One of the reasons Roger Rabbit is considered a landmark bit of animation is because animation is traditionally done with "cels," which makes the process easier. The background is a still image, and then the actual animation is painted on clear pieces of plastic. The only way for this process to work is for the "camera" to remain fixed, so that the background doesn't change. In both the opening Roger Rabbit animation and the live-action stuff, the camera is moving, so the animators not only have to animate Roger's movement but also perspective, and potentially the background. For the movie, this was achieved by blowing up the film print and then creating cels that used the film frames as backgrounds. However, a big part of what "sells" the effect is Hoskins' performance as Eddie Valiant. Hoskins is so skilled that he developed a knack for focusing his eyes in the right point in space that Roger would be at -- meaning, not eye *level*, but that when he turns his head to "look" at Roger, he is not just staring into the distance, but a fixed point in front of him that, while filming, was just empty space. The animation was done by legendary animator Richard Williams. Williams won an honorary Oscar for his work. Sadly, he was also working on a passion project called The Thief and the Cobbler at the same time, a movie that took him many years to develop and work on, and it was only a short bit from being finished when it was taken away from him by a bond company hired by the studio. It was later recut, re-voiced, and songs and inferior animation were added, destroying the film. A few years ago, a fan restored it, and you can see it online. It's a masterpiece. One tiny little touch they talk about on the feature-length documentary that is on the DVD, Blu-ray, and UHD, is that when they animated Jessica Rabbit, one trick they came up with to make her seem sexy in an unusual way, was to make her bust bounce opposite the way a human's would. If you want to know everything you could want to know about the making of the movie that people here haven't already told you or you haven't already found online, it's a GREAT documentary.
@@tylerfoster6267 Ahhh....LOOK THIS PRINCE HAS ARRIVED! Someone who gets it when it comes to older animation... Someone who understands what life was like before CGI... Someone who probably at one time owned a LaserDisc player in the 90's...am my correct? 😉😉 See Ashleigh...MY GUY has entered the building much like "The Flying ElvI"! I KNOW you think it's the Flying Elvises but it's not... It's ElvI, said like 👀... Again 😉😉! Teehee! You have to excuse me I'm a little excited, first of life so Roger Rabbit and flipped out because I've been waiting for this one BIG TIME!!! Secondly I just found someone on here who understands what a cel is. WOOHOO 🎉 #NYGenXBIKERLady
Arguably the most impressive thing about this movie is they got the rights from both Disney and Warner Bros. to have Bugs and Mickey on screen at the same time. Like -- they got both companies to sign off on it. Unreal.
There was a clause that said they had to use each company's characters equally. So daffy and Donald with the piano duel, micky and bugs in the parachute scene etc...
Betty Boop was voiced by Mae Questel, her original voice actress from the '30s. She first voiced Betty in 1931 and came back for this movie in 1988, at the age of 80.
Christopher Lloyd’s character terrified me as a kid. Interesting fact: Christopher Lloyd doesn’t blink once in the entire movie. He did that on purpose.
@@Daltinian95 They actually give you a lot of clues - the wind on his cape, that he never takes his gloves or hat off, even indoors, that he backs away from the dip spill, that despite his supposed disgust and hatred of toons, the dip-mobile he designs has a face, and most subtly of all, if you look really closely, I think his teeth are actually cartoon teeth (pure white, perfectly square and equally sized, with clean straight lines between them) the entire time, too, and he avoids showing them too much until all the manic grinning he does late in the film - it's just so subtly done, and you only get a good look at them for a split-second each time he flashes them earlier on, that it's really hard to consciously notice until you've already seen the film once and know he's a toon. The last, non-visual clue you get is when it's mentioned off-hand that he "bought the election" to be the judge of Toontown by bribing a lot of people with "simoleons" - the same type of currency that had originally been stolen from the bank of Toontown in the case the Valiant's were investigating when he killed Eddie's brother.
I remember an anecdote form Bob Hoskins that when he was told to act 'with' Jessica he was told to imagine the sexiest woman he could imagine, just raw SEX appeal. Then he saw the movie with Jessica actually drawn in, and his response was 'Man, my imagination sucks'.
We recently watched this as a family so our 11 year-old son could see it for the first time. After Jessica came out and did her song-and-dance number, he simply said, "I'm uncomfortable". And as someone who saw it in the theater at about the same age, I know what he meant.
Fun fact about the dip: it's a "real" thing. Turpentine, acetone and benzene are all paint thinners, and animators would combine them to remove ink from animation cells.
@@sumthingwikked4257 Oh yes they do. I worked for General Electric in a metrology lab and we used gallons of acetone to clean parts so finely machined that a layer of dirt would throw off the measurements. Good stuff, but I have inhaled more acetone vapor than is probably recommended.
Here's my interesting bit: Yes, Jessica and Roger really do love each other after all, but who you think is the lucky one depends on whether you're a human or a Toon. This is hinted at when Eddie sees her for the first time and exclaims, "SHE'S married to Roger Rabbit?" and Betty Boop says, "Yeah, what a lucky girl." See, humans, particularly the men, see Jessica as a bombshell who could have any man she wants... so why on Earth is she with such a geek like Roger? But the toons see Roger as the impressive one: he's a superstar among Toons. He's got a regular gig in pictures doing comedy, and probably pulling down a lot of money as far as Toons get. Jessica is just a singer in a cocktail bar. Sure, she's a good performer, but she's nowhere near Roger's level in terms of fame, so the fact she managed to land Roger as a husband is nothing short of astounding.
"Are we in a world where they discriminate against the toons?" - Ashleigh picking up on the major theme of the movie faster than 99% of the people I know
If you're not familiar with the history of Black entertainers the early hints can be pretty easy to miss. Especially because a fair amount of tipoffs are pretty era specific. If I didn't know about the Cotton Club and places like it, then the reference would go right over my head until they get more expository.
@@nullunit The book had absolutely zero subtlety about it. Like there were "Toon Only" drinking fountains. One of the few things from the book that actually carried over into the movie honestly.
She's good at that. Whether it's picking up on the plot/theme, identifying the 'bad guy', or picking up on some subtle detail her intuition is usually on point.
Always some asshole barging in any discussion about racist history on RUclips to proclaim whites as the true victims.. Your story has NOTHING to do with the history of America that this film is subtly telling, other than it was another example of white colonization to begin with.
They used no CGI. This is all hand-drawn. There is some truly impressive effects, such as having the toons holding real items, which required a lot of editing. The film went on to win best editing at the Oscars, including 3 other awards, including a special achievement award. No other film before or since has truly married animation and live action as well - and no other film has since had so many rights holders allow their creations to share the screen, with the exception of Rescue Rangers, which funnily enough, features Roger Rabbit.
my brother and i were obsessed with this movie. he's now an animator with sony. things were so magical back then. now special effects are taken for granted.
Rescue Rangers isn’t hand drawn 2D though, and it shows. There are plenty of times through the movie where it just looks like stylized 3d animation, like for The Dragon Prince or RWBY.
"No other film before or since has truly married animation and live action as well" Thats not correct. Disney has done this before. Mary Poppins (1964) - its as not as good as roger rabbits. but the dancing scene is amazing for 20 years earlier - (youtube "Jolly Holiday")
The most impressive, in my opinion, is the scene in the speakeasy room at the bar (starting around 14:48 in the video). The light is moving around, causing the shadows to be constantly shifting, *including Roger's*. They specifically chose to have the moving light source, exponentially increasing the difficulty of their job, just to add a little bit to make it feel real.
And even though the Jimmy Stewart movie was still 10 years off from when this film was set, the play had already debuted on Broadway and was a smash hit.
@@awkwardashleigh My favorite one to watch the filming of is the barroom dance number. It's like watching behind-the-scenes of a magician seeing how they pulled off everything. Like when the record starts skipping and he keeps smashing plates on his head, they designed a robot specifically just to pick up and break the plates so the animators could paint over it. But the single most technically impressive scene to me is the one right after when Eddie and Roger are in the saferoom. They matched the lighting on Roger to the swinging overhead light every time it gets bumped.
I have watched, rewatched, and analyzed this movie so many times... and OH MY GOD I never noticed Roger gave his speech about laughter on a LITERAL SOAPBOX.
This movie is a masterclass in storytelling When the camera pans over Eddie's desk, it shows newspaper clippings of their detective escapades, but it also shows a clipping mentioning that the Valiant bros were raised as clowns in a circus
The patty cake reaction from you was probably my favorite reaction yet. Went from confused to "oh my god I can't believe they just made that joke" in 0.4 seconds. :)
I always got the impression that part was intentional comedic censoring, and that they were actually doing it, but the pictures showed literal patty cake
Bob said this film mentally broke him. He spent so long filming talking to things that weren't there yet having to pretend they were and he could see them, that he started actually hallucinating after the film ended
If this movie was that hard for him, it must be hell for actors nowadays, stuck in green screen rooms with literally nothing and nobody around them. I think I remember reading that Gandalf’s actor broke down during the Hobbit filming because of it.
Judge Doom does have a backstory, he was a toon actor who specialized in playing villain roles, and after getting hit too hard in the head he fully adopted a villanous persona and started doing crimes, being the first Toon who ever murdered a human.
@@chrisleebowers The sequel book. The first has very little to do with the movie. For example: the toons are comic strip characters, they can create a doppelganger to use for stunts that only lasts a few hours, and Roger in the book is a doppelganger the original Roger made before being murdered. The villain's also a genie.
@@chrisleebowers There's a channel that does comparisons between book and movie. Their Roger Rabbit video is called, Who Framed Roger Rabbit - What’s The Difference?
Veteran and venerated English actor Bob Hoskins plays the detective, Eddie Valiant, here. He had a nice long, successful career in films, tv, and voice over work. Sadly, passed away in 2014. Mr. Hoskins was truly a gem!
"I did not grow up on Looney Tunes. I was born in '94." Ha! I was born in '95, and my parents had a little something called VHS tapes and later DVD collections. My childhood was classic animation.
Fun fact: The underlying story of this movie is actually true. LA used to have an excellent Tram system that was basically bought and dismantled by the Car companies to force people to buy and use cars.
MUCH more money in oil, gas, bus repairs and replacements, etc compared to electric trolleys. >.< Tore up all those lines in numerous cities that were tons more efficient, environmentally friendly, sustainable, but...yeah. Profit and greed, man. Profit and greed. >.
Not just LA, pretty much every city in the US over a certain size had a tram system with overhead wires, and there was a big push to replace them with gas busses and freeways
Somewhat random, but speaking of conspiracies and car companies, that's where the term and crime of "jay walking" comes from. Streets weren't initially intended for car traffic, but as automobiles became more popular, they pushed and pushed in campaigns about how people were the unsafe ones, not the cars, and a bunch of other stuff.
Ashleigh, this isn't a "Loony Tunes" movie, just uses some of the characters from WB's properties. When Spielberg put this deal together (which took years to finalize), Disney and WB agreed for the use of their popular characters, as long as they got the exact same amount of screen time. Which is why the characters most often appear in pairs (Bugs and Mickey; Daffy and Donald, Porky Pig and Tinkerbell, etc.) Other studio characters that appear solo (Dumbo, Tweety Bird, Droopy Dog, Yosemite Sam) have more or less equal screen time. But to answer your question, most of the other toons (i.e. Baby Herman, the bouncer ape, Chris Lloyd's character, not to mention Rodger himself) in the movie aren't from existing movies or cartoons, but originals for this film.
It really was pretty miraculous that they managed to put toons from different properties all in one movie. Can imagine that today in the over-protective world we now live in.... Like Blazing Saddles... this could not be made today.
@@staggertobed It was a nightmare to negotiate the deal back then, so I think you are right. That would not happen today, because it barely happened back then.
The Bouncer Gorillas and Penguin Waiters go back to a lot of the gangster movies of the 30s and 40s. In those movies, the waiters in nightclubs were always shown in tie and tails, bustling around like the penguins. And the bodyguard/muscle for the Boss was always portrayed by some big ex-boxer/wrestler in a tuxedo who was usually just referred to as "the gorilla in the monkey suit".
The joke when the guy in the bar seems like he's going to rat out Roger is an allusion to the Jimmy Stewart classic, "Harvey." You absolutely need it on your list! You'll love it!
