---
title: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"
year: 1988
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit"
fi1m_id: "who-framed-roger-rabbit"
imdb_id: "tt0096438"
tmdb_id: 856
wikidata_id: "Q379873"
fi1m_score: 89
critics_score: 83
critics_reviews: 12
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:47.479222+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Directed by Robert Zemeckis · 1h 44m · MPA PG · Fantasy, Animation, Comedy, Crime

## Identity

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** who-framed-roger-rabbit
- **IMDb ID:** tt0096438
- **TMDB ID:** 856
- **Wikidata ID:** Q379873
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096438/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/856, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q379873

**Fi1m score: 89** · Critics 83 from 12 reviews

*In a sentence:* Bob Hoskins gives a cartoon rabbit the weary attention usually reserved for difficult colleagues

> Robert Zemeckis’s cartoon crime comedy is inventive, funny and unusually convincing about its impossible cast. We recommend it warmly, though the busy mystery sometimes asks for attention a joke deserves more.

## Synopsis

Human and cartoon characters share a noir crime story in Robert Zemeckis’s fantasy comedy. Bob Hoskins plays Eddie Valiant, alongside Roger Rabbit, voiced by Charles Fleischer, and Jessica Rabbit, voiced by Kathleen Turner. Christopher Lloyd is Judge Doom, with Joanna Cassidy as Dolores and Stubby Kaye as Marvin Acme. The action combines a crime plot with cartoon gags, while familiar animated characters make guest appearances. Live-action performances and animation occupy the same scenes, with the characters interacting across the divide as the comedy and the mystery unfold.

## Review

Robert Zemeckis’s *Who Framed Roger Rabbit* is a funny, busy crime comedy whose technical ingenuity rarely gets in the way of a joke. It asks live actors and cartoon characters to share a noir story, and takes the arrangement seriously enough for us to stop questioning it. We recommend it warmly, with a small warning about the amount of plot competing for attention. There is quite enough to enjoy without keeping track of every complication.

We laughed at the opening sequence because the gags arrive with such brisk assurance; we were enjoying the comedy before we thought about the technical work. Arthur Schmidt’s editing has a difficult job, keeping jokes readable while a noir plot demands attention of its own. The cutting generally gives both enough time, without letting the action become an interruption to the comedy. There are plenty of classic cartoon guest appearances, but the film keeps moving rather than waiting for our approval.

Dean Cundey’s cinematography passes the essential test: watching the human and animated characters together feels ordinary surprisingly quickly. The framing lets us follow their exchanges without feeling obliged to inspect how the image was assembled. Production designers Roger Cain and Elliot Scott give the mixed cast surroundings that feel solid enough to share, so the animated figures seem to belong there. That makes a difference to the jokes, which depend on everyone seeming to be present for the same exchange.

Much of that credibility comes from Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant. He gives his animated scene partners the attention another actor would receive, and never seems to be congratulating himself for managing it. Charles Fleischer’s Roger is a more exhausting companion, though the performance needs that pressure to make the contrast work. Kathleen Turner’s voice gives Jessica Rabbit a welcome measure of control, and Christopher Lloyd’s Judge Doom has the severity this collision of crime and comedy requires.

Alan Silvestri’s score takes the crime-story mood seriously, which helps the jokes: the music gives the comedy something firm to push against. That seriousness is useful, since screenwriters Peter S. Seaman and Jeffrey Price ask us to follow a fairly tangled noir plot amid the gags. The plotting occasionally feels busier than the film needs, and following it can cost a laugh when our attention is still elsewhere. We would happily trade a little complication for more breathing space around the performers.

The risk with this kind of fantasy comedy is that we spend the evening grading the effects, with the actors reduced to helpful evidence that it all works. Zemeckis avoids that by allowing comic timing and character to matter as much as the impossible company they keep. At 104 minutes, the film is crowded, occasionally noisy and unusually reluctant to waste the opportunities its premise creates. Choose it for an evening when a quiet conversation can wait.

*Fi1m score 89, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are warm and largely agree on why. Almost every critic starts with the technical achievement: the mixing of live action and hand-drawn animation, which most describe as faultless and several as a marvel, with the cartoon characters seeming to share the frame on their own terms. Bob Hoskins is the performance most often singled out, credited with making the hybrid believable by playing straight against stand-ins and empty air. Kathleen Turner’s Jessica Rabbit and Christopher Lloyd also draw praise.

