Movie · 1988 · Fantasy, Animation, Comedy, Crime · 1h 44m · PG · English
Curator score: 8.5/10 (658.6K ratings)
It's the story of a man, a woman, and a rabbit in a triangle of trouble.
Overview
'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.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.5/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.97/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Metacritic: 83
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Robert Zemeckis
Production
Amblin Entertainment, Silver Screen Partners III, Touchstone Pictures
Cast
Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, Kathleen Turner, Stubby Kaye, Alan Tilvern, Richard LeParmentier, Lou Hirsch, Betsy Brantley, Joel Silver, Paul Springer, Richard Ridings, Edwin Craig, Lindsay Holiday, Mike Edmonds, Morgan Deare, Danny Capri, Christopher Hollosy, Jean-Paul Sipla
Where to watch
Disney Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A wildly inventive noir-comedy that still feels like a technical miracle. Its mix of hardboiled mystery, cartoon chaos, and surprisingly sharp adult humor makes it one of the most distinctive studio films of the 1980s.
Best for
fans of genre mashups
viewers who like noir with a comic edge
animation and VFX enthusiasts
people who enjoy fast, joke-dense crowd-pleasers
Skip if
you want a straightforward mystery
you dislike cartoon violence or broad slapstick
you prefer low-key, realistic tone
you are looking for a purely family-friendly kids movie
Overview
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of those rare movies where the concept sounds like a stunt and the execution turns it into cinema. The detective plot gives the film a sturdy noir spine, while the cartoon world keeps breaking reality in ways that are funny, chaotic, and often genuinely unsettling. It’s a movie built on precision, but it never feels stiff; every gag lands because the craft is so exacting.
Worth noting
Bob Hoskins is the anchor, playing Eddie Valiant with bruised cynicism and perfect comic timing. Around him, the film keeps shifting between screwball energy, hardboiled menace, and genuine visual wonder. The result is a movie that can be playful one moment and surprisingly dark the next, which is a big part of why it has lasted so well.
Bottom line
What makes it endure is not just the technical achievement, though that alone would be enough. It also has a real sense of personality: horny, frantic, self-aware, and deeply committed to its own absurd world. It remains a benchmark for live-action animation integration and one of the most entertaining examples of a studio blockbuster that feels genuinely weird.
Top Letterboxd reviews
James (Schaffrillas) (4★) · 4257 likes
Haha WHAT is this movie? How were they even allowed to make it? How were you guys allowed to watch this as kids? Haha great stuff
demi adejuyigbe (5★) · 3966 likes
Yeah, this shit’s flawless. More goofy mysteries, please! I demand it! Bob Hoskins dancing is an all-timer. A critical piece of “annoying short husband/hot tall wife who likes him ‘cause he makes her laugh” representation.
Penny (4.5★) · 3167 likes
The toons spit out real water.The toons reflect real moving light.The toons smoke real cigars.The toons tote real guns.The toons smash real plates.The toons look real people in their real eyes.These toons aren't just drawn on top of an empty space in an already recorded scene. They are interacting with and living in the real world.
Completely, utterly groundbreaking. 100%, without a doubt, one of the most technically proficient films ever made. Pushes the… more
adambolt (4★) · 2930 likes
THAT POOR BOOT DID NOTHING WRONG
Karsten (3.5★) · 2785 likes
Looks great for the 80s but this would never happen in real life