This film was absolutely huge when it came out and it made a very strong standing at the Oscars. The effects definitely were groundbreaking and the work involved with making cartoons and live actors interact was the subject of many programs afterward. The film was also a major factor sparking the animation renaissance that came in the 90s, especially with Disney (Ah, those were the days). Sadly, it was also the last major project that Mel Blanc was involved in before he died. Bob Hoskins as the core protagonist was quite an inspired choice. He captured the accent and temperament of his character perfectly. I can remember how thrown I was when I heard his thick English accent some time afterward. Unfortunately he is also no longer with us.
"You mean you could have taken your hand outta that cuff at any time?!" "Not anytime, Eddie... Only when it was funny." Is by far, my favorite line in this entire movie. Absolutely wonderful writing.
It was more than just hilarious, it was actually genius too. It was describing their reality as toons. That they're actually prisoners living inside comedy.
The level of effort in this film coined the phrase "bump the lamp". When Eddie is trying to cut off the handcuffs, they hit the overhead light and it starts swinging around and the shadows stretch and move. So the animators had to put the shadows on Roger to match. It was such unnecessary extra work, but they did it to make it the most amazing movie they could. Another example is Roger spitting out the water from the sink. It *could * have been animated water, but Roger was in a sink with real water and so they made a machine to spit the real water out and drew Roger over it. So much extra work, but they felt they needed to set the bar high. And they did.
I wish I could find the video that compares this movie with similar shots in Cool World. There the studio couldn't be bothered to get such little details right (though to be fair, they didn't have Spielberg or Disney money). The only real reason to see Cool World is to appreciate everything Roger Rabbit for right.
I'm disappointed in you giving this 4 of 5! Do you realize HOW MANY moving parts had to be in line with EVERY SHOT!?! Puppeteers for the toons live-action props? The actors miming their interactions with the toons? The clear perspective of ensuring the animation was flawless while filming the live-action? Girl, this film is a masterpiece in technical theatre!!! Throw in the epic story, the COUNTLESS TOONS I grew up with, and this film is, and always will be, the true GOAT!!!!!
When you're watching this movie in the theater, that scene where he's in the tunnel and suddenly bursts into Toontown is absolutely amazing. Going from that really dark and quiet environment right into the bright insanity of Toontown is like your hit of acid suddenly kicking in.
I don't know whether it's still there, but Walt Disney World had a ride where you went from the end of Casablanca in black and white into the full-on Technicolor Munchkinland from Wizard of Oz. It was all 3D with animatronics, and it had the same feel.
"Puss" = face. As in "sourpuss". Inbetweener: Animation has "key frames" that define a character's movements. Those are done by the people credited as animators and assistant animators. The inbetweeners draw the frames in between those key frames so that the animation is smooth and in-synch with the camera frame rate.
The quantity and quality of practical effects (not CGI) in this film are amazing. These days it wouldn't be that impressive. Back then, it was mind blowing
I think it is still amazing what they created back then. I think it’s beautiful. The editing. Nothing goes unnoticed not even the finger prints in the dust on the chair.
@@awkwardashleigh The trick behind the practical effects is very simple, stunning even. They filmed ALL of the movie practically. Using stand-ins, pole-mounted items and all kinds of simple ways of manipulating the real-world things and then went over it frame by frame and animated the cartoons overtop where needed.
IIRC at the time, this was one of the most expensive movies ever made. It was an absolutely massive, complex, difficult production. I think that's also why they never made a sequel.
15:00 the shifting of the lighting with roger's animation in the room really put in perspective how far ahead this movie was. I'm always in awe with this movie/scene every time that I watch it.
No CGI, they filmed the movie then had artists hand draw the animation IN EVERY SINGLE FRAME. Was a massive amount of work. Also it's to bad you left out the part where Jessica says "A rabbit is a girls best friend." or something like that, it was a vibrator joke lol.
My Favourite Missed Out Scene Was When Eddie Fires Two Bullets From His "Toon" Gun, They Lose Track Of Their Target And He Refers To Them As Dumb-dumbs. When I First Saw This Movie, I Didn't Realise That It Was A Word- play On An Actual Type Of Bullet. Dum-dum (Or Fragmentation) Bullets.
@@josephwallace202 Are you talking about the flattening of Doom with the stream roller? Practical effect. If you're taking about flat Doom jumping up and walking around, that looked like stop motion animation to me.
I Can't even watch us after you didn't even leave the part in. "Remember me Eddie, when I killed your brother? I talked just like this!" what the fahq Ashley, don't leave out these important parts! Still love your reaction to the Sandlot kiss! I'll never let that go! ❤🤍💙💛
"Chubby Robert DeNiro" is the late great British actor, Bob Hoskins. If you ever watch Hook, he's in that too. The bad guy is just Judge Doom. No other identity. Lots of these toons were just made up for the movie and weren't actually from any specific cartoon company.
Though contrary to popular assumption, Jessica isn't one of them. She's based on a character in the Donald Duck cartoon Duck Pimples, a surreal film noir spoof which is well worth checking out.
Bob was (briefly) considered to play a certain Canadian clawed superhero because of his height and gruff demeanor. Imagine a universe where that actually happened.
As a 66 year old fan I can understand Ashleigh's concern about newer generations not getting many of the references in what were popular movies at the time. This is because I enjoy watching even older movies, the kind my parents and grandparents generations enjoyed. I'm sure I don't always get the subtleties of 1920's-50's drama or humor, but it's history. I'm fascinated by the culture of the past and how it has evolved over time. Older movies are a window into the past, and I'm gratified that I'm not the only one who appreciates this. Ashleigh is exploring a golden age of film, but I'd like to point out that the golden age of film did not begin in 1980. Still, her reactions and insights are delightful. She makes me think about the first time I watched those movies when they came out. She would have been the perfect movie date if she was alive back then. She is so genuine and so much fun to watch. Bravo, Ashleigh. On another note I'd personally like her to watch Irma La Douce (1963) with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. It's pretty funny, and in my opinion the perfect grown-up date movie from way back then.
@@Hiraghm If you were old enough to know that the taxi cab was taken from Tex Avery's "One Cab's Family", you would have enough cultural appreciation to know why cartoons today suck. They had JOKES back then, not huggy fantasy-adventure lesbians trying to imitate anime.
Many of the classic cartoons won't be seen today because they are cancel-cultured since they don't meet today's standards. They should still be shown, and add a disclaimer if people really need to know.
I laughed aloud when you said to Joanna Cassidy, "You're gonna show everyone your business," because that's EXACTLY what an animator did with Jessica Rabbit. In the scene when the cab crashes and Jessica went flying, a pervy animator slipped in a few frames of Jessica's hoo-hoo! Those frames, sadly, have since been eliminated...
24:30 if you wonder why Valiant is so good at this. When we get a tour of his office when the camera goes around the first time, we actually see pictures of Himself, his brother and their Father/mother being part of a Circus. Thats why his Brother when they became cops, wanted to be in Toon town, cause it would have been fun and just like home. Thats why he actully isn't bad when it comes to performing and juggling.
As someone with a bachelor of fine arts degree, I loved this move from the first time that I saw it--not just because it is actually a very good movie, but because I was (and still am) in love with how well they combined live action and animation-cell animation. What a skill, and you are correct, it stands the test of time and always will, even if people don't really know who the characters are at some point. Thanks for doing this one!
@@Subxenox15 Some people seem to think that Ive never been to University. One person even said it directly to my face like he was 100% certain that it was a fact. Another person thinks that I'm being dishonest and making up my University Major. This is all very odd because I have memories of going to University and completing a Bachelor of Arts degree. Or perhaps it's all in my imagination.
This is a true 80’s classic considering that Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future Trilogy, Romancing The Stone, and Forrest Gump) directed this movie and managed to win some awards, four to be exact. Who Framed Roger Rabbit won the Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, and for Special Achievement In Animation Direction. It just sucks that this is the only time that we’ll ever see the perfect animated blend of Warner Bros and Walt Disney characters ever. God bless this 34 year old movie! As much as i love Christopher Lloyd, Bob Hoskins really shined and gave us the best performance of his career in my opinion. That’s All Folks! #WhoFramedRogerRabbit 🎥🎬🏆
@@timothymorris157 you should look him up, he’s considered to be one of the great animation directors ! And he directed the animation for this film too. There’s his famous book, The Animator’s Survival Kit. And his unfinished project, The Thief & the Cobbler, which is free on RUclips if you’re curious!
I have always felt like belonging to the last "classic" generation, having grown up with the old Disney cartoons, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry or Tex Avery (before censorship)... in the 80s and 90s you could still see and enjoy the same stuff your parents or even grandparents liked.. there are good cartoons today but nothing like the old school classics
At least in terms of Looney Tunes, I think that failure belongs to Warner Brothers. Their cartoons used to be syndicated to any outlet who wanted to broadcast them, but around the 1990s they started putting Looney Tunes behind paywalls -- such as showing them exclusively on Cartoon Network and other Warner-owned entities. What a shocker that when you limit who can see them, then fewer people will know about them. Great job, WB!
They did make a very good Looney Tunes show that went from 2011-2013. For some reason people don't seem to remember it very much these days. It was more of a sitcom than a sketch show, but it did some great character-based comedy.
@@Lightice1 I loved that show, I thought it was hilarious. But I gather that it was not very popular among a large contingent of "classis" Looney Tunes fans. It's now available on HBO Max for anyone who's interested (yes, another paywall).
Many of the old school toons directly tied classical music and emotions. I see the absence in my grand kids. I can show them some merry melodies but not the same thing as seeing 3 hours a week every Saturday plus more during the week.
"There's no business like show business" comes from the song of the same name, which Irving Berlin wrote for the musical "Annie Get Your Gun" about the life of Annie Oakley. I'd love to see Ashleigh react to a bunch of Warner Brothers cartoons. It would probably create too many copyright problems, though. There must be a reason there aren't many of those cartoons on RUclips.
...or only fragments of them. She might also be amazed that so many different voice characterizations all came from one man--the incomparable Mel Blanc.
A great detective dramady that just happens to have a ton of animated characters in it. It says a lot about toon sensibilities that _Jessica_ is considered the lucky one for bagging Roger.
Well yeah, to a toon, you’re only as attractive as you are funny. Roger is hilarious, but Jessica, not so much. That’s why the toons think Jessica is the lucky one to have bagged a toon like Roger.
@@hughmorris7557 I think that was what was implied. Also on the films tvtropes pages there's a theory someone posted that her being draw more like a (although still exaggerated) human might also be s factor.
Theres a phrase that came out of this movie: "Bumping the Lamp". It refers to when Roger and Eddie are hiding in the bar, but the light above them gets bumped, changing the lighting throughout the scene, making the animation of Roger that much more difficult but much more impressive. Disney coined the term "Bumping the Lamp" to show both new and existing employees how and why you should always put forth extra effort, go the extra mile and do a little bit more than people expect.
Jessica's speaking voice was Kathleen Turner, whom you met in _Romancing the Stone,_ and her singing voice was Amy Irving, Mrs. Spielberg at the time. Another excellent Kathleen Turner film is the romance/crime _Prizzi's Honor_ (1985), in which she co-stars with Jack Nicholson. A delightful Amy Irving film is the romantic comedy _Crossing Delancey_ (1988), which co-stars Peter Riegert, whom you'll likely recognize from his many film and TV roles.
I saw this when it came out and the “Making of” is almost more interesting than the movie itself. Definitely check that out. Brilliant acting by Bob Hoskins, who was British. I’m old and know all the cartoons, so I loved this.
I could be wrong but I think this was the last time that the classic cartoon characters were animated in the traditional way to any extent using some of their original voices and all practical effects for the live action... It's quality holds up amazingly well against modern CGI films
This movie is why Back To The Future 2 took 4 years to release. Zemekis did BTTF, Jewel of The Nile, Roger Rabbit and BTTF 2 & 3 in a giant shoot! Talk about a busy half-decade!
Great reaction Ashleigh! Glad you enjoyed this classic movie. The rooster was Foghorn Leghorn, and the dog running the elevator was Droopy. Looking forward to Spiderman 2 on Friday. Keep up the great work.
