, for example, when Eddy is trying to get the cuffs off him in Roger which is keeping them together Roger simply pulls his hand out of his cuff and says he could only do that when it was "funny". The Toons are also vulnerable to the same tricks in actual cartoons. Eddy does the popular Bugs Bunny trick on Roger where he is trying to get him to take a drink to which he says "you don't" to get Roger to say "I do", the penguins who serve at the club where Jessica performs take the "Scotch on Rocks" order literally, and Eddy uses the lane of the road to cause a crazed Toon woman chasing him to run into a building.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is a film for just about everyone. It's emotional, it's heartwarming, it's a little scary at one point, but most of all it's funny. It's a film that I always get a big smile from, both during and after watching it.