Who Framed Roger Rabbit

June. 21,1988      PG
Rating:
7.7
Subscription
Rent / Buy
Subscription
Trailer Synopsis Cast

'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect.

Bob Hoskins as  Eddie Valiant
Christopher Lloyd as  Judge Doom
Joanna Cassidy as  Dolores
Charles Fleischer as  Roger Rabbit / Benny The Cab / Greasy / Psycho (voice)
Stubby Kaye as  Marvin Acme
Alan Tilvern as  R.K. Maroon
Richard LeParmentier as  Lt. Santino
Lou Hirsch as  Baby Herman (voice)
Betsy Brantley as  Jessica's Performance Model
Joel Silver as  Raoul

Similar titles

The Man with the Golden Arm
Prime Video
The Man with the Golden Arm
A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
The Man with the Golden Arm 1955
To Die For
Starz
To Die For
Suzanne Stone wants to be a world-famous news anchor and she is willing to do anything to get what she wants. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in cold determination and diabolical wiles. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she is forced to destroy anything and anyone that may stand in her way, regardless of the ultimate cost or means necessary.
To Die For 1995
2 Fast 2 Furious
Prime Video
2 Fast 2 Furious
It's a major double-cross when former police officer Brian O'Conner teams up with his ex-con buddy Roman Pearce to transport a shipment of "dirty" money for shady Miami-based import-export dealer Carter Verone. But the guys are actually working with undercover agent Monica Fuentes to bring Verone down.
2 Fast 2 Furious 2003
Wag the Dog
Wag the Dog
During the final weeks of a presidential race, the President is accused of sexual misconduct. To distract the public until the election, the President's adviser hires a Hollywood producer to help him stage a fake war.
Wag the Dog 1997
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Prime Video
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliot who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliot, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982
Trainspotting
Prime Video
Trainspotting
Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends -- Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind when Begbie shows up at his front door on the lam, and a scheming Sick Boy follows.
Trainspotting 1996
Interview with the Vampire
Paramount+
Interview with the Vampire
A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.
Interview with the Vampire 1994
The Usual Suspects
Prime Video
The Usual Suspects
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.
The Usual Suspects 1995
The Wizard of Oz
Max
The Wizard of Oz
Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.
The Wizard of Oz 1939
Already It's Tomorrow
Already It's Tomorrow
One minute a girl is out on the road, and the next she is waking up in a strange room with a boy she does not know and a day has passed.
Already It's Tomorrow 1961

You May Also Like

Tropic Thunder
Prime Video
Tropic Thunder
A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film ever. After ballooning costs force the studio to cancel the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter real bad guys.
Tropic Thunder 2008
Back to the Future Part III
Prime Video
Back to the Future Part III
The final installment of the Back to the Future trilogy finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.
Back to the Future Part III 1990
Space Jam
Prime Video
Space Jam
Jokes fly as the Tune Squad takes on the Nerdlucks in a hardcourt game to decide if the Looney Tunes remain here... or become attractions at a far-off galactic off-ramp called Moron Mountain. The Nerdlucks have a monstrous secret weapon: they've stolen the skills of top NBA stars like Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing and become Monstars. But that's not all, folks. The Tune Squad’s secret weapon just happens to be the finest player in this or any other universe. He's outta this world. So's the fun.
Space Jam 1996
Beetlejuice
Max
Beetlejuice
A newly dead New England couple seek help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.
Beetlejuice 1988
Back to the Future
Prime Video
Back to the Future
Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.
Back to the Future 2023
Back to the Future Part II
Prime Video
Back to the Future Part II
Marty and Doc are at it again in this wacky sequel to the 1985 blockbuster as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen and a pesky sports almanac. In a last-ditch attempt to set things straight, Marty finds himself bound for 1955 and face to face with his teenage parents -- again.
Back to the Future Part II 1989
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Prime Video
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
In 1938, an art collector appeals to eminent archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. Indy learns that a medieval historian has vanished while searching for it, and the missing man is his own father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr.. He sets out to rescue his father by following clues in the old man's notebook, which his father had mailed to him before he went missing. Indy arrives in Venice, where he enlists the help of a beautiful academic, Dr. Elsa Schneider, along with Marcus Brody and Sallah. Together they must stop the Nazis from recovering the power of eternal life and taking over the world!
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Prime Video
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliot who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliot, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982
The Little Mermaid
Disney+
The Little Mermaid
This colorful adventure tells the story of an impetuous mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the very human Prince Eric and puts everything on the line for the chance to be with him. Memorable songs and characters -- including the villainous sea witch Ursula.
The Little Mermaid 1989
Hook
Prime Video
Hook
The boy who wasn't supposed to grow up—Peter Pan—does just that, becoming a soulless corporate lawyer whose workaholism could cost him his wife and kids. During his trip to see Granny Wendy in London, the vengeful Capt. Hook kidnaps Peter's kids and forces Peter to return to Neverland.
Hook 1991

Reviews

Matialth
1988/06/21

Good concept, poorly executed.

