How ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ Reframed Cartoons
by Frank Martin
Cartoons hold a very particular place in society. In their purest form, they are typically short films that feature a wide assortment of characters getting into all sorts of zany antics. They are more or less slapstick comedy. They don’t always need a character getting hurt, but the jokes are more or less physical as this allows the audience to easily comprehend the humor. It’s no secret that these characters and plots are developed by a team of animators, but it’s interesting to view this genre as something completely different than an art form created by cartoonists. And it’s not hard to imagine either, as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? completely reframes the concept of how cartoons can be viewed.
Starring Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is about a cartoon character named Roger Rabbit (voiced by Charles Fleischer) who is framed for murder and the private investigator (Hoskins) tasked with solving the mystery. The film takes place during the Golden Age of Hollywood. And rather than a world where cartoons exist only on the page and screen, the film treats cartoons as living beings, essentially actors who are paid to appear in their movies.
It’s an extremely clever premise that works well inside the film. But it could also be interesting to apply this concept to all cartoons, not just the ones within the Who Framed Roger Rabbit? universe. For instance, Roger watches a Goofy in which he gets totally beaten up, and Roger praises Goofy as the best. This means that Roger views Goofy’s physical comedy as an art form. Goofy is an actual actor who shows up to a set and gets physically beaten to a pulp all in the name of entertainment. Of course, that’s not the case. Goofy is a fictional character and doesn’t have a life outside of the cartoon. Still, it’s an interesting idea that’s fun to think about every once in awhile.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is now streaming on Disney+.
