Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Details

Private investigator Eddie Valiant has spent far too much of his time with his "friend" Jack Daniels since the tragic death of his brother. Once regarded as the finest detective in Toon Town, Eddie has turned his back on cartoons altogether following the accident that changed his life forever.

When movie star Roger Rabbit becomes convinced that his glamorous wife Jessica is playing "patty-cake" with someone else, the cartoon studio hires Eddie to investigate. His photographs appear to confirm Roger's fears, but before long Marvin Acme is found murdered and Roger becomes the prime suspect. Convinced the excitable rabbit is innocent, Eddie reluctantly agrees to help him uncover the truth.

As Eddie investigates further, he discovers that Marvin Acme intended to leave Toon Town to its animated residents. With the all-important will missing and the sinister Judge Doom determined to administer his own brand of justice using his deadly "Dip", Eddie and Roger find themselves racing to expose a conspiracy that threatens the very existence of Toon Town.

Picture & Sound

The picture is rather poor and, although it maintains a respectable bit-rate throughout, suffers from a disappointingly grainy image. Thankfully there is no obvious artefacting or edge enhancement, but the quality of the transfer does raise questions about its source. Given that a LaserDisc edition was available several years earlier, one can only assume the grainy master originated from that transfer.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack fares little better. Dialogue remains clear through the centre channel, but the rest of the mix is surprisingly subdued. For a film packed with cartoon mayhem, crashes and comic effects, the surround channels are used sparingly enough that I found myself checking to make sure my speakers were actually switched on.

Menu & Extras

With this being an early entry into the DVD market, the extras are few and far between. It is a great pity that the menus could not have been animated and that, unlike the excellent LaserDisc release, the additional Roger Rabbit short cartoons were not included. For a film of this stature, the presentation feels disappointingly bare.

Overall

Hardly any effort appears to have gone into producing this DVD of what is not only a groundbreaking technical achievement, but one of the finest family films ever made.

The uninspiring transfer and complete lack of worthwhile extras make it feel like a quick cash-in rather than the definitive edition the film deserved. Fortunately, the brilliance of the film itself still shines through, but collectors may wish to wait in the hope that a Special Edition eventually does justice to this modern classic.

Special features

• None