... more
Fairaher
1988/06/22

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

... more
Kaydan Christian
1988/06/23

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

... more
Allison Davies
1988/06/24

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

... more
AndrewHeaney1
1988/06/25

This film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, and Charles Fleischer.The story revolves around a crime that the cartoon character, or "toon," Roger Rabbit has been, to quote the title, framed for.Okay, let's get one thing out of the way (SPOILER): The villain "twist" for who they are and what they are is so painfully obvious from the moment of his introduction early on in the film. This is a huge problem, and would only fool me if I was a 6-year-old watching this.The great news is, even without this, the film is a very solid and entertaining experience. The story, aside from the villain, is very creative. The characters are all good to say the least. And you know what hit me? This is the film I wanted to see when I was a kid. All my favorite cartoon characters together. There is no painful "modernization" of the characters or dialogue at all. Robert Zemeckis' direction is fantastic. There are even some scary and dramatic moments that hit home, too!I loved this movie, and I recommend it (but seriously, who has not seen it?) and I will be returning to it several times in the future.RATING:8/10

... more
Foreverisacastironmess
1988/06/26

I love this movie so very much, I think it's a sublimely-crafted one-of-a-kind amazing experience of a film to watch on various levels, and I don't believe that there's ever been another one that combined the use of animation and live action that has even come close to the kind of pure magic that was achieved so perfectly with this wondrous little picture back in '88. With every scene you can feel the downright astronomical effort that must have been put into every moment of the movie to make you fall in love with the fantastical world that it presents. They really pulled out all the stops to make you believe that cartoon characters were walking and talking with real world regular people, and nothing is lazy whatsoever about the production of the animation and live-action combinations, they gave the animated characters animated shadows, they had the physical environment reacting to the frequently calamitous movements of the toons as well as the actors reacting to them, such as when Jessica pinches R.K. Maroon's cheeks, and the ultimate hybridisation of the physical and animation stuff is the rather terrifying toon form of Judge Doom! I find it such a joyous marvel to sit through and it was always a big favourite of mine and I love it just as much now as when I was a kid, it gives me a warm feeling just to think of some of the scenes, like the entire sequence at the Pink and Paint Club, and the sweet Betty Boop cameo that saw the voice actress resuming her iconic voice role after fifty years and the way that she seems to be the only toon at that point in the story that Eddie Valiant has nostalgic admiration for. I'm always blown away by the whole opening sequence where Eddie walks down the 40s street to that terrific classy music score while the toons chaotically go about their business everywhere and the film in general seems to come with a sense of nostalgia that's built into its very fabric and atmosphere. I mean you'd have to be totally heartless for there not to be some little thing that you love or appeals to your inner child about it, because if the rich tone, fantastic visuals and great sight gags don't grab you, the characters will! The sadly late but forever great Bob Hoskins was solid in his role and was really the grounding force of the movie as his good old-fashioned down on his luck hard-boiled detective completely contrasts with and reacts to all the weird and wacky characters around him, and undergoes a real arc as he delves deeper into what's going on and uncovers the dark secret that threatens all of the toons and regains his humour, pride, and respect for them along the way. He and Roger made a great unlikely team, and as hyper and loud as he is, Charles Fleischer delivered a voice performance as Roger that was very lovable and endearing, which I think is because he occasionally reigned in his energy a little and gave the manic clownish rabbit moments that help to make him more well-rounded and relateable. And of course he is enormously backed up by his significant other Jessica Rabbit, who arguably stole the show! What a sassy legend the movie made in her, she's so brazenly sexual and it's so hilariously blatant the the way the buxom babe sensuously sashays around in her scenes! She's the most human-like of all the toons and does feel more like a human than one of them, with the exception of her reaction when she's faced with the dreaded Dip! Kathleen Turner gave her the ideal voice that perfectly captured the traits of a classic sultry femme-fatale... And Christopher Lloyd was just phenomenal as the ice cold and utterly ruthless terror of Toon Town, Judge Doom! He's a villain who by his commanding presence alone brings the fear to a generally happily-toned picture - due in no small part I'm sure to the frightening threat that he poses to the seemingly indestructible toons with his Dip, as clearly demonstrated for the audience in the famously chilling moment where a poor helpless shoe gets it! On subsequent viewings the little signs of his true nature are cool to spot, not just the constantly billowing cloak, but how he always avoids the Dip, how he can smell Roger on the record, how he moves kind of stiffly and has odd skin that's almost rubbery and teeth that are too big and white! I love the mystery of Doom, how could a toon who's purpose is supposed to be to bring joy and laughter yet who disguises himself as a stern humourless man, be so completely evil and twisted that he'd concoct an elaborate scheme to ultimately give him the power to eliminate his own kind? When the truth is finally revealed and the mask comes off(sort of), he's finally free to let loose and really goes creepily crazy with it!! I think what would have made a perfectly great happy ending even better, would have been if they'd have made a kind of callback to the poignant early scene in Eddie's office, by showing new pictures of Eddie and Delores on their planned vacation, joined by Jessica and Roger this time, and maybe some showing that Eddie and Roger had teed up as a new detective duo: Valiant and Rabbit! I think Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a solid gold classic because not only is it a fantasy come to life and a loving homage to the beloved animated characters of yesteryear, but also because it creates such an amazing alternate reality within the world of the movie that feels so rich and alive and fun to watch and that you'd love to be a part of and is so memorable and precious, it's a glorious celebration of childhood joy, animation, ingenuity, and the imagination. X