The reservations gather around the story. The New Yorker admires the engineering but finds the film a trivial folly that labours for a joy it rarely reaches, and Variety thinks the plot amounts to inspired silliness about the film business. Later retrospectives are gentler, though one or two find the noir plotting predictable and the slapstick over the top. The spread is otherwise narrow: nobody dislikes it, and even the doubters concede the craft.

## Straight answers

**Is Who Framed Roger Rabbit worth watching?**

*Who Framed Roger Rabbit* is worth watching for anyone who enjoys a comedy that also happens to be a noir mystery, and we scored it 89. Bob Hoskins treats his cartoon co-stars as ordinary colleagues, which is what makes the jokes land. Our one reservation is that the tangled plot sometimes costs a laugh, so do not worry about following every complication.

**How long is Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and what is it rated?**

*Who Framed Roger Rabbit* runs 1h 44m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is a fantasy and animation film.

**Where can I watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit in the US?**

*Who Framed Roger Rabbit* is streaming on Disney+ in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and is it suitable for children?**

*Who Framed Roger Rabbit* carries a PG certificate and mixes a crime story with cartoon gags, so expect a noir plot with menace rather than a gentle children's cartoon. Christopher Lloyd's Judge Doom brings real severity, and the film is crowded and noisy. Most children over about eight should manage it, though the youngest may find the villain frightening.

**How does Who Framed Roger Rabbit compare to Duck Soup?**

*Who Framed Roger Rabbit* and [*Duck Soup*](https://film.one/film/duck-soup) both apply cartoon logic to people who ought to know better, but Zemeckis does it with literal cartoons while McCarey does it with Groucho Marx. The Marx Brothers film is the leaner and ruder of the two; Roger Rabbit is warmer and busier. Choose Duck Soup for pure timing, Roger Rabbit for a story with a mystery attached.

**Is Who Framed Roger Rabbit based on a true story or a book?**

*Who Framed Roger Rabbit* is based on a novel by Gary K. Wolf, not on a true story. The film takes the book's premise of humans and cartoons sharing a crime plot and builds a noir comedy around it. You do not need to have read the novel; the film explains its own world quickly enough that the source matters little.

**What should I watch after Who Framed Roger Rabbit?**

After *Who Framed Roger Rabbit*, try [*Duck Soup*](https://film.one/film/duck-soup) (1933, Fi1m 88): More cartoon logic applied to people who ought to know better. Then [*A Matter of Life and Death*](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death) (1946, Fi1m 92): Another fantasy whose impossible encounters are played with complete emotional seriousness; and [*Kung Fu Hustle*](https://film.one/film/kung-fu-hustle) (2004, Fi1m 83): Cartoon violence performed by people, with enough wit to earn the bruises.

