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Every once in a while, a director makes the risky decision to
push the boundaries of a particular form. Prior to 1988, conventional
animation had been integrated with live action film many times:
Mickey Mouse and Leopold Stokowski, Jerry (without Tom) and Gene
Kelly, Br'er Rabbit and Uncle Remus, and, if I remember correctly,
dancing penguins and Dick Van Dyke. None, however, convincingly
integrated animated and live characters into a physical reality
and a plot line that spanned the entire length of a film. This
challenge was taken up with stunning success by director Robert
Zemeckis.
He created a film that appeals to both adults and children (and
features characters that push the boundaries of the PG rating).
He even managed to bring to the same screen cartoon icons from
competing studios, most notably Warner Bros. and Disney. Many
of us have been waiting for his delightful Who Framed Roger Rabbit
to be released on DVD. And I expect that most fans suffered a
bit of trepidation, anticipating another laserdisc rehash. Well,
Buena Vista Home Video, in a most inexplicably prudish mode, has
gone that extra mile, releasing a featureless non-anamorphic DVD
that's been needlessly censored.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is structured as gumshoe film noir, but
dominated by wit and an animated riot of colors. Roger Rabbit
(voiced by Charles Fleischer) is a famous and successful cartoon
film star who's a little off his game. His boss, studio head R.K.
Maroon (Alan Tilvern) hires Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), a down-on-his-luck
private detective, who's been drinking too much since a Toon murdered
his brother. Maroon wants Valiant to take revealing photographs
of gag-product king Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye) and Roger's wife
Jessica (an uncredited Kathleen Turner provided the spoken voice;
the then Mrs. Spielberg, Amy Irving, performed Jessica's song
- Amblin Entertainment was the production company). Maroon explains
that a shot of reality should bring Roger back to his senses.
But hey, Roger is a Toon.
Soon after Valiant delivers the photos to Maroon and Roger is
given the bad news, Acme is murdered. Roger becomes the prime
suspect. And there's a McGuffin, Acme's Will. At stake is the
fate of Toon Town, the enclave where all Toons reside. As Judge
Doom (a great turn by Christopher Lloyd), the criminal court magistrate
who presides over Toon Town, pursues Roger with the aid of his
relentless weasels, Roger flees to Valiant and pleads for help.
What follows is a blend of outrageous characters and situations
wrapped in a surprisingly sensible (and satirical) plot that may
have drawn its inspiration from Chinatown. Very funny and extremely
clever, Roger Rabbit is highly entertaining. A special mention
must be made of Bob Hoskins' remarkable achievement as he played
against absolutely nothing, letting his imagination guide his
performance.
Jeffrey Price wrote the wonderful screenplay, which was based
on Gary K. Wolf's novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" How ironic.
There are two scenes in this DVD release that are reported to
have been censored. The first is rather early in the film. Baby
Herman storms off the set and leers up a woman's dress as he walks
between her legs. In the original, his arm extends up under her
dress for a presumed goose, causing her to jump. This DVD is strictly
a non-contact version; Herman's hand remains at his side. The
second scene occurs as Benny the Cab crashes into a light pole,
tossing Jessica and Valiant into the air. As Jessica spins and
her skirt flies above her waste, there are four or five frames
in which one might say that she's not wearing any undergarments.
My comparison with the original did not reveal any significant
difference (admittedly, the comparison was difficult, my original
is on VHS). What is visible on the DVD is flesh colored. And some
of the lines could be interpreted as either panties or creases
between thigh and crotch. You decide.
Despite that fact that we're talking about two seconds over the
course of a 104-minute film, I'm appalled at this bastardization
of the original work. It's beyond my comprehension that a film
that contains mild profanities, two scenes in which one could
make the case for groping, double-entendres, young children who
smoke, and nasty cartoon death by dip, needed any censorship at
all. Foolish. Prudish. Sacrilege.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is offered in non-anamorphic
video. Roger Rabbit deserves better; such a popular film should
have had an anamorphic transfer. Jaggies and line structure are
quite visible despite the film's essentially filling my 16x9 screen.
The video is a tad on the dark side in some scenes. There are
minor instances of visible blocking in whitish areas where film
grain may have affected the compression. Otherwise the video is
reasonably good. Color accuracy and contrast level are fine. Some
visible edge enhancement is apparent, but that's insufficient
to make up for the lost resolution inherent in 4:3 letterboxing.
Disappointing, but acceptable.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The DVD sports a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, but the mix seems
to have been derived from the original Dolby Surround elements.
No discrete surround effects are audible individually in the left
or right rear speakers; in other words, the surround information
is monaural and the same amplitude on each of the rear channels.
The extreme upper and lower octaves are somewhat lacking. Sound
effects and dialog remain well presented. Individual voices from
many characters within overlapping dialog can be discerned easily.
Alan Silvestri's score (a fusion of jazz and action/adventure
orchestral, one of his best and much prized by CD motion picture
score collectors) is nicely spread across a broad soundstage.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
This is a feature-poor DVD that compounds the insult by promising
more than it delivers. The back of the keepcase claims that there's
a theatrical trailer on the disc. I couldn't find it. There are
English captions, an alternate French soundtrack, and nineteen
chapter stops. That's it - what a pity. There exists an entertaining
and enlightening featurette that demonstrates how the physical
effects were accomplished in preparation for the animation inserts.
That documentary should have been included. (Editor: There
was also a commentary on the laserdisc, too!) Another halfhearted
effort from Buena Vista and Amblin.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc
in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
I'm always torn between my gratitude for being offered a film
I want to add to my DVD collection and my contempt when the studio
botches the release by omitting supplements and compromising quality.
This becomes all the more frustrating when the studio prices a
sub-par DVD at an excessive $30. If you're as much a fan of this
film as I am, you'll buy it and enjoy. But I have to tell you,
my patience with Buena Vista is wearing mighty thin.
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