My Mother had a nervous breakdown the day after I turned 10 in 1988. I found a loaded shotgun under our couch and was playing with it. She had been having an affair with a drug dealer while my Dad was stationed in another part of the country. She put me in the car and abandoned my 16 year old brother, who refused to go with her, at our home in Southern Oklahoma. We spent the next two weeks driving all over the southwest until she came to her senses and we ended up at my Uncle's house in Denver. My Uncle was a great guy. He was 26 and cool. I didn't know why him and his "friend" Jim shared a bedroom in such a big house full of bedrooms, but he cooked great burgers and told awesome jokes. He ended up bringing me to see Who Framed Roger Rabbit and we laughed our asses off. Afterward he took me to a burrito place. We ended up leaving after a couple of weeks and ended up at my Grandmother's in Massachusetts. My Brother reunited with us after my Mom and Dad finally got divorced. In December of 1989 I watched as the nurses and doctors turned off my Uncle's ventilator because he was brain dead and not going to wake up from his coma. He had Kaposy Sarcoma all over his body and was a skeletal 100 pounds. In those days AIDS was a death sentence. My Grandmother made us all promise we would tell people he died of cancer if people asked. She was more concerned about the scandal amongst her neighbors than she was about her baby boy dying. These are the things I remember when I think about Roger Rabbit.
This is basically based on a true story, when automobiles started coming out, car companies were buying out trollings and all public transportation so ppl would have to buy cars. Yes, that's Christopher Lloyd
some of the detail that went into this film are almost invisible, but make every difference. During planning the writing team set out and created a set of "Toon Rules" finding things that toons did that they could not help but do or not do. The toons had to obey them in their quirky fashions, and to an extent, the humans were subject to them as well. The handcuff gag was a good example.
You got to understand that when watching this at a young age, the story went over our heads but it was absolutely mind blowing to see the Disney and Looney Tune characters on screen together and interacting
FUN FACT: They originally approched Eddie Murphy to be the main character. Given the time period of the film, the original stoy also included the plot point that the Valiant Brothers liked to work in Toon Town because the Toons never cared that they were black, unlike the real world.
yet u go back to Tom & Jerry cartoons n realize dey showed tha Caucasian characters but tha large melanated woman wuz only shown from tha waist down .. imagine wat dey woulda made her face look like
They made three Roger Rabbit shorts that are likely in the special features of the copy you watched (they're on RUclips as well): "Tummy Trouble", "Roller Coaster Rabbit", & "Trail Mix-Up".
A similar movie to this is Cool World. Here are some other great Cult Classics: Sorcerer (1977) The Warriors (1979) Vanishing Point (1971) Rollerball (1975) - It is not about a pen In Bruges (2008) Idiocracy (2006) Repo Man (1984) Heathers (1988) Beerfest (2006) Office Space (1999) Escape From New York (1981) The Boys From Brazil (1978) From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Slap Shot (1977) They Live (1988) Swamp Thing (1982) The Road Warrior (1982) The Rover (2014)
Fun Fact: I grew up with this movie, and I remember the Patty Cake scene completely going over my head, so watching it as an adult still gives me a kick remembering being clueless, lol. Also, 13:01 when you got startled and said you thought he was about to pull two filing cabinets on his head, I actually laughed out loud, lol.
Some things I wanted share on this film: -To explain why exactly Jessica is with Roger of all people she said that "He makes me laugh" so in this sense humor I'd the equivalent to sexieness. -The quote "There's Business Like Show Business" is from the song that Ethel Merman basically became her theme, -Characters like that octopus behind the bar the Gorilla doorman, Benny the cab,, and the weasels are not previously created, -I love films that reward multiple viewings and if you look carefully on the bathroom wall before Eddie falls you see it say "For a good time call Alice underland" -Warner Brothers and other studios were only willingly to share their beloved characters as long at they had the same amount of screentime as Disney’s which is why Bugs and Mickey and Daffy and Donald are on screen at the same time. -while the book the film is based on had a lot heavier layering especially having toons in the place of African Americans. There is still quite a bit of it in the film as The Ink and Paint Club is a play on the Cotton Club where African Americans could perform, but not be served and wanting to destroy toontown to make way for a freeway was what happened to african American neighborhoods to make way for freeways. -the buying of the trolley system to make way for cloverleaf is parallel to real life when the tire and automotive industry bought the trolley system in Los Angeles in the 40’s, -Mel Blanc the original voice of nearly every Looney Tune character reprises his roles of Tweey, Bugs, Daffy etc, but surprisingly someone else voiced Yosemite, -the original voice of Betty Boop all the way back from the 30’s reprise her role here and most people would know May Questel better as the confused old Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, -The film’s animation director who received a special oscar for the film Richard Willlams was the voice of Droopy, -Charles Fleischer the voice of Roger actually dressed up like his character to be more in the role, -Bob Hoskins took mime classes to play off of things not there which is why his performance is excellent, -Eddie hates toons, but when it goes over the desks you see his brother liked Betty so he has a soft spot for her, -the reason Eddie was able to do all of those acrobatics near the end of the film is it shows on the desk he and his family were once part of a circus , -looking back it is clear Lloyd is made to look like he is wearing a rubber mask (I still don’t know how they did that must have been a lot of makeup or something), but one interesting detail is Judge Doom’s cape always has a gust of wind blowing it back and since he is a toon whenever dealing with the Dip he wears a glove or steps back away from it, -the Detective Santino that works with Eddie and says he could have lended him money is the imperial officer in the original Star Wars film that was force chocked by Darth Vader, -the reason Eddie is taking a shower in the middle of the day is because of a deleted scene where Doom put a toon prank head on him and he took a ahower to get it off of him, -Fritz the cat is at the top of the entrance to toontown as he was the first cartoon characters ever created, -one scene that was edited slightly when the film was put on dvd is a slight couple of frames when Jessica and Eddie are flying out of Benny and you can see Jessica is commando! Look it up and you can see it from a laserdisc upload someone put on youtube, -Eddie Murphy was one choice of Valiant, but he turned it down and to this day it is one of the biggest roles he regrets not taking, -When the guy in the bar says Harvey he is making a reference to Harvey a play about a man who is friends with an invisible 7 foot rabbit. -because some of the car stunts were so dangerous they had to animated Bob Hoskins in instead of him in the car, -technically this film’s idea for a way to kill a toon does exist with the ingredients: turpentine, acitane, and benzine all found in paint thinner which would kill a toon, -besides the honorary oscar this film received, it also won for: Sound Effects Editing, Visual effects, and film editing and was additional nominated for art direction, cinematography, and sound.
@@MsWaif No they're just regular weasels. Also yes the penguins are Mary Poppins. People forgot about Bedknobs and Broomsticks though along with Song of the South and So Dear to My Heart.
The shoe scene traumatized me a kid, still makes me tear up as an adult! 😭 And the part where the bad guy screeched in the high voice freaked me out as a kid!
Roger Rabbit (originally a book) was not the first movie to combine live-action and animation (prior to Roger Rabbit, we had Fantasia, Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pete's Dragon, and more). But it was the first to do it on a new technical level.
@@Cugastratos although i agree with the other commenters that cool world is not that good it dose share a similar story line detective trying to figure out toon stuff and chasing a killer toon. even though it is quite different Ashleigh might like happy time murders. all the mystery and a bit more sleazed
Brilliant reaction, Ashleigh. Important things: Everything Roger says is true. Everything. The dismantling of the Redcar actually happened at the time portrayed. Porky Pig (WB) gets the last line. Tinkerbell (Disney) is the last character you see. This movie came up just about the time that Disney was virtually bankrupted by Black Cauldron (terrible film, incredibly expensive) and that's the only reason they took part. Warner Bros were onboard with their characters but King Features weren't - which is why Popeye doesn't appear. This film would never happen now. So this is the only time you'll see WB and Disney characters in one film.
Except for the WB characters, they did get a bunch of non-Disney characters in the Chip and Dale film, including Roger at the beginning. I don't know if there were any WB characters, though
What you say of Roger is actually also true of Jessica - when she's asked something straight-out, she replies completely honestly. Her behaviour also makes complete sense as long as you remember that on the one hand she is the very definition of a femme fatale, but on the other, she's still a Toon. For example, hitting Roger with the frying pan and putting him in the trunk in order to protect him would make logical sense from her standpoint. The movie was made by Touchstone (effectively Disney's 'adult mainstream' movie brand), so I think the problem Disney 's lawyers would have had revolved largely around shared screen time etc. Disney itself was doing OK, the feature animation division not so much. It says a lot that Disney had to contract the animation out to Dick Williams' studio in order to get it done.
Droopy's appearance proves MGM was on board as well. The Fleischer Bros Popeye may not have been available. But at least the Fleischers were represented by Betty Boop.
This was the ONLY time Disney and Warner Bros characters shared the screen together. They really went all out with the cameos, and it was awesome. Watching it back in 1988 it blew my mind seeing Mickey and the gang interacting with the Looney Tunes. BTW, Eddie's cartoon gun was given to him by Yosemite Sam.
I caught this one in the theatre upon its release and still enjoy it. My father met Mel Blanc, my father and I met June Foray, a buddy of mine appeared in the film as a pedestrian when Benny the Cap and his passengers head down the alleyway, and my wife and I visited the Mt Hollywood Tunnel in Griffith Park (the entrance to Toontown) and the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge ("What do you call the middle of a song?").
5:13 Glad you asked, it's actually quite simple in theory. The way animation was made was they would draw characters onto a clear animation cel and than physically lay that on top of a drawing of a background, then they would take a single picture with their video camera then rinse and repeat until they have an animation. So the way they did this is instead of layering those animation cels over a drawing of a background, they layered it over a still image from the live action footage. So in principle it's actually super simple, but in reality, it's very difficult to get the animation to look like its sitting in that real world 3d space. This film is actually the absolute best example that I'm aware of using this technique. (it's a kind of rotoscoping) The way they achieved such a convincing marriage of live-action and animation is by using many different painstaking techniques. One of which is that a lot of this is animated on 1s. Normally animation is done on 2s which means that the individual drawings in the animation only change every 2 frames. Animating on 1s is more than twice the work and cost so it's rarely done because of the budget, but adding those extra frames makes the animation look much much smoother, and more real. Matching the framerate of the live actors also helps sell the illusion. The other thing they did was to pay close attention to lighting, the toons actually cast shadows on live actors. They did this two ways, the first was to rotoscope shadows onto the actors, and the second was that they would have physical objects like mechanical arms holding live props that they would later animate overtop of and it would give the illusion that the toon is interacting with a real object and cast real shadows. The scene when he's washing dishes with the weasels searching the place for Roger is a great example. The weasel is holding a real gun and he even splashes the water which sells the illusion perfectly, and it was just a few prop arms that they drew over later. There are a lot of other things that I didn't bring up but this is getting pretty wordy. So like I said, simple in theory but they did such an incredible job because of all the lengths they went through. Love this movie.
"The other thing they did was to pay close attention to lighting, the toons actually cast shadows on live actors." This lead to the term "Bumping the Lamp" which refers to subtly putting in a lot of extra effort simply to demonstrate technical skill. In one of the scenes, Roger bumps a hanging lamp which starts it swinging, which meant that the lighting and shadow was constantly changing across each frame of the film. So those shadows the toon would be casting on the live actors wouldn't just have to account for Roger's movements, but for the lamp's as well. But during the filming of the live action elements, there was no rabbit there to bump the lamp. The director had to have one of the prop/FX guys set up something for the lamp to get bumped. They made their job that much harder for that scene, ON PURPOSE, for a detail that most in the audience would not even notice on a conscious level, just to reinforce the illusion that Roger was actually there.
@@anzaeria thats a fairly irrelevant gripe, of course I didnt mean they were actually using video. It was professionally done so naturally they were using film.
@@adamwee382 In instances like this, it's always good to use the correct terminology to avoid confusion. For example, we could say a 'movie camera', 'movie film camera', ''motion picture camera', 'motion picture film camera' or alternatively a 'cine camera.' If we say 'video camera', this would suggest that the footage was recorded electronically on tape, disc or SD card etc.
@@anzaeria it's a youtube comment bud, calm your tits.... if anyone is really that interested in the technique, there are plenty of videos on youtube that break down the details of the process. this guy took his time to write a very detailed explanation and here you are, with your little sentence, shitting on it because you have nothing better to do. take a hike.
You hear a lot of people, my older brother included, say that they were traumatized and terrified beyond belief by Judge Doom when they first saw this movie as a kid. Me, I first saw this movie when I was thirteen, and I thought Judge Doom was completely awesome. As an adult, I recognize that he’s completely terrifying, and yet, still, I really love the character, and I still say he’s completely awesome.
@@redsands1001 Yeah, that’s a moment that makes an impression. Didn’t get me as bad as it got other people, but I understand it when people say they had nightmares as a result of that moment.
Bob Hoskins was an INCREDIBLE actor. I'd highly recommend The Long Good Friday as one of his finest performances, along with this and The Super Mario movie
I remember seeing this with my family in the theatre when I was kid and my brother was about four. He loved Roger afterwards. Over the years I have grown to love this movie more and more.
