Who Framed the Right Side?

"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."

There are so many great films, so many awesome animated features, and live-action films out there. But how many combine live-action, beautiful animation, and a great, original story? Many have tried, but in my opinion, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the one film that succeeded in creating a work of art out of all of these media.

If you've never seen this film, watch it. It's worth your time. This film was made before computers were used for animation. Each frame of live action footage was printed out in black and white, and animated over on cells. Then inked and painted, and then taken to Industrial Light and Magic to be highlighted and shaded in order to fit the lighting of the live action environment.

Live action props in an animated characters hands were manipulated by strings like puppets. Live action actors like Bob Hoskins would act to these props, makeshift representations of characters, and in most cases thin air. One of the more brilliant scenes in the movie has Bob Hoskins' character, Eddie Valiant, handcuffed to the titular character, Roger Rabbit. The acting, animation and effects all come together to create one of the most convincing scenes of hybrid live-action and animation EVER. This film was made in the late 80's, and it looks far better than the attempts at combining the two that have been made since then. When this is attempted nowadays, the use of green screen is obvious, and the image just falls flat. The effects in this film still hold up today.

Despite my gushing, it is by no means a perfect film. There are a few scenes that show some disregard for the 5 C's, and there's some confusing shot flow in the Piano Duel scene at the Ink and Paint club, despite the tremendous animation. No doubt this is a result of the studios involved being somewhat cautious of how to plan the effects shots. But I still am captivated by the film's charm and amazed by the end result. Nothing is perfect, and to be honest, the flaws in the film make it all the more endearing as a whole.

Either way, this movie is an inspiration to me, the animation is beautiful, smooth and complex, Richard Williams' touch is clearly apparent throughout. The acting is great, the humor is spot on and the story is well-written. Even if this film is not your bag, you still have to give credit to the amount of work that went into this masterpiece. The original characters in this movie have seen their fair share of popularity since the films release. Roger himself was well received. Who could forget Baby Herman? And EVERYONE remembers Jessica Rabbit... Not forgetting that this film marks the first (and so far only) time that Donald and Daffy Duck have been on screen together. Better still, this film ALSO marks the first (and also so far only) time that Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse have been on screen together.

History, you've just been MADE.

This is my favorite film because every time I finish watching it, I remember why I'm studying animation, and why I'm going into this industry. There are several films that do this for me, but Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the one that comes to mind the most.

Next post I will be taking a look at my favorite video game: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Also boobs.

"Dabbling in watercolors, Eddie?"