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| Special Features: |
Disc One: Family Friendly
The Roger Rabbit Shorts: Tummy Trouble, Rollercoaster Rabbit, and Trail Mix-Up
Who Made Roger Rabbit: mini-documentary hosted by Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger Rabbit
Trouble in Toontown: Set-Top DVD Game
Disc Two: Enthusiast's disc
Audio Commentary with Filmmakers Robert Zemeckis, Frank Marshall, Jeffrey Price, Peter Seaman, Steve Starkey, and Ken Ralston
Toontown Confidential: viewing option with intriguing and hilarious facts and trivia
Deleted scene - "The Pig Head Sequence" with filmmaker commentary
Before and After: Split-screen comparison with and without animation.
Behind the Ears: The True Story of Roger Rabbit: a new, exclusive in-depth behind-the-scenes documentary
Toon Stand-Ins: Rehearsing with stand-ins for the Toons
On Set! Benny the Cab: The making of a scene from the film
The Valiant Files: Interactive Set-Top Gallery
Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
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| Video Format: |
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
[SS-DL]
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| Languages: |
English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
English (DTS)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0)
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| Subtitles: |
English, Spanish, French
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| Captions: |
Yes
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| Casing: |
2-Disc Fold-out Case
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This groundbreaking homage to film noir pushed the limits of how live-action and animation could work together in one of the zaniest and most clever comedies to come out of the 1980s. Nominated for six Academy Awards and winner of three, including Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing (it was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Sound, and Art Direction), this Robert Zemeckis-directed film was as much a landmark achievement in visual effects as “Jurassic Park” was for computer-generated effects five years later (incidentally, Steven Spielberg helped produce “Roger Rabbit” and directed “Jurassic Park”).
Set in L.A., where cartoon characters -- residing in the neighboring town of Toontown -- co-exist with humans, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” follows private-dick Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) who’s sent in to investigate a murder case relating to a dead studio exec and its connection with a devious plot to replace Los Angeles’s Red Car public transportation system (a real-life part of the city’s long-forgotten mass transit system) with a sprawling freeway system. Accused of the crime, the animated Roger Rabbit, with the help of Valiant and his outrageously curvaceous wife Jessica (voice by sultry Kathleen Turner) work to free his name against all odds, including Christopher Lloyd as the vicious Judge Doom and his band of animated weasel thugs.
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An Interview with Roger Rabbit animator Andreas Deja
With the release of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Vista Series" on DVD,
Stephen Wong sat down with Andreas to talk about his "Roger Rabbit" experience, working
with Richard Williams, tips for aspiring animators, and what the future holds
for animated feature films.
click here to read the interview
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Surprisingly dark at times but always wacky, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” brought together an unbelievable array of cartoon’s greatest stars, including characters from nearly every generation and of every studio (including Disney, Warner Bros., MGM, Fleischer, Universal). It’s a priceless animated reunion that likely won’t be matched for a long time to come, something that can also be said for the film itself.
Buena Vista Home Video's "Vista Series" releases feature some of the best audio/video quality on the market (with the only exception being Superbit), and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is no different. Re-released in a digitally remastered and feature-loaded two-disc set (fans who bought the original DVD can get $5 off this Vista Series release), this 15th Anniversary edition is easily one of the best discs released so far in 2003. As a quick note, the first "family friendly" disc includes a full-frame transfer of the film, minus the infamous Baby Herman scene). The second disc (labeled the "enthusiast disc") includes a fabulous 1.85:1 widescreen transfer that thankfully does include the scene.
Picture Quality: 10/10
Despite the wide range of colors used in "Roger Rabbit" (due to the film not only being a live-action/animation blend, but also a fusion of film noir and cartoon cinematography) the remastered 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is nearly perfect. Colors bright and bold, particularly in Toontown sequences, while effectively muted for the more film noir moments of the picture. Picture quality is sharp, with edge enhancements and artifacting kept to a minimum. Great work from Buena Vista Home Video.
Sound Quality: 10/10
Finally sporting a brand new Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio track to match its 1988 Oscar for Best Sound Effects, the sound quality on this Vista Series release is as good as it gets. The dynamic frequency balance is superb, the bass is full and punchy and the dialogue is flawless. Rear channel frequencies are effectively used as well.
Menu: 9/10
The animated menu, featuring "Bennie the cab" can get a little redundant, but it does keep with the faith of the film.
Easter Eggs:
There are two easter eggs found on the disc: Hidden Trailer and Various Gags.
Disk 1
1. On the main menu, mover the cursor to Movie Theatre. Press down 3-4 times, or until the gauge with two arrows pointing to it is highlighted. This will allow you to watch the theatrical trailer.
2. In the Acme Warehouse there are various items you can highlight which will produce various gags. There are a total of 6 things that are highlighted by a pair of eyes. There is also one that is an outline of Marvin Acme. Continue moving the cursor to find them all.
Disk 2
Select the Valiant Files.
1. There are many green magnifying glasses that all produce different things from soundtrack bits to production galleries. Continue to move the cursor to find them all.
2. To open the safe left of the chair, select the drawers on the right of the chair. Then press down to higlight a crumpled piece of paper in the bottom left corner of the drawer. Use the combination on the paper to open the safe for a surprise.
Extra Features: 9/10
The film comes on two discs, disc one containing a family friendly 1.33:1 full screen transfer (minus the infamous baby Herman scene), and also including a number of kid friendly features like a fun and lively “Who made Roger Rabbit” featurette, three great "Roger Rabbit" shorts (that were originally attached to specific films during Roger Rabbit's original release) and a set-top DVD game for the kids.
Discs two is labeled as the "enthusiast disc" and contains a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer with the infamous baby Herman scene. As for extras, this second disc has a fabulous commentary track with Robert Zemeckis, Frank Marshall, Jeffrey Price, Peter Seaman, Steve Starkey and Ken Ralston, that occasionally gets busy but for the most part remains interesting. “Toontown Confidential” is a funny viewing option that lets you watch the entire film in a trivia/Pop-up Video-esque style. Very funny factoids offered.
There are four “making of” featurettes. One shows how the live action sequences were shot with stand-ins; another shows side by side comparisons with and without the animation; a step by step breakdown of a scene (how the animation and effects where added); and a "making of" documentary.
The Final Word:
A must-have DVD for the cartoon-enthusiast in all of us, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" still entertains as much now as it did 15 years ago (at least for those old enough to remember its theatrical release). Winner of three Oscars, including Best Visual Effects, this brilliant piece of pop-culture has been re-released in a splendid feature-loaded two-disc set that is a wonderful addition to the DVD library.
Stephen Wong
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