17:47 "Somebody has died of laughter?" There was a guy in England in the 70s who laughed his ass off for around 30 minutes straight, watching an episode of The Goodies. Had a heart attack and slumped on the couch stone dead. His daughter was later diagnosed with Long QT syndrome, which is hereditary and so was likely a contributing factor to her father's death. But still, not many comedy shows can verifiably claim that someone died of laughter watching them :D There have also been reports of a Danish man dying of laughter in 1989 when he was watching the film (an excellent comedy, btw) A Fish Called Wanda.
There's also famously the philosophyer Chrysippus who say a donkey eating his figs, turned to his servant to go get some wine for him to wash it down with, then laughed so hard at his own joke that he died. This one is on my mind because, after knowing that story for decades, I FINALLY got the context: Figs were an expensive delicacy and the word he used didn't mean just "wine" but basically the ancient Greek equivalent of "the good stuff" as it meant undiluted aged wine. So a modern equivalent would be a guy seeing his million-dollar mansion burning to the ground, turning to his butler and saying "Could you toss my paintings onto the fire? It's a bit chilly", then laughing himself to death at his own joke.
Monty Python did a skit about someone "discovering" a joke that was so funny that people would die laughing at it. In the skit the British military, during WW2, realized how it could be used against the Germans. But they had to separate different lines of the joke, have them translated to German, then have separate British soldiers learn (without knowing the meaning) the words and shout the German language lines, in the right order, at the German soldiers. It worked! But somehow, I think I remember it back fired some how. But a very funny skit!
Why would figs be an expensive delicacy in Greece? The trees grow like weeds in anyplace with a Mediterranean climate. Were they a particular rare type of figs, or something?
I live in Birmingham in the UK. Born in 1979 and 9 when this was released. My mom worked all her career for BT ( the phone company ) in various roles. Occasionally she had to go to London for meetings a couple days a year. Well at the time there was a quite a good social club type thing and organised things throughout the year, flower shows, days out for the family, and occasionally weekends away, they didn’t pay for it was organised by staff members. Well like I said I was 9, my sister was 6 and we went down on such a weekend trip in ‘88. It just so happened that, that week my mom had been in London in such a meeting not far from Leicester Square and had got tickets for us at the famous Odeon opening weekend, up in the nose bleed section on the Saturday evening!! I like everyone else have been bought up Disney et al, but even now in my mid forties, think this film in the greatest animation of all time simply because of those memories from decades ago and seeing Mickey and Bugs talking to each other!!
I so loved this film as a kid. Me and my brother would do a small running gag of pointing our finger like a gun at one another's back and say "Valiant!" and the other would turn around and say "I always knew I'd get it in ToonTown." Ha ha, I loved me Roger Rabbit Tank Top my mum got me as well. Wish I still had it.
Love the bar scene when he references an invisible rabbit, Harvey. That is such a good old film with James Stewart (1950s). He has a 6ft Pooka for a friend. Watch it at your leisure...just a brilliant old movie.
Fun fact the rabbit Harvey is a reference to the movie of the same name starring Jimmy Stewart who’s best friend is a giant invisible rabbit so it’s another wonderful reference god bless this movie 😂
When I first saw the thumb-nail, I KNEW you would get more than a kick out of it. The animation like that is becoming a lost art. Another live action/animated movie that has a cult following is Cool World with Brad Pitt. It's a bit "funkier" but is really well done. Many of the classics are better than CGI in different ways. A fun game with friends is to see how many characters and what they were in.
This is without doubt in my top 10 movies of all time. I feel for Jessica big time. I'm not collector of figurines but when i saw a limited addition one of Jessica but it was £100, so i said no. Little did i know my husband conspired with the girls i worked with to get it for me for Christmas. He passed last year and i will tresure it till i die.
When they were filming the movie, the actor that did the voice for Roger Rabbit read all of his lines in person on the set. He insisted on wearing red suspenders and bunny ears that are attached to a headband. The costume was so bad, rumors were circulating around the studio lot about this new movie being worked on with the worst special effects.
Can't say I've seen this movie very many times but I can say that at some point the "... I'm just drawn that way." line struck me as profound. Whenever it's appropriate to say "Don't judge a book by it's cover.", or reference first impressions or glass houses I use the line instead. I've never had anyone know what I was talking about and I like it that way. Nothing amuses me more then being cleaver and no one understanding.
@@oaf-77 Shattered w/Tom Berenger & Lassiter w/Tom Selleck would be my two Bob Hoskins choices for Ashleigh to watch. Love his performances in both these films!
Bob Hoskins said in an interview that after doing this movie, his kids thought he was a real asshole for not asking one of the cartoons to go home with him and meet his kids.
Love this movie. Glad you had a good time! The noir tone is perfect, and campy. And it's an absolute technical marvel when it comes to integrating real life with cartoons. So impressive. No other cartoon + live action film in my opinion comes even close to looking this good.
Ash- at the risk of sounding overzealous… I hope you never stop making these videos. You are so entertaining and I love watching through these movies with you, your comments and personality. Thanks for putting in the work. This one was amazing.
I remember watching it in theatres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it was very close to Christmas, and the 9 yo me was THRILLED to see so many different cartoons in the same movie, and with the original brazilian TV voice actors too! God, I'm old :D
Ashleigh, you're so funny! I love being able to see movies like this that I've loved since I was a little kid, viewed fresh through your eyes, and your commentary makes me laugh so much!
so that scene where we learn about Eddie's background with no dialogue, just with the props in the scene, is exposition done right, you learn so much about him in a short amount of time and no words need to be spoken for it
Much like the opening of _Back to the Future_ (also by Bob Zemeckis) tells you everything you need to know about Marty and Doc before we even see either character's face.
"Listen, there ain't much that a good hole can't fix."
That's what she said?
One of the reasons Roger Rabbit is considered a landmark bit of animation is because animation is traditionally done with "cels," which makes the process easier. The background is a still image, and then the actual animation is painted on clear pieces of plastic. The only way for this process to work is for the "camera" to remain fixed, so that the background doesn't change. In both the opening Roger Rabbit animation and the live-action stuff, the camera is moving, so the animators not only have to animate Roger's movement but also perspective, and potentially the background.
For the movie, this was achieved by blowing up the film print and then creating cels that used the film frames as backgrounds. However, a big part of what "sells" the effect is Hoskins' performance as Eddie Valiant. Hoskins is so skilled that he developed a knack for focusing his eyes in the right point in space that Roger would be at -- meaning, not eye *level*, but that when he turns his head to "look" at Roger, he is not just staring into the distance, but a fixed point in front of him that, while filming, was just empty space.
The animation was done by legendary animator Richard Williams. Williams won an honorary Oscar for his work. Sadly, he was also working on a passion project called The Thief and the Cobbler at the same time, a movie that took him many years to develop and work on, and it was only a short bit from being finished when it was taken away from him by a bond company hired by the studio. It was later recut, re-voiced, and songs and inferior animation were added, destroying the film. A few years ago, a fan restored it, and you can see it online. It's a masterpiece.
One tiny little touch they talk about on the feature-length documentary that is on the DVD, Blu-ray, and UHD, is that when they animated Jessica Rabbit, one trick they came up with to make her seem sexy in an unusual way, was to make her bust bounce opposite the way a human's would. If you want to know everything you could want to know about the making of the movie that people here haven't already told you or you haven't already found online, it's a GREAT documentary.
That’s EXACTLY what she said
Shouldn't that be what he said?
@@theman4884 that’s what they said ;)
@@tylerfoster6267 Ahhh....LOOK THIS PRINCE HAS ARRIVED! Someone who gets it when it comes to older animation... Someone who understands what life was like before CGI... Someone who probably at one time owned a LaserDisc player in the 90's...am my correct? 😉😉 See Ashleigh...MY GUY has entered the building much like "The Flying ElvI"! I KNOW you think it's the Flying Elvises but it's not... It's ElvI, said like 👀... Again 😉😉! Teehee! You have to excuse me I'm a little excited, first of life so Roger Rabbit and flipped out because I've been waiting for this one BIG TIME!!! Secondly I just found someone on here who understands what a cel is. WOOHOO 🎉 #NYGenXBIKERLady
Arguably the most impressive thing about this movie is they got the rights from both Disney and Warner Bros. to have Bugs and Mickey on screen at the same time. Like -- they got both companies to sign off on it. Unreal.
Disney made the movie so they already had right to their characters. Sadly, this will never happen again. Too many lawyers uptight about IP.
@@es330td if anything, that makes it more impressive that Warner Bros went along with it.
Yeah, unfortunately the way companies hang on to IP rights these days we'll probably never have a "dream" team like this again.
This was basically the Spiderman No Way Home/Multiverse of Madness of my generation.
There was a clause that said they had to use each company's characters equally. So daffy and Donald with the piano duel, micky and bugs in the parachute scene etc...
Betty Boop was voiced by Mae Questel, her original voice actress from the '30s. She first voiced Betty in 1931 and came back for this movie in 1988, at the age of 80.
Mae also played Clark Griswold's (Chevy Chase) Aunt Betheny in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
@Always Watching,just say that she was black. It's not complicated. 🤦♂️
@Always Watching Yes! Esther Jones had the character stolen from her stage act.
@Always Watching Betty Boop's design was inspired by Helen Kane.. She wasn't black at any point.
@Always Watching Saying POC is just a way to say she wasn't white so its special or better. It's politically charged trash talk IMO.
Christopher Lloyd’s character terrified me as a kid. Interesting fact: Christopher Lloyd doesn’t blink once in the entire movie. He did that on purpose.
Also the wind constantly blowing on his cape even indoors
The steam roller scene gave me nightmares.
@@sydelle1981 When he was revealed to be what he was, I counted the bricks I shitted! I could’ve rebuilt The Great Wall Of China exactly
@@Daltinian95 They actually give you a lot of clues - the wind on his cape, that he never takes his gloves or hat off, even indoors, that he backs away from the dip spill, that despite his supposed disgust and hatred of toons, the dip-mobile he designs has a face, and most subtly of all, if you look really closely, I think his teeth are actually cartoon teeth (pure white, perfectly square and equally sized, with clean straight lines between them) the entire time, too, and he avoids showing them too much until all the manic grinning he does late in the film - it's just so subtly done, and you only get a good look at them for a split-second each time he flashes them earlier on, that it's really hard to consciously notice until you've already seen the film once and know he's a toon.
The last, non-visual clue you get is when it's mentioned off-hand that he "bought the election" to be the judge of Toontown by bribing a lot of people with "simoleons" - the same type of currency that had originally been stolen from the bank of Toontown in the case the Valiant's were investigating when he killed Eddie's brother.
@@NY4Life Right? I was 5 years old and had nightmares.
I remember an anecdote form Bob Hoskins that when he was told to act 'with' Jessica he was told to imagine the sexiest woman he could imagine, just raw SEX appeal. Then he saw the movie with Jessica actually drawn in, and his response was 'Man, my imagination sucks'.
LOL i dont think anyone's imagination was ready for Jessica.
@@UltimateGamerCC I don't think many of our hormones were ready either. Pretty sure Jessica kick-started more than a few puberties...
@@UltimateGamerCC It took a cartoon woman for me to realize I was bisexual
We recently watched this as a family so our 11 year-old son could see it for the first time. After Jessica came out and did her song-and-dance number, he simply said, "I'm uncomfortable". And as someone who saw it in the theater at about the same age, I know what he meant.
@@jculver1674 yup, Jessica gave me my first boner too.
Fun fact about the dip: it's a "real" thing. Turpentine, acetone and benzene are all paint thinners, and animators would combine them to remove ink from animation cells.
The FBI should watch anyone mixing these chemicals
They're also not too good for humans, either.
@@AlanCanon2222 I mean, it works. Terrifyingly, it works.
@@sumthingwikked4257 Oh yes they do. I worked for General Electric in a metrology lab and we used gallons of acetone to clean parts so finely machined that a layer of dirt would throw off the measurements. Good stuff, but I have inhaled more acetone vapor than is probably recommended.
@@AlanCanon2222 And in real life, such a mixture wouldn't look green like it does here.