### Reviews we read (12)

- **Radio Times**, Tom Hutchinson (5/5): The critic hails the film as a whizz-bang breakthrough in mixing live action with cartoon characters that won a special Oscar for its animator. It is celebrated for its inventive plot, guest appearances by classic cartoon characters, memorable highlights like the Jessica Rabbit encounter and opening sequence, and its creative and commercial success. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-4ig919/who-framed-roger-rabbit/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (4/4): Ebert calls the film a joyous, giddy, goofy celebration of the fun you can have with a movie camera and praises its inventive mix of live action and animation as a technical marvel achieved once in a blue moon. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/who-framed-roger-rabbit-1988)
- **Empire**, Ian Freer (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's seamless integration of animation and live action as a technical marvel in service of exuberant storytelling. They single out the disciplined narrative that balances gags with noir plotting and the naturalistic interactions between characters. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/framed-roger-rabbit-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Sheila Benson (90/100, inferred): Benson praises the film as dense, satisfying, feverishly inventive and a technical marvel whose quick acceptance of its miracle mix of actors and cartoon characters is amazing, singling out Bob Hoskins' performance as the linchpin. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-22-ca-4590-story.html)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's groundbreaking blend of live-action and animation as a dizzying, deliriously funny technical achievement that creates new laws of cinematic gravity. She highlights the seamless integration of cartoon characters on their own terms as the standout element making it a must-see fantasy. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/22/movies/review-film-new-laws-of-gravity-twist-humor-too-in-roger-rabbit.html)
- **Time Out**, GA (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Zemeckis and Richard Williams for blending live action, Warners-style animation and a tortuous noir plot to delirious effect. The film is deemed virtually faultless technologically, with a breathless script, deft characterisation and rousing action that is supremely entertaining, especially for adults. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/who-framed-roger-rabbit)
- **Slant Magazine** (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's enduring appeal in the digital age and its groundbreaking integration of live-action and animation, highlighting the satire and Kathleen Turner's performance as Jessica Rabbit. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit/)
- **The New Yorker**, Terrence Rafferty (60/100, inferred): Rafferty describes the film as an amazing feat of entertainment engineering and movie magic but ultimately deems it a trivial folly whose elaborate technology labors to evoke spontaneous joy that is rarely achieved. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1988/07/11/back-to-the-drawing-board)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (50/100, inferred): The film is an unparalleled technical achievement in brilliantly integrating animation into live action. However, the story amounts to little more than inspired silliness about the filmmaking business. [Read](https://variety.com/1987/film/reviews/who-framed-roger-rabbit-1200427370/)
- **/Film**, Josh Spiegel (90/100, inferred): The film succeeds thanks to Bob Hoskins' masterful, understated performance as Eddie Valiant, which convincingly sells the live-action/animation hybrid and establishes the template for modern blockbuster acting opposite nothing. The piece highlights how Hoskins' committed work against blue screens and stand-ins makes the ambitious Zemeckis production hold up decades later. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/559103/bob-hoskins-in-who-framed-roger-rabbit/)
- **Eye for Film**, Stephen Carty (4/5): The critic calls it a visually stunning technical marvel with seamless integration of live action and animation, strong performances from Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd. It mixes hard-boiled noir with slapstick but has some silly, over-the-top moments. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/who-framed-roger-rabbit-film-review-by-stephen-carty)
- **HeyUGuys** (75/100, inferred): The review highlights the wonderful, fluid hand-drawn animation and technical brilliance as the standout elements in this 20-year retrospective. It criticizes the predictable and overdone noir-style storyline as the main weakness. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/review-did-you-ever-see-who-framed-roger-rabbit/)

## Details

- **Director:** Robert Zemeckis
- **Director:** Robert Zemeckis
- **Screenplay:** Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman
- **Novel:** Gary K. Wolf
- **Cinematography:** Dean Cundey
- **Editor:** Arthur Schmidt
- **Music:** Alan Silvestri
- **Production design:** Roger Cain, Elliot Scott
- **Costume design:** Joanna Johnston
- **Producer:** Frank Marshall, Robert Watts
- **Cast:** Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant; Christopher Lloyd as Judge Doom; Joanna Cassidy as Dolores; Charles Fleischer as Roger Rabbit / Benny the Cab / Greasy / Psycho (voice); Kathleen Turner as Jessica Rabbit (voice) (uncredited); Stubby Kaye as Marvin Acme; Alan Tilvern as R.K. Maroon; Richard LeParmentier as Lt. Santino
- **Runtime:** 1h 44m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 22 June 1988
- **Genres:** Fantasy, Animation, Comedy, Crime
- **Also in:** [Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-comedy.md) (Nominee, 1988)
- **Budget:** $51 million
- **Box office:** $352 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEIJpS26aAw

## Where to watch in the US

- Disney+: streaming, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $11.99, sd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1989: Best Cinematography (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Sound (nominated); Best Film Editing (won); Best Sound Editing (won); Best Visual Effects (won)
- Hugo Awards 1989: Best Dramatic Presentation (won)
- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie 1989: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie (won)

## If you liked this

- *Duck Soup* (1933), Fi1m 88: More cartoon logic applied to people who ought to know better. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/duck-soup.md)
- *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), Fi1m 92: Another fantasy whose impossible encounters are played with complete emotional seriousness. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death.md)
- *The King and the Mockingbird* (1980): Animated mischief with a sharper sense of who holds power.
- *The Wrong Trousers* (1993): Crime plotting, precise visual jokes and an alarming amount of menace.
- *Kung Fu Hustle* (2004), Fi1m 83: Cartoon violence performed by people, with enough wit to earn the bruises. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/kung-fu-hustle.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit