Who Framed Roger Rabbit? [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The film that virtually redefined how animation and live action can interact in film, director Robert Zemeckis' classic comedy arrives on DVD packed with extras thanks to Disney/Buena Vista Home Video. Viewable in either 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen or 1.33:1 pan-and-scan, this release offers a variety of audio options including closed-captioned English Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1, along with Spanish and French Dolby Digital Stereo options. In addition to the feature itself, disc one also offers the Roger Rabbit shorts Tummy Trouble, Rollercoaster Rabbit, and Trail Mix-Up, a "Who Made Roger Rabbit" featurette, and the set-top DVD game "Trouble in Toontown." Disc two contains even more bonus materials such as an audio commentary with the filmmakers, a deleted scene, "Behind the Ears: The True Story of Roger Rabbit," "Toon Stand-In" featurette showing rehearsals with real-life actors standing in for the cartoons, a "Toontown Confidential" pop-up trivia track, "The Valiant Files" interactive set-top gallery, a split screen comparison, a companion booklet, and two collectible glossies. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard), 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: THX, DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, Pan and Scan
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • cc
  • The Roger Rabbit shorts - "Tummy Trouble," "Rollercoaster Rabbit," "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
  • 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" featurette - 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
  • 2 collectible glossies

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Editing - 1988 (Arthur Schmidt)
•     Won Best Sound Effects - 1988 (Charles L. Campbell, Louis L. Edemann)
•     Won Best Visual Effects - 1988 (Richard Williams, Edward Jones, Ken Ralston, George Gibbs)
•     Won Special Achievement - 1988 (Richard Williams)
•     Nominated Best Art Direction - 1988 (Elliot Scott, Peter Howitt)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1988 (Dean Cundey)
•     Nominated Best Sound - 1988 (John Boyd, Tony Dawe, Don Digirolamo, Robert Knudson)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1988 (Robert Zemeckis)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 1988 (Bob Hoskins)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 1988

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Special Award for Technical Achievement - 1987

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Robert Zemeckis, Rob Minkoff, Barry Cook

• Producer:

  Don Hahn

• Screenwriter:

  Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman

• Book Author:

  Gary K. Wolf

• Cinematographer:

  Paul Beeson, Dean Cundey, Hiro Narita

• Composer (Music Score):

  Alan Silvestri, James Horner

• Editor:

  Arthur Schmidt, Donald W. Ernst

• Production Designer:

  Roger Cain, Elliot Scott

• Art Director:

  Bill McAllister, Stephen Scott

• Co-producer:

  Frank Marshall, Robert Watts

• Associate Producer:

  Don Hahn, Steve Starkey, Steven Saxton

• Executive Producer:

  Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall

• Set Designer:

  Robert R. Benton, Peter Howitt

• Costume Designer:

  Joanna Johnston

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Michael Evje, Tony Dawe, John Boyd

• Makeup:

  Peter Robb-King

• Special Effects:

  Peter Biggs, Tony Dunsterville, Industrial Light & Magic, Brian Lince, Brian Morrison, Roger Nichols, Brian Warner, David Watkin, David Watson

• First Assistant Director:

  Michael Murray, David McGiffert

• Animator:

  Russell Hall, Dale Baer, Andreas Deja, Phil Nibbelink, Simon Wells, Richard Williams, Frans Vischer, Larry White

• Camera Operator:

  Raymond Stella

• Stunts:

  Peter Diamond

• Choreography:

  Quinny Sacks, Daivd Toguri

• Production Manager:

  Jack Frost Sanders

• Casting:

  Priscilla John

• Production Manager:

  Patricia Carr

• Puppeteer:

  Toby Philpott

• Second Unit Director:

  Max Kleven, Frank Marshall

• Special Effects Supervisor:

  Ken Ralston

• Second Unit Director:

  Ian Sharp

• Animation Director:

  Richard Williams

• Associate Editor:

  Peter Lonsdale

• Visual Effects:

  Edward Jones

REVIEW:

• An army of special effects wizards is responsible for creating this breakthrough work that is an awesome and seamless combination of live action and animation. Who Framed Roger Rabbit expertly combines elements of film noir with the wacky slapstick conventions of animated features, all at the service of story with some serious thematic concerns. The most impressive aspect of the film is that the animated characters, amidst the manic and anarchic energy of their prescribed roles, are taken seriously and become real, living characters who live in a completely fascinating world with its own physical and moral laws, and whose dilemmas draw us in and elicit our empathy. Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant is as gritty and abrasive as sandpaper; his misanthropic gumshoe as dark as any Raymond Chandler creation. The implicit parallels between Tinseltown's treatment of the 'toons and the nation's abuse of racial minorities are carefully developed, and rather than overwhelm the film, they intelligently augment it. Kathleen Turner, who does her best Barbara Stanwyck impersonation while lending her vocal talents to the voluptuous Jessica Rabbit, is a standout, as is Christopher Lloyd as the despicable Judge Doom. A groundbreaking film, notable for both as a technical achievement and quality entertainment, Who Framed Roger Rabbit won four Academy Awards, including one for Richard Williams, the director of animation. ~ Dan Jardine, Rovi