Here's my interesting bit: Yes, Jessica and Roger really do love each other after all, but who you think is the lucky one depends on whether you're a human or a Toon. This is hinted at when Eddie sees her for the first time and exclaims, "SHE'S married to Roger Rabbit?" and Betty Boop says, "Yeah, what a lucky girl." See, humans, particularly the men, see Jessica as a bombshell who could have any man she wants... so why on Earth is she with such a geek like Roger? But the toons see Roger as the impressive one: he's a superstar among Toons. He's got a regular gig in pictures doing comedy, and probably pulling down a lot of money as far as Toons get. Jessica is just a singer in a cocktail bar. Sure, she's a good performer, but she's nowhere near Roger's level in terms of fame, so the fact she managed to land Roger as a husband is nothing short of astounding.
I thought I was the only one that got that double meaning!!! 😍🥰
Men marry down; women marry up.
This comment deserves *_all_* the likes! 👌
Very well put 😂
I guess that means I must be a toon - lucky Jessica!
When people say: "They don't make movies like this anymore", this is what they are talking about.
They keep trying. They need to stop.
Damn right!👍
They’ve certainly tried. (-Cough-Tom and Jerry-cough-)
now we say, "they don't make movies anymore." ☹
I'd say that "they never made a movie like that again". Roger Rabbit was in many ways one off. Technology just moved on.
"Are we in a world where they discriminate against the toons?" - Ashleigh picking up on the major theme of the movie faster than 99% of the people I know
If you're not familiar with the history of Black entertainers the early hints can be pretty easy to miss. Especially because a fair amount of tipoffs are pretty era specific. If I didn't know about the Cotton Club and places like it, then the reference would go right over my head until they get more expository.
Went over my head as a kid but super obvious as an adult. Don't think my parents noticed either back when it came out.
@@nullunit The book had absolutely zero subtlety about it. Like there were "Toon Only" drinking fountains. One of the few things from the book that actually carried over into the movie honestly.
She's good at that. Whether it's picking up on the plot/theme, identifying the 'bad guy', or picking up on some subtle detail her intuition is usually on point.
Always some asshole barging in any discussion about racist history on RUclips to proclaim whites as the true victims.. Your story has NOTHING to do with the history of America that this film is subtly telling, other than it was another example of white colonization to begin with.
They used no CGI. This is all hand-drawn. There is some truly impressive effects, such as having the toons holding real items, which required a lot of editing. The film went on to win best editing at the Oscars, including 3 other awards, including a special achievement award. No other film before or since has truly married animation and live action as well - and no other film has since had so many rights holders allow their creations to share the screen, with the exception of Rescue Rangers, which funnily enough, features Roger Rabbit.
my brother and i were obsessed with this movie. he's now an animator with sony. things were so magical back then. now special effects are taken for granted.
And many films tried. Cool World was probably the best of them and even it was at least an order of magnitude lesser.
Rescue Rangers isn’t hand drawn 2D though, and it shows. There are plenty of times through the movie where it just looks like stylized 3d animation, like for The Dragon Prince or RWBY.
"No other film before or since has truly married animation and live action as well" Thats not correct. Disney has done this before.
Mary Poppins (1964) - its as not as good as roger rabbits. but the dancing scene is amazing for 20 years earlier - (youtube "Jolly Holiday")
The most impressive, in my opinion, is the scene in the speakeasy room at the bar (starting around 14:48 in the video). The light is moving around, causing the shadows to be constantly shifting, *including Roger's*. They specifically chose to have the moving light source, exponentially increasing the difficulty of their job, just to add a little bit to make it feel real.
The "Harvey" rabbit remark was a nod to a Jimmy Stewart movie about an imaginary rabbit with that name. The making of this movie is very interesting.
I'm so glad someone else already commented this, I was going to suggest it.
And even though the Jimmy Stewart movie was still 10 years off from when this film was set, the play had already debuted on Broadway and was a smash hit.
I think it was a play first... although I could be wrong. That said it's a great movie.
I hope she reacts to some of the Golden Age comedies like Harvey, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Bringing Up Baby. Maybe she could have a pre-60s poll.
@@ThePorpoisepower it was a play first.
There are full documentaries about how they did this. It was groundbreaking.
I really need to watch them thenn
It's definitely fascinating to watch how they made this movie.
@@awkwardashleigh My favorite one to watch the filming of is the barroom dance number. It's like watching behind-the-scenes of a magician seeing how they pulled off everything. Like when the record starts skipping and he keeps smashing plates on his head, they designed a robot specifically just to pick up and break the plates so the animators could paint over it. But the single most technically impressive scene to me is the one right after when Eddie and Roger are in the saferoom. They matched the lighting on Roger to the swinging overhead light every time it gets bumped.
"Anchors Aweigh" was first though, from the '40's too.
The only CGI was on Jessica's dress to get it to sparkle. The rest is all hand drawn and shaded animation
Fun fact. They got the OG voice actor for Betty Boop for this and "i still got it" was her last words before passing.
I have watched, rewatched, and analyzed this movie so many times... and OH MY GOD I never noticed Roger gave his speech about laughter on a LITERAL SOAPBOX.
😮
Devil's in the details.
This movie is a masterclass in storytelling
When the camera pans over Eddie's desk, it shows newspaper clippings of their detective escapades, but it also shows a clipping mentioning that the Valiant bros were raised as clowns in a circus
The patty cake reaction from you was probably my favorite reaction yet. Went from confused to "oh my god I can't believe they just made that joke" in 0.4 seconds. :)
I always got the impression that part was intentional comedic censoring, and that they were actually doing it, but the pictures showed literal patty cake
Bob said this film mentally broke him. He spent so long filming talking to things that weren't there yet having to pretend they were and he could see them, that he started actually hallucinating after the film ended
And yet he still preferred it to working on the Super Mario Bros movie.
@@rowdycmoore That film broke him physically lol
@@mattgarrett2583 small price to pay for being a legend.
#RIPBobHoskins
If this movie was that hard for him, it must be hell for actors nowadays, stuck in green screen rooms with literally nothing and nobody around them. I think I remember reading that Gandalf’s actor broke down during the Hobbit filming because of it.
Judge Doom does have a backstory, he was a toon actor who specialized in playing villain roles, and after getting hit too hard in the head he fully adopted a villanous persona and started doing crimes, being the first Toon who ever murdered a human.
Is that from the book?
he robbed the first national bank of toontown, killed eddies brother when they came to investigate, then used the money to buy the election
@@chrisleebowers The sequel book. The first has very little to do with the movie. For example: the toons are comic strip characters, they can create a doppelganger to use for stunts that only lasts a few hours, and Roger in the book is a doppelganger the original Roger made before being murdered. The villain's also a genie.
@@Eidlones Whoa, cool!
@@chrisleebowers There's a channel that does comparisons between book and movie. Their Roger Rabbit video is called, Who Framed Roger Rabbit - What’s The Difference?
Veteran and venerated English actor Bob Hoskins plays the detective, Eddie Valiant, here. He had a nice long, successful career in films, tv, and voice over work. Sadly, passed away in 2014. Mr. Hoskins was truly a gem!
"Not at any time...Only when it was FUNNY!" is my favorite line in this movie. And in life.
@Shawn Bettasso So do you actually know how to communicate with other humans?
@Shawn Bettasso Bro please, learn how to write in English and then try again. This is the worst English I've ever seen.
@Shawn Bettasso You might find it funny if you learn the language it's written in.
Roger literally could not take his wrist out until it was funny; the curse of being a comedy toon.
@@HuntingViolets Yeah. That's what made is so funny.
Fun Fact: This was the last time we heard Mel Blanc doing the voices for Daffy Duck and and Mae Questel doing the voice for Betty Boop.
Well, at least they got the chance to go out with a bang, sort of like how My Cousin Vinny was Fred Gwynn's final on scene performance.
"I did not grow up on Looney Tunes. I was born in '94."
Ha! I was born in '95, and my parents had a little something called VHS tapes and later DVD collections. My childhood was classic animation.
My son was born in '99. I watched with him all Looney Tunes, Tex Avery and Tom & Jerry classics. He loves it, carrying it further. ;)
Yeah I was born in 96 and I remember looney tunes
Yeah lol I was born in 94, too. One word: Boomerang.
Remind me to show my kid classic cartoons the yoctosecond they're brought into the world.
I was born in 2001 and had classic Disney movies on VHS.
Fun fact: The underlying story of this movie is actually true. LA used to have an excellent Tram system that was basically bought and dismantled by the Car companies to force people to buy and use cars.
MUCH more money in oil, gas, bus repairs and replacements, etc compared to electric trolleys. >.< Tore up all those lines in numerous cities that were tons more efficient, environmentally friendly, sustainable, but...yeah. Profit and greed, man. Profit and greed. >.
Not just LA, pretty much every city in the US over a certain size had a tram system with overhead wires, and there was a big push to replace them with gas busses and freeways
Some of them used electrified rails instead
And it was primarily GM. There's a great documentary on it that can be found here on YT.
Somewhat random, but speaking of conspiracies and car companies, that's where the term and crime of "jay walking" comes from. Streets weren't initially intended for car traffic, but as automobiles became more popular, they pushed and pushed in campaigns about how people were the unsafe ones, not the cars, and a bunch of other stuff.
Ashleigh, this isn't a "Loony Tunes" movie, just uses some of the characters from WB's properties. When Spielberg put this deal together (which took years to finalize), Disney and WB agreed for the use of their popular characters, as long as they got the exact same amount of screen time. Which is why the characters most often appear in pairs (Bugs and Mickey; Daffy and Donald, Porky Pig and Tinkerbell, etc.) Other studio characters that appear solo (Dumbo, Tweety Bird, Droopy Dog, Yosemite Sam) have more or less equal screen time. But to answer your question, most of the other toons (i.e. Baby Herman, the bouncer ape, Chris Lloyd's character, not to mention Rodger himself) in the movie aren't from existing movies or cartoons, but originals for this film.
Does she just refer to ALL cartoons as Looney Tunes? That would make for some fun memes.
It really was pretty miraculous that they managed to put toons from different properties all in one movie. Can imagine that today in the over-protective world we now live in.... Like Blazing Saddles... this could not be made today.
@@staggertobed It was a nightmare to negotiate the deal back then, so I think you are right. That would not happen today, because it barely happened back then.
@@staggertobed That's what we all thought... until Chip and Dale came out of nowhere!
The Bouncer Gorillas and Penguin Waiters go back to a lot of the gangster movies of the 30s and 40s. In those movies, the waiters in nightclubs were always shown in tie and tails, bustling around like the penguins. And the bodyguard/muscle for the Boss was always portrayed by some big ex-boxer/wrestler in a tuxedo who was usually just referred to as "the gorilla in the monkey suit".
I love it when Eddie thanks the kids on the streetcar for the cigarettes, it still makes me laugh.
The animation in this film is all old-school hand drawn animation, it is a true labor of love.
The joke when the guy in the bar seems like he's going to rat out Roger is an allusion to the Jimmy Stewart classic, "Harvey." You absolutely need it on your list! You'll love it!
"Harvey" which was about an invisible 7 ft tall rabbit... and didn't come until a year or two after this movie took place lol.
@@Hiraghm doesn't matter, still a clever reference to golden era Hollywood classic
@@juriskrumgolds5810 He could've been referencing the original stage play which premiered in 1944, so it works.
@@rayolsen8425 good point
Harvey is a movie Ashleigh must put on her watch list! :)
This film was absolutely huge when it came out and it made a very strong standing at the Oscars. The effects definitely were groundbreaking and the work involved with making cartoons and live actors interact was the subject of many programs afterward. The film was also a major factor sparking the animation renaissance that came in the 90s, especially with Disney (Ah, those were the days). Sadly, it was also the last major project that Mel Blanc was involved in before he died. Bob Hoskins as the core protagonist was quite an inspired choice. He captured the accent and temperament of his character perfectly. I can remember how thrown I was when I heard his thick English accent some time afterward. Unfortunately he is also no longer with us.
"You mean you could have taken your hand outta that cuff at any time?!"
"Not anytime, Eddie... Only when it was funny."
Is by far, my favorite line in this entire movie. Absolutely wonderful writing.
Also goes a long way to explain toon logic, and how the toon universe works. This one line does so much universe building for the entire film.
*Andy= Eddie
It was more than just hilarious, it was actually genius too. It was describing their reality as toons. That they're actually prisoners living inside comedy.
@@ZestonN Good call, I was in a conversation when I wrote this and didn't even notice I replaced the names. -_-
The level of effort in this film coined the phrase "bump the lamp". When Eddie is trying to cut off the handcuffs, they hit the overhead light and it starts swinging around and the shadows stretch and move. So the animators had to put the shadows on Roger to match. It was such unnecessary extra work, but they did it to make it the most amazing movie they could.