... more
lasttimeisaw
1988/06/27

Robert Zemeckis' fifth feature movie at the heel of the phenomenal BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985), WHO FRAMED RABBIT ROGER is an enormously entertaining amalgamation of live-action and traditional 2D animation, unprecedentedly assembles a plethora of cartoon characters from both Disney and Warner Bros. stocks. A none-too-mind-boggling whodunit in 1940s Hollywood where human society co-exists with a toon world. Rabbit Roger (voiced by Fleischer) is a name toon star who is framed for the murder of Marvin Acme (Kaye, in his silver-screen swan song), the mogul of Acme Corporation, and a human private eye Eddie Valiant (Hoskins), whose past tragic brush with the toon world still rankles, is dragged into the scramble to shake thing up, scupper a deleterious scheme of the evil Judge Doom's (Lloyd), settle the old score and finally he and Rabbit Roger establish a mutually respected bond between humans and toons. Decades later, the picture still looks pristinely stunning, a seamless coalescence of the 3- dimensional real world with the 2-D fantasy inspires great immediacy and fun, in both scenarios where Eddie is thrown into the toon-land or the other way around, toons wandering in the Hollywood lot or engaging a car-chasing in the street of L.A.. A petulant Hoskins is quite gung-ho in acting in front of a green-screen, and Lloyd is a palatable villain with cardboard identity and a cunning plan which is too prescient to be sardonic. A shrewd revelation of the villain is the victims' very own kind, would spawn different reactions from various projects, on the negative side, Frank Oz's god-awful THE STEPFORD WIFE (2004) brings to mind, but here, it can easily bypass any unwarranted hard feelings as who gives a fig about what a fruitcake toon thinks. The main cartoon characters are tailor-made to defer to the lowest common denominator - a kid's talkie, Rabbit Roger comes off as irritably garrulous, and his pleading of "toons are made to bring laughter" rings hollow since it fails to connect with today's reality, as we have been constantly assured and re-assured that animated works can do a whole lot more than cheap pratfalls and belabored jokes; the overtly risqué image of his wife Jessica (voiced by an uncredited Kathleen Turner) shows the industry really doesn't mind pigeonholing female characters into wishful- thinking love interests with inherent crassness, which is also confirmed by the one-note girlfriend role from Joanna Cassidy. On a larger scale, the movie's overwhelming success has at least partially sparkled a rekindled mass appreciation of the studio animation, which in the decades to come, has been prevailing over the global market henceforth, a throwaway question mark arises, nevertheless, how come a sure- fire sequel has yet to be green-lit regarding that the innovation in the animation department has already gone through a sea change, certainly, its appeal would exceed those live action performance-capturing ventures Zemeckis has consistently but unfruitfully experimented thrice in THE POLAR EXPRESS (2004), BEOWULF (2007) and A Christmas CAROL (2009).

... more
powermandan
1988/06/28

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was not the first movie to combine cartoon with real things. It was just the best movie to do so and still remains the best. Who Framed Roger Rabbit helped popularize the double usage. Yogi Bear, Smurfs, Casper, and Alvin & The Chipmunks are some of the best known movies like Roger Rabbit of recent times. The first reason Roger Rabbit surpasses those is because of the kind of animation that is used. The pure CGI stuff used in Yogi Bear and Smurfs is easy as hell in comparison with this. The 80s was when people needed to draw out cartoons by hand. I highly doubt there were 50 frames drawn by hand per-second used for the cartoons, but whatever. I saw a special feature that looked through how the actors would be communicating with the cartoons, and that was enough. Roger Rabbit provides constant asking "How do they do that?" I don't want to know anymore behind-the-scenes tricks because the magic would be lost. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is not specifically for children. Kids under the age of 9 should be accompanied by adults. There's sexual innuendo, drinking, smoking, and profanity out of youngsters' reach. Besides, adults would appreciate the work that went into it and understand the story better. This is a neo-noir, so the story is guaranteed to be complex. Bob Hoskins plays a down-on-his-luck detective named Eddie Valiant who is sent to spy on Roger Rabbit's wife Jessica who is suspected of cheating on him with the owner of Toontown. It is true and Roger is heartbroken. The next day, the man is murdered and Roger is the prime suspect. Baby Herman explains Roger is innocent and mentions the man's plans of Toontown. Soon, Valiant uncovers a deadly conspiracy of betrayal, lies, deceit and murder in which Roger and his wife are just a small piece of the puzzle.This is a truly funny movie and all characters are lovable. This uses every film noir trick in the book but adds warmth and hilarity with wonderful cartoons.

... more