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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is
a hybrid of genres: a film noir and a murder
mystery grafted onto the hypertext of the animated
cartoon. The plot centers on washed-up detective
Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins). Shifting between his
own inner demons of a brother who was killed while
on a case and his alcoholism, Eddie's luck appears
to take a turn for the better when R.K. Maroon
hires him for a cheap and easy snoop job. But the
job is a set-up, directly linking the murder of a
nightclub owner to the mystery behind a missing
last will and testament. Roger (voiced by Charles
Fleischer), a five-foot animated rabbit is the
prime suspect. He and Eddie go together like oil
and water, but with the help of Roger's lusty
busty wife, Jessica (voiced by Kathlene Turner)
the two embark on a burgeoning friendship destined
to save Los Angeles from the dreaded Judge Doom
(Christopher Lloyd).
At the time of its release the seamless blend of
traditional animation and live action won Disney
and Touchstone a host of accolades and the respect
of the entire industry, not to mention a couple of
technical achievement Oscars for good merit.
However, in the interval between 1988 and the
present this sort of complexity has become rather
passé (seen in everything from theater promos to
television commercials). Thus in retrospect the
film has dated much more than might be expected.
Instead of maintaining timelessness, there is the
faint odor of formaldehyde coming from the
cheering sidelines of animation's finest and most
enduring creations. Everyone from Bugs Bunny to
Betty Boop appear in cameos but the effect no
longer enthralls as much, as it seems the expected
sideline to an otherwise stagy cinematic
experience.
The original DVD release of "Who Framed Roger
Rabbit" was not anamorphic and although that
problem has been rectified on Touchstone's newly
minted two disc special edition, a host of digital
anomalies remain, and seem new to this
incarnation. In a pre-digital domain environment
of editing, the source elements for the duped and
animated plates in this film seem exceptionally
worn, suffering from a barrage of dirt and
scratches. Screen flutter is excessive in almost
every scene in which cartoons and humans interact.
There are also a few cases where either the human
element or the cartoon characters appear slightly
out of focus. Shadow effects on animated
characters create a disturbing and distracting
halo effect that is unflattering to say the least.
Digital grit is at times excessive, especially in
the opening cartoon sequence. Fine details
occasionally shimmer. Colors are overall well
balanced. But there are a few inconsistencies. For
example, watch how Roger's red pants change from
red to orange, then back to red, throughout the
film. Also, "the Red Car" streetcars register more
orange than red. All of these problems, I suspect,
are the result of cramming too much info on one
disc.
Even though this is a two-disc set, Disney has
reserved the first disc for a full frame copy of
the movie and an audio commentary only. The rest
of the features, including an extensive array of
well-produced documentaries, deleted scenes,
trailers and other extras, have all been crammed
onto disc 2 along with the widescreen version of
the film. The result is less than optimal picture
quality. The sound for both versions of the film
is a 5.1 remix that is identical to the previously
issued DVD. It is strident and shrill at times and
very well balanced at other moments. With all the
hype surrounding this re-issue, more should have
been expected and delivered from the folks over at
Disney. |