Another example is Roger spitting out the water from the sink. It *could * have been animated water, but Roger was in a sink with real water and so they made a machine to spit the real water out and drew Roger over it. So much extra work, but they felt they needed to set the bar high.
And they did.
I wish I could find the video that compares this movie with similar shots in Cool World. There the studio couldn't be bothered to get such little details right (though to be fair, they didn't have Spielberg or Disney money). The only real reason to see Cool World is to appreciate everything Roger Rabbit for right.
I'm disappointed in you giving this 4 of 5! Do you realize HOW MANY moving parts had to be in line with EVERY SHOT!?! Puppeteers for the toons live-action props? The actors miming their interactions with the toons? The clear perspective of ensuring the animation was flawless while filming the live-action? Girl, this film is a masterpiece in technical theatre!!!
Throw in the epic story, the COUNTLESS TOONS I grew up with, and this film is, and always will be, the true GOAT!!!!!
"There's no business like show business" was a song from "Annie get your gun" from the 1946 musical
And the song was recycled in a whole lot of musicals of the era.
When you're watching this movie in the theater, that scene where he's in the tunnel and suddenly bursts into Toontown is absolutely amazing. Going from that really dark and quiet environment right into the bright insanity of Toontown is like your hit of acid suddenly kicking in.
I REMEMBER THAT SCENE FROM THE THEATER TOO!!! I was 7.
That same tunnel was also used in Back To The Future Part II 😉😉😉
Man! These eddibles aint s@&t!!! ...20 minutes later...
I don't know whether it's still there, but Walt Disney World had a ride where you went from the end of Casablanca in black and white into the full-on Technicolor Munchkinland from Wizard of Oz. It was all 3D with animatronics, and it had the same feel.
@@AcmeRacing - That sounds like 'The Great Movie Ride' at the Disney/MGM Studios theme park...
Such a masterpiece! A Film Noir detective and a silly cartoon seamlessly blend together.
"Puss" = face. As in "sourpuss".
Inbetweener: Animation has "key frames" that define a character's movements. Those are done by the people credited as animators and assistant animators. The inbetweeners draw the frames in between those key frames so that the animation is smooth and in-synch with the camera frame rate.
You must have gotten bored and read a dictionary in study hall. You only looked up naughty words like everyone else.
Why the "inbetweener" explanation? Was this brought up in the video?
@@Scarabola Yes. She commented during the end credits when the Inbetweeners were listed that she didn't know what that was.
The quantity and quality of practical effects (not CGI) in this film are amazing. These days it wouldn't be that impressive. Back then, it was mind blowing
I think it is still amazing what they created back then. I think it’s beautiful. The editing. Nothing goes unnoticed not even the finger prints in the dust on the chair.
Look up “Hit the lamp” this would be impressive even today
@@awkwardashleigh The trick behind the practical effects is very simple, stunning even. They filmed ALL of the movie practically. Using stand-ins, pole-mounted items and all kinds of simple ways of manipulating the real-world things and then went over it frame by frame and animated the cartoons overtop where needed.
@@awkwardashleigh you should watch the making some time
IIRC at the time, this was one of the most expensive movies ever made. It was an absolutely massive, complex, difficult production. I think that's also why they never made a sequel.
15:00 the shifting of the lighting with roger's animation in the room really put in perspective how far ahead this movie was. I'm always in awe with this movie/scene every time that I watch it.
There was absolutely no need for them to make that rooms lighting like that. But they did. Just to flex.
OMG, @Ashleigh_Burton , your reaction to the Patty Cake photos ... ROFL, I was snickering for a solid moment there. Brightened up my Mon.
No CGI, they filmed the movie then had artists hand draw the animation IN EVERY SINGLE FRAME. Was a massive amount of work. Also it's to bad you left out the part where Jessica says "A rabbit is a girls best friend." or something like that, it was a vibrator joke lol.
My Favourite Missed Out Scene Was When Eddie Fires Two Bullets From His "Toon" Gun, They Lose Track Of Their
Target And He Refers To Them As Dumb-dumbs. When I First Saw This Movie, I Didn't Realise That It Was A Word-
play On An Actual Type Of Bullet. Dum-dum (Or Fragmentation) Bullets.
Even flattened Doom? That has to be either a practical effect or early CGI, but I doubt it's animated.
I don't think rabbit vibrators were a thing at the time the movie was made.
@@josephwallace202 Are you talking about the flattening of Doom with the stream roller? Practical effect. If you're taking about flat Doom jumping up and walking around, that looked like stop motion animation to me.
@@jessodum3103 the latter, I guess stop motion is plausible but it still looks like his image is painted on digitally
I Can't even watch us after you didn't even leave the part in. "Remember me Eddie, when I killed your brother? I talked just like this!" what the fahq Ashley, don't leave out these important parts! Still love your reaction to the Sandlot kiss! I'll never let that go! ❤🤍💙💛
"Chubby Robert DeNiro" is the late great British actor, Bob Hoskins. If you ever watch Hook, he's in that too.
The bad guy is just Judge Doom. No other identity. Lots of these toons were just made up for the movie and weren't actually from any specific cartoon company.
Though contrary to popular assumption, Jessica isn't one of them. She's based on a character in the Donald Duck cartoon Duck Pimples, a surreal film noir spoof which is well worth checking out.
Bob was (briefly) considered to play a certain Canadian clawed superhero because of his height and gruff demeanor. Imagine a universe where that actually happened.
aye, Bob was a great Smee.
I legit thought she was going to say "chubby Phil Collins," bc that's what I always think of.
Judge Doom does have a back story that has since been given to him. Lookup the character Baron von Rotton.
As a 66 year old fan I can understand Ashleigh's concern about newer generations not getting many of the references in what were popular movies at the time. This is because I enjoy watching even older movies, the kind my parents and grandparents generations enjoyed. I'm sure I don't always get the subtleties of 1920's-50's drama or humor, but it's history. I'm fascinated by the culture of the past and how it has evolved over time. Older movies are a window into the past, and I'm gratified that I'm not the only one who appreciates this. Ashleigh is exploring a golden age of film, but I'd like to point out that the golden age of film did not begin in 1980. Still, her reactions and insights are delightful. She makes me think about the first time I watched those movies when they came out. She would have been the perfect movie date if she was alive back then. She is so genuine and so much fun to watch. Bravo, Ashleigh. On another note I'd personally like her to watch Irma La Douce (1963) with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. It's pretty funny, and in my opinion the perfect grown-up date movie from way back then.
I'm not far behind you, and I'm also fascinated by the cultures of the past... mostly in how extremely superior to modern culture they were.
@@Hiraghm If you were old enough to know that the taxi cab was taken from Tex Avery's "One Cab's Family", you would have enough cultural appreciation to know why cartoons today suck.
They had JOKES back then, not huggy fantasy-adventure lesbians trying to imitate anime.
@@Hiraghm For me that might depend on how past we're talking about, and perhaps more importantly on where.
Many of the classic cartoons won't be seen today because they are cancel-cultured since they don't meet today's standards. They should still be shown, and add a disclaimer if people really need to know.
I laughed aloud when you said to Joanna Cassidy, "You're gonna show everyone your business," because that's EXACTLY what an animator did with Jessica Rabbit. In the scene when the cab crashes and Jessica went flying, a pervy animator slipped in a few frames of Jessica's hoo-hoo! Those frames, sadly, have since been eliminated...
Joanna Cassidy already showed the twins in Blade Runner
24:30 if you wonder why Valiant is so good at this.
When we get a tour of his office when the camera goes around the first time, we actually see pictures of Himself, his brother and their Father/mother being part of a Circus.
Thats why his Brother when they became cops, wanted to be in Toon town, cause it would have been fun and just like home.
Thats why he actully isn't bad when it comes to performing and juggling.
As someone with a bachelor of fine arts degree, I loved this move from the first time that I saw it--not just because it is actually a very good movie, but because I was (and still am) in love with how well they combined live action and animation-cell animation. What a skill, and you are correct, it stands the test of time and always will, even if people don't really know who the characters are at some point. Thanks for doing this one!
How do you know someone has an art degree? They'll tell you.
@@Subxenox15 yeah, I'm not proud of it lol...at least I don't also do crossfit and I'm not vegan
@@Subxenox15 Some people seem to think that Ive never been to University. One person even said it directly to my face like he was 100% certain that it was a fact. Another person thinks that I'm being dishonest and making up my University Major. This is all very odd because I have memories of going to University and completing a Bachelor of Arts degree. Or perhaps it's all in my imagination.
One of my absolute favorite childhood movies! Judge Doom in that final scene haunted me and, TBH, still freaks me TF out.
This is a true 80’s classic considering that Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future Trilogy, Romancing The Stone, and Forrest Gump) directed this movie and managed to win some awards, four to be exact. Who Framed Roger Rabbit won the Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, and for Special Achievement In Animation Direction. It just sucks that this is the only time that we’ll ever see the perfect animated blend of Warner Bros and Walt Disney characters ever. God bless this 34 year old movie! As much as i love Christopher Lloyd, Bob Hoskins really shined and gave us the best performance of his career in my opinion. That’s All Folks! #WhoFramedRogerRabbit 🎥🎬🏆
Don’t forget Richard Williams
@@JojosCrazyChannel I don’t know who that is. Sorry!
@@timothymorris157 you should look him up, he’s considered to be one of the great animation directors ! And he directed the animation for this film too. There’s his famous book, The Animator’s Survival Kit. And his unfinished project, The Thief & the Cobbler, which is free on RUclips if you’re curious!
Bob Hoskins should have gotten Best Actor.
I have always felt like belonging to the last "classic" generation, having grown up with the old Disney cartoons, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry or Tex Avery (before censorship)... in the 80s and 90s you could still see and enjoy the same stuff your parents or even grandparents liked.. there are good cartoons today but nothing like the old school classics
At least in terms of Looney Tunes, I think that failure belongs to Warner Brothers. Their cartoons used to be syndicated to any outlet who wanted to broadcast them, but around the 1990s they started putting Looney Tunes behind paywalls -- such as showing them exclusively on Cartoon Network and other Warner-owned entities. What a shocker that when you limit who can see them, then fewer people will know about them. Great job, WB!
They did make a very good Looney Tunes show that went from 2011-2013. For some reason people don't seem to remember it very much these days. It was more of a sitcom than a sketch show, but it did some great character-based comedy.
@@Lightice1 I loved that show, I thought it was hilarious. But I gather that it was not very popular among a large contingent of "classis" Looney Tunes fans. It's now available on HBO Max for anyone who's interested (yes, another paywall).
Many of the old school toons directly tied classical music and emotions. I see the absence in my grand kids.
I can show them some merry melodies but not the same thing as seeing 3 hours a week every Saturday plus more during the week.
Spielberg tried to recreate those good old classics with Animanicas and he came pretty close.
Bob Hoskiins, who plays the detective, Eddy Valient, also played Smee in "Hook."
"There's no business like show business" comes from the song of the same name, which Irving Berlin wrote for the musical "Annie Get Your Gun" about the life of Annie Oakley.
I'd love to see Ashleigh react to a bunch of Warner Brothers cartoons. It would probably create too many copyright problems, though. There must be a reason there aren't many of those cartoons on RUclips.
...or only fragments of them.
She might also be amazed
that so many different voice
characterizations all came from
one man--the incomparable Mel Blanc.
I WAS IN THIS PLAY IN HIGHSCHOOL ! I was so excited when she asked where this was from . Thank you for answering it for me.
A great detective dramady that just happens to have a ton of animated characters in it.
It says a lot about toon sensibilities that _Jessica_ is considered the lucky one for bagging Roger.
Well yeah, to a toon, you’re only as attractive as you are funny. Roger is hilarious, but Jessica, not so much. That’s why the toons think Jessica is the lucky one to have bagged a toon like Roger.
@@hughmorris7557 I think that was what was implied. Also on the films tvtropes pages there's a theory someone posted that her being draw more like a (although still exaggerated) human might also be s factor.
Theres a phrase that came out of this movie: "Bumping the Lamp". It refers to when Roger and Eddie are hiding in the bar, but the light above them gets bumped, changing the lighting throughout the scene, making the animation of Roger that much more difficult but much more impressive. Disney coined the term "Bumping the Lamp" to show both new and existing employees how and why you should always put forth extra effort, go the extra mile and do a little bit more than people expect.
Jessica's speaking voice was Kathleen Turner, whom you met in _Romancing the Stone,_ and her singing voice was Amy Irving, Mrs. Spielberg at the time.
