Is this the last "classic" hand-drawn animated feature out of Hollywood? Hard to think of a better one since, given Disney's decline and the rise of Pixar, etc. Effectively, it's three in one: film noir, FX blockbuster, and all-star animated feature - though where are Tom & Jerry? Hoskins does a remarkable job as PI Eddie Valiant, given he was usually acting with mannequins (mind you, it's good practice for Cher and Mermaids). He investigates a studio mogul's murder, with the chief suspect a manic cartoon rabbit. I appreciate this is perhaps not one of my more coherent synopses. :-)
The attention to detail here is amazing; you could spend the entire film just watching Roger Rabbit's ears. My major complaint: he is whiny, irritating, largely unsympathetic, not funy and fully deserves an anvil on the head; maybe it'd have been better with Bugs Bunny the central 'toon? [Warner Bros. only let Bugs appear, if he got exactly the same number of words as Mickey - ditto Daffy and Donald] Fortunately, the human cast, plus Turner as the uncredited voice of Jessica Rabbit, do a fabulous job, and the results are constantly entertaining and imaginative, though it's a shame recent releases have sanitized some of the animators' in-jokes. If this is a last hurrah for cel animation, it's a doozy, and given the cost and effort involved, one unlikely to be surpassed.
B
