Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a landmark film that earns top marks in nearly every category. The plot is a genuinely clever neo-noir whodunit that works both as satire and straight mystery, with real stakes and sharp writing. The acting is exceptional — Bob Hoskins delivers a grounded, committed performance opposite thin air, which is a remarkable technical and emotional achievement. The cinematography and technical craft are simply jaw-dropping; the seamless integration of live action and hand-drawn animation remains one of cinema's great technical achievements even decades later. Novelty is off the charts — this film is utterly singular in conception, tone, and execution, blending Chinatown-style noir with Looney Tunes energy in a way no film before or since has replicated. The ending, while satisfying, is the one area that dips slightly into conventional territory — the villain reveal and climax follow fairly standard mystery beats and the resolution feels a touch rushed compared to the ingenuity of everything preceding it.