Another excellent Kathleen Turner film is the romance/crime _Prizzi's Honor_ (1985), in which she co-stars with Jack Nicholson.
A delightful Amy Irving film is the romantic comedy _Crossing Delancey_ (1988), which co-stars Peter Riegert, whom you'll likely recognize from his many film and TV roles.
Crossing Delancey is such a wonderful movie.
Add in Kathleen, Michael Douglas and Danny Devito in "The War of the Roses"!
You might know her from 'Friends'. She plays Chandlers Dad, Charles - the drag Queen !
Slight warning: both War of the Roses and Prizzi's Honor are very dark comedies.
I saw this when it came out and the “Making of” is almost more interesting than the movie itself. Definitely check that out. Brilliant acting by Bob Hoskins, who was British. I’m old and know all the cartoons, so I loved this.
Joanna Cassidy is SO beautiful! Eddie is a lucky guy! lol
Yes, this was the dying era of true artistry in movie-making, the craft of film. I put this and Tron in a very similar spot, in my book.
I could be wrong but I think this was the last time that the classic cartoon characters were animated in the traditional way to any extent using some of their original voices and all practical effects for the live action... It's quality holds up amazingly well against modern CGI films
I always thought he was Australian. But I could be wrong about that.
@@amyjordan195 He's English, and a proud cockney alright.
This movie is why Back To The Future 2 took 4 years to release. Zemekis did BTTF, Jewel of The Nile, Roger Rabbit and BTTF 2 & 3 in a giant shoot!
Talk about a busy half-decade!
Great reaction Ashleigh! Glad you enjoyed this classic movie. The rooster was Foghorn Leghorn, and the dog running the elevator was Droopy. Looking forward to Spiderman 2 on Friday. Keep up the great work.
My Mother had a nervous breakdown the day after I turned 10 in 1988. I found a loaded shotgun under our couch and was playing with it. She had been having an affair with a drug dealer while my Dad was stationed in another part of the country. She put me in the car and abandoned my 16 year old brother, who refused to go with her, at our home in Southern Oklahoma. We spent the next two weeks driving all over the southwest until she came to her senses and we ended up at my Uncle's house in Denver. My Uncle was a great guy. He was 26 and cool. I didn't know why him and his "friend" Jim shared a bedroom in such a big house full of bedrooms, but he cooked great burgers and told awesome jokes. He ended up bringing me to see Who Framed Roger Rabbit and we laughed our asses off. Afterward he took me to a burrito place. We ended up leaving after a couple of weeks and ended up at my Grandmother's in Massachusetts. My Brother reunited with us after my Mom and Dad finally got divorced. In December of 1989 I watched as the nurses and doctors turned off my Uncle's ventilator because he was brain dead and not going to wake up from his coma. He had Kaposy Sarcoma all over his body and was a skeletal 100 pounds. In those days AIDS was a death sentence. My Grandmother made us all promise we would tell people he died of cancer if people asked. She was more concerned about the scandal amongst her neighbors than she was about her baby boy dying.
These are the things I remember when I think about Roger Rabbit.
That was a journey I wasn’t quite prepared for. But we all need some healing.
Thanks for the trauma dump
.... Jesus.
Oh wow I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
@@c-puff The world's a sick place. 🤣🤣
This is basically based on a true story, when automobiles started coming out, car companies were buying out trollings and all public transportation so ppl would have to buy cars. Yes, that's Christopher Lloyd
some of the detail that went into this film are almost invisible, but make every difference.
During planning the writing team set out and created a set of "Toon Rules" finding things that toons did that they could not help but do or not do. The toons had to obey them in their quirky fashions, and to an extent, the humans were subject to them as well.
The handcuff gag was a good example.
The sudden random periodic aggression against E.T. is one of my favorite through-lines of the Ashleighverse.
23:25 Fun fact: the guy who voiced Roger also voiced the cab.
You got to understand that when watching this at a young age, the story went over our heads but it was absolutely mind blowing to see the Disney and Looney Tune characters on screen together and interacting
The Disney of today would have never gave permission for this too ... so glad it was made in 1988.
FUN FACT: They originally approched Eddie Murphy to be the main character. Given the time period of the film, the original stoy also included the plot point that the Valiant Brothers liked to work in Toon Town because the Toons never cared that they were black, unlike the real world.
That puts 5:20 in a different light as well.
yet u go back to Tom & Jerry cartoons n realize dey showed tha Caucasian characters but tha large melanated woman wuz only shown from tha waist down .. imagine wat dey woulda made her face look like
@@XxThePhantomFreezexX
No need to imagine when you've seen *Saturday Evening Puss* [1950] frame by frame.
Too bad she actually looks good, huh?
@@WAEVOICE there wuz different racial undertones as well .. she had no husband & wuz depicted as tha "lonely" old melanated woman wit a cat
glad that aspect of the story got squelched.
They made three Roger Rabbit shorts that are likely in the special features of the copy you watched (they're on RUclips as well): "Tummy Trouble", "Roller Coaster Rabbit", & "Trail Mix-Up".
Strangely enough, I love the movie, but had never heard of these shorts until just now. Thanks for these!
I saw "Roller Coaster Rabbit" at the cinema. It was played before the main feature.
I remember "Tummy Trouble" aired before "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids."
A similar movie to this is Cool World.
Here are some other great Cult Classics:
Sorcerer (1977)
The Warriors (1979)
Vanishing Point (1971)
Rollerball (1975) - It is not about a pen
In Bruges (2008)
Idiocracy (2006)
Repo Man (1984)
Heathers (1988)
Beerfest (2006)
Office Space (1999)
Escape From New York (1981)
The Boys From Brazil (1978)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Slap Shot (1977)
They Live (1988)
Swamp Thing (1982)
The Road Warrior (1982)
The Rover (2014)
Don't forget Ralph Bakshi's American Pop
@@jefelix2010 What about Space Jam?
@@jefelix2010 I forgot about Mary Poppins and Song of the South.
Cool World isn't that similar though. Mostly in the sense of human in toon world. I love both, but prefer cool worlds art style/design.
How has no one brought up Brendan Fraser in Monkeybone?
Fun Fact: I grew up with this movie, and I remember the Patty Cake scene completely going over my head, so watching it as an adult still gives me a kick remembering being clueless, lol.
Also, 13:01 when you got startled and said you thought he was about to pull two filing cabinets on his head, I actually laughed out loud, lol.
Some things I wanted share on this film:
-To explain why exactly Jessica is with Roger of all people she said that "He makes me laugh" so in this sense humor I'd the equivalent to sexieness.
-The quote "There's Business Like Show Business" is from the song that Ethel Merman basically became her theme,
-Characters like that octopus behind the bar the Gorilla doorman, Benny the cab,, and the weasels are not previously created,
-I love films that reward multiple viewings and if you look carefully on the bathroom wall before Eddie falls you see it say "For a good time call Alice underland"
-Warner Brothers and other studios were only willingly to share their beloved characters as long at they had the same amount of screentime as Disney’s which is why Bugs and Mickey and Daffy and Donald are on screen at the same time.
-while the book the film is based on had a lot heavier layering especially having toons in the place of African Americans. There is still quite a bit of it in the film as The Ink and Paint Club is a play on the Cotton Club where African Americans could perform, but not be served and wanting to destroy toontown to make way for a freeway was what happened to african American neighborhoods to make way for freeways.
-the buying of the trolley system to make way for cloverleaf is parallel to real life when the tire and automotive industry bought the trolley system in Los Angeles in the 40’s,
-Mel Blanc the original voice of nearly every Looney Tune character reprises his roles of Tweey, Bugs, Daffy etc, but surprisingly someone else voiced Yosemite,
-the original voice of Betty Boop all the way back from the 30’s reprise her role here and most people would know May Questel better as the confused old Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,
-The film’s animation director who received a special oscar for the film Richard Willlams was the voice of Droopy,
-Charles Fleischer the voice of Roger actually dressed up like his character to be more in the role,
-Bob Hoskins took mime classes to play off of things not there which is why his performance is excellent,
-Eddie hates toons, but when it goes over the desks you see his brother liked Betty so he has a soft spot for her,
-the reason Eddie was able to do all of those acrobatics near the end of the film is it shows on the desk he and his family were once part of a circus ,
-looking back it is clear Lloyd is made to look like he is wearing a rubber mask (I still don’t know how they did that must have been a lot of makeup or something), but one interesting detail is Judge Doom’s cape always has a gust of wind blowing it back and since he is a toon whenever dealing with the Dip he wears a glove or steps back away from it,
-the Detective Santino that works with Eddie and says he could have lended him money is the imperial officer in the original Star Wars film that was force chocked by Darth Vader,
-the reason Eddie is taking a shower in the middle of the day is because of a deleted scene where Doom put a toon prank head on him and he took a ahower to get it off of him,
-Fritz the cat is at the top of the entrance to toontown as he was the first cartoon characters ever created,
-one scene that was edited slightly when the film was put on dvd is a slight couple of frames when Jessica and Eddie are flying out of Benny and you can see Jessica is commando! Look it up and you can see it from a laserdisc upload someone put on youtube,
-Eddie Murphy was one choice of Valiant, but he turned it down and to this day it is one of the biggest roles he regrets not taking,
-When the guy in the bar says Harvey he is making a reference to Harvey a play about a man who is friends with an invisible 7 foot rabbit.
-because some of the car stunts were so dangerous they had to animated Bob Hoskins in instead of him in the car,
-technically this film’s idea for a way to kill a toon does exist with the ingredients: turpentine, acitane, and benzine all found in paint thinner which would kill a toon,
-besides the honorary oscar this film received, it also won for: Sound Effects Editing, Visual effects, and film editing and was additional nominated for art direction, cinematography, and sound.
I thought the weasels were from The Wind in the Willows cartoon about Mr. Toad?
Also the animated penguin waiters were a reference to Mary Poppins, another great Disney film that superimposes live acting and animation.
@@MsWaif No they're just regular weasels. Also yes the penguins are Mary Poppins. People forgot about Bedknobs and Broomsticks though along with Song of the South and So Dear to My Heart.
You missed that Christopher Lloyd never blinks. That might be one reason his face looks kinda surreal.
Slight correction... it's Felix the Cat above the tunnel entrance... not Fritz... 😉
The shoe scene traumatized me a kid, still makes me tear up as an adult! 😭
And the part where the bad guy screeched in the high voice freaked me out as a kid!
Roger Rabbit (originally a book) was not the first movie to combine live-action and animation (prior to Roger Rabbit, we had Fantasia, Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pete's Dragon, and more). But it was the first to do it on a new technical level.
I really like the line Jessica uses: "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."
Also, for a similar movie, check out Cool World.
Cool world isn't worth it... thanks Hollywood execs back in the day. The original storyline that was planned is WAY better than what it ended up as.
Ugh, Cool World was crap.
Yeah, same technical concept, but very different kind of story and vastly inferior to Roger Rabbit
She may still watch it for one reason: Brad Pitt.
@@Cugastratos although i agree with the other commenters that cool world is not that good it dose share a similar story line detective trying to figure out toon stuff and chasing a killer toon. even though it is quite different Ashleigh might like happy time murders. all the mystery and a bit more sleazed
SO glad to see how much you enjoyed this film. It was my whole childhood. Thanks to this and Back to the Future, my dog's middle name was Zemeckis.
I remember watching "The Making Of" this movie and after you see how much work it took you can see why there are not many movies like this.
Brilliant reaction, Ashleigh.
Important things: Everything Roger says is true. Everything. The dismantling of the Redcar actually happened at the time portrayed.
Porky Pig (WB) gets the last line. Tinkerbell (Disney) is the last character you see.
This movie came up just about the time that Disney was virtually bankrupted by Black Cauldron (terrible film, incredibly expensive) and that's the only reason they took part. Warner Bros were onboard with their characters but King Features weren't - which is why Popeye doesn't appear. This film would never happen now. So this is the only time you'll see WB and Disney characters in one film.
Black Cauldron terrible? Absolutely not. It´s one of Disney´s best!
Except for the WB characters, they did get a bunch of non-Disney characters in the Chip and Dale film, including Roger at the beginning. I don't know if there were any WB characters, though
What you say of Roger is actually also true of Jessica - when she's asked something straight-out, she replies completely honestly. Her behaviour also makes complete sense as long as you remember that on the one hand she is the very definition of a femme fatale, but on the other, she's still a Toon. For example, hitting Roger with the frying pan and putting him in the trunk in order to protect him would make logical sense from her standpoint.
The movie was made by Touchstone (effectively Disney's 'adult mainstream' movie brand), so I think the problem Disney 's lawyers would have had revolved largely around shared screen time etc. Disney itself was doing OK, the feature animation division not so much. It says a lot that Disney had to contract the animation out to Dick Williams' studio in order to get it done.
Droopy's appearance proves MGM was on board as well. The Fleischer Bros Popeye may not have been available. But at least the Fleischers were represented by Betty Boop.
Black Cauldron is a good film, just unexpectedly dark for Disney. Won an Oscar.
This was the ONLY time Disney and Warner Bros characters shared the screen together. They really went all out with the cameos, and it was awesome. Watching it back in 1988 it blew my mind seeing Mickey and the gang interacting with the Looney Tunes.
BTW, Eddie's cartoon gun was given to him by Yosemite Sam.
The movie made a deliberate attempt to give equal screen time to the related toons, like Daffy and Donald, Mickey and Bugs.
Now they all hang out at their respective amusement parks
The equal time of Bugs and Mickey was a stipulation by Warner Bros.
I caught this one in the theatre upon its release and still enjoy it. My father met Mel Blanc, my father and I met June Foray, a buddy of mine appeared in the film as a pedestrian when Benny the Cap and his passengers head down the alleyway, and my wife and I visited the Mt Hollywood Tunnel in Griffith Park (the entrance to Toontown) and the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge ("What do you call the middle of a song?").
5:13 Glad you asked, it's actually quite simple in theory. The way animation was made was they would draw characters onto a clear animation cel and than physically lay that on top of a drawing of a background, then they would take a single picture with their video camera then rinse and repeat until they have an animation.
So the way they did this is instead of layering those animation cels over a drawing of a background, they layered it over a still image from the live action footage. So in principle it's actually super simple, but in reality, it's very difficult to get the animation to look like its sitting in that real world 3d space. This film is actually the absolute best example that I'm aware of using this technique. (it's a kind of rotoscoping)
The way they achieved such a convincing marriage of live-action and animation is by using many different painstaking techniques. One of which is that a lot of this is animated on 1s. Normally animation is done on 2s which means that the individual drawings in the animation only change every 2 frames. Animating on 1s is more than twice the work and cost so it's rarely done because of the budget, but adding those extra frames makes the animation look much much smoother, and more real. Matching the framerate of the live actors also helps sell the illusion.
The other thing they did was to pay close attention to lighting, the toons actually cast shadows on live actors. They did this two ways, the first was to rotoscope shadows onto the actors, and the second was that they would have physical objects like mechanical arms holding live props that they would later animate overtop of and it would give the illusion that the toon is interacting with a real object and cast real shadows.
The scene when he's washing dishes with the weasels searching the place for Roger is a great example. The weasel is holding a real gun and he even splashes the water which sells the illusion perfectly, and it was just a few prop arms that they drew over later. There are a lot of other things that I didn't bring up but this is getting pretty wordy.
So like I said, simple in theory but they did such an incredible job because of all the lengths they went through. Love this movie.
"The other thing they did was to pay close attention to lighting, the toons actually cast shadows on live actors."
This lead to the term "Bumping the Lamp" which refers to subtly putting in a lot of extra effort simply to demonstrate technical skill. In one of the scenes, Roger bumps a hanging lamp which starts it swinging, which meant that the lighting and shadow was constantly changing across each frame of the film. So those shadows the toon would be casting on the live actors wouldn't just have to account for Roger's movements, but for the lamp's as well. But during the filming of the live action elements, there was no rabbit there to bump the lamp. The director had to have one of the prop/FX guys set up something for the lamp to get bumped. They made their job that much harder for that scene, ON PURPOSE, for a detail that most in the audience would not even notice on a conscious level, just to reinforce the illusion that Roger was actually there.
They didn't use a video camera. They shot on film (celluloid.)
@@anzaeria thats a fairly irrelevant gripe, of course I didnt mean they were actually using video. It was professionally done so naturally they were using film.
@@adamwee382 In instances like this, it's always good to use the correct terminology to avoid confusion. For example, we could say a 'movie camera', 'movie film camera', ''motion picture camera', 'motion picture film camera' or alternatively a 'cine camera.' If we say 'video camera', this would suggest that the footage was recorded electronically on tape, disc or SD card etc.
@@anzaeria it's a youtube comment bud, calm your tits.... if anyone is really that interested in the technique, there are plenty of videos on youtube that break down the details of the process. this guy took his time to write a very detailed explanation and here you are, with your little sentence, shitting on it because you have nothing better to do. take a hike.
You hear a lot of people, my older brother included, say that they were traumatized and terrified beyond belief by Judge Doom when they first saw this movie as a kid. Me, I first saw this movie when I was thirteen, and I thought Judge Doom was completely awesome. As an adult, I recognize that he’s completely terrifying, and yet, still, I really love the character, and I still say he’s completely awesome.
I still cant hear "Remember me....?" without going thru that whole speech complete with the screaching voice
Even before the reveal I always rwmembered the fear on the shoe he murders. Just big wtf as a kid.
@@Thrui And then LITERALLY looking daggers at him.
@@Thrui Haha. Yeah, I have the same impulse, though unfortunately, I can’t get my voice to go high enough.
@@redsands1001 Yeah, that’s a moment that makes an impression. Didn’t get me as bad as it got other people, but I understand it when people say they had nightmares as a result of that moment.
I had a huge grin on my face while waiting for her to learn what 'Patty Cake' was.
Bob Hoskins was an INCREDIBLE actor.
I'd highly recommend The Long Good Friday as one of his finest performances, along with this and The Super Mario movie
I applaud your balls, good sir, for recommending the Mario Movie , given the level of hate it still receives.
I LOVE Super Mario Bros.
I'd vote for Mermaids with him and Cher.
I saw this in the theater as a kid and I can’t emphasize enough how traumatizing it was to see that cartoon shoe get executed.
Same! Disney got a bit dark in the '80s.
Yes! I was 10 and cried
Zemeckis regrets making it a red shoe.
That part really upset me as a kid.
And I bet you had an evil smile when the Judge got dipped.
I remember seeing this with my family in the theatre when I was kid and my brother was about four. He loved Roger afterwards. Over the years I have grown to love this movie more and more.
17:47 "Somebody has died of laughter?"
There was a guy in England in the 70s who laughed his ass off for around 30 minutes straight, watching an episode of The Goodies. Had a heart attack and slumped on the couch stone dead. His daughter was later diagnosed with Long QT syndrome, which is hereditary and so was likely a contributing factor to her father's death. But still, not many comedy shows can verifiably claim that someone died of laughter watching them :D
There have also been reports of a Danish man dying of laughter in 1989 when he was watching the film (an excellent comedy, btw) A Fish Called Wanda.
There's also famously the philosophyer Chrysippus who say a donkey eating his figs, turned to his servant to go get some wine for him to wash it down with, then laughed so hard at his own joke that he died. This one is on my mind because, after knowing that story for decades, I FINALLY got the context: Figs were an expensive delicacy and the word he used didn't mean just "wine" but basically the ancient Greek equivalent of "the good stuff" as it meant undiluted aged wine. So a modern equivalent would be a guy seeing his million-dollar mansion burning to the ground, turning to his butler and saying "Could you toss my paintings onto the fire? It's a bit chilly", then laughing himself to death at his own joke.
To me, The Goodies was a funny show, but not die-laughing funny. A Fish Called Wanda was funnier.
The episode was called "Kung Fu Kapers" about a made up form of martial arts
Monty Python did a skit about someone "discovering" a joke that was so funny that people would die laughing at it. In the skit the British military, during WW2, realized how it could be used against the Germans. But they had to separate different lines of the joke, have them translated to German, then have separate British soldiers learn (without knowing the meaning) the words and shout the German language lines, in the right order, at the German soldiers. It worked! But somehow, I think I remember it back fired some how. But a very funny skit!
Why would figs be an expensive delicacy in Greece? The trees grow like weeds in anyplace with a Mediterranean climate. Were they a particular rare type of figs, or something?
Classic! Some Toons were made up for the film but it's fun seeing childhood characters in one film.
I live in Birmingham in the UK. Born in 1979 and 9 when this was released.
My mom worked all her career for BT ( the phone company ) in various roles. Occasionally she had to go to London for meetings a couple days a year.
Well at the time there was a quite a good social club type thing and organised things throughout the year, flower shows, days out for the family, and occasionally weekends away, they didn’t pay for it was organised by staff members.
Well like I said I was 9, my sister was 6 and we went down on such a weekend trip in ‘88.
It just so happened that, that week my mom had been in London in such a meeting not far from Leicester Square and had got tickets for us at the famous Odeon opening weekend, up in the nose bleed section on the Saturday evening!!
I like everyone else have been bought up Disney et al, but even now in my mid forties, think this film in the greatest animation of all time simply because of those memories from decades ago and seeing Mickey and Bugs talking to each other!!
I so loved this film as a kid. Me and my brother would do a small running gag of pointing our finger like a gun at one another's back and say "Valiant!" and the other would turn around and say "I always knew I'd get it in ToonTown." Ha ha, I loved me Roger Rabbit Tank Top my mum got me as well. Wish I still had it.
Love the bar scene when he references an invisible rabbit, Harvey. That is such a good old film with James Stewart (1950s). He has a 6ft Pooka for a friend. Watch it at your leisure...just a brilliant old movie.
I hope she watches Harvey sometime. She loves Jimmy Stewart after all.
Fun fact the rabbit Harvey is a reference to the movie of the same name starring Jimmy Stewart who’s best friend is a giant invisible rabbit so it’s another wonderful reference god bless this movie 😂
When I first saw the thumb-nail, I KNEW you would get more than a kick out of it. The animation like that is becoming a lost art. Another live action/animated movie that has a cult following is Cool World with Brad Pitt. It's a bit "funkier" but is really well done. Many of the classics are better than CGI in different ways. A fun game with friends is to see how many characters and what they were in.
This is without doubt in my top 10 movies of all time. I feel for Jessica big time. I'm not collector of figurines but when i saw a limited addition one of Jessica but it was £100, so i said no. Little did i know my husband conspired with the girls i worked with to get it for me for Christmas. He passed last year and i will tresure it till i die.
When they were filming the movie, the actor that did the voice for Roger Rabbit read all of his lines in person on the set. He insisted on wearing red suspenders and bunny ears that are attached to a headband. The costume was so bad, rumors were circulating around the studio lot about this new movie being worked on with the worst special effects.
Can't say I've seen this movie very many times but I can say that at some point the "... I'm just drawn that way." line struck me as profound. Whenever it's appropriate to say "Don't judge a book by it's cover.", or reference first impressions or glass houses I use the line instead. I've never had anyone know what I was talking about and I like it that way. Nothing amuses me more then being cleaver and no one understanding.
Bob Hoskins is such an underrated actor and I love that man!! Can't believe I was 12 when this came out!! Looking forward to this reaction!!
She should watch ‘Super Mario Brothers’
@@oaf-77 Shattered w/Tom Berenger & Lassiter w/Tom Selleck would be my two Bob Hoskins choices for Ashleigh to watch. Love his performances in both these films!
One of the best cartoon and real movies ever made. Rodger Rabbit was a classic movie. Nobody will ever come close to this masterpiece
May be imitated but will NEVER be duplicated
Bob Hoskins said in an interview that after doing this movie, his kids thought he was a real asshole for not asking one of the cartoons to go home with him and meet his kids.
Love this movie. Glad you had a good time! The noir tone is perfect, and campy. And it's an absolute technical marvel when it comes to integrating real life with cartoons. So impressive. No other cartoon + live action film in my opinion comes even close to looking this good.
Jessica's singing voice was Amy Irving, Spielberg's wife at the time.
Ash- at the risk of sounding overzealous… I hope you never stop making these videos. You are so entertaining and I love watching through these movies with you, your comments and personality. Thanks for putting in the work. This one was amazing.
I remember watching it in theatres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it was very close to Christmas, and the 9 yo me was THRILLED to see so many different cartoons in the same movie, and with the original brazilian TV voice actors too!
God, I'm old :D
Ashleigh, you're so funny! I love being able to see movies like this that I've loved since I was a little kid, viewed fresh through your eyes, and your commentary makes me laugh so much!
so that scene where we learn about Eddie's background with no dialogue, just with the props in the scene, is exposition done right, you learn so much about him in a short amount of time and no words need to be spoken for it
Much like the opening of _Back to the Future_ (also by Bob Zemeckis) tells you everything you need to know about Marty and Doc before we even see either character's face.