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Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Vista Series)
Stars:
Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, and Joanna Cassidy
Writers:
Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman
Based
On The Book “Who Censored Roger Rabbit” By: Gary K. Wolf
Director:
Robert Zemeckis
Feature
length: 104 minutes
Extras:
Roger Rabbit Shorts, Who Made Roger Rabbit Mini-Documentary, Trouble In Toontown
Set-Top DVD Game, Filmmaker’s Commentary, Toontown Confidential Text Comments,
Deleted Scene, Before And After Demonstrations, Toon Stand-Ins Featurette, “On
Set! Benny The Cab” Featurette, Still Galleries
Languages:
English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Sound, and French and Spanish Language Dolby Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions
Packaging:
Digipack Gatefold Within A Glossy Sleeve
Chapter
Stops: 18
Sound:
DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and
Dolby Stereo Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1988/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Touchstone Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Much
like the films of Steven Spielberg have been released from various studios with
the more sought after titles following in succession at a rate of two or three a
year, one of his acolytes and a master filmmaker in his own right, Director
Robert Zemeckis has had his films released in increments as well with extra
features and commentary tracks to boot. The most recent Zemeckis film to get the
deluxe treatment on DVD also happens to be the latest addition to the “Vista
Series” of films released on DVD given kind of treatment that I would liken to
the acclaimed “Criterion Collection” of films on DVD from Home Vision
Entertainment of which Buena Vista has participated with select titles in
co-productions as well. The first DVD release of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”
came out in the early days of Disney’s participation in distributing the
studio’s catalogue film titles on DVD and it was a disappointment. This new
DVD release replaces the original and has something for everybody who admires
this landmark mix of animation and live action in a combination of fantasy,
comedy, and a detective story unlike anything that has ever been seen before and
since. It is amazing to think that the animation done for this film was all
pre-CGI and completely hand drawn using traditional cell animation techniques
with full 360-degree animation to make the cartoon characters flawlessly
interact within the live action world complete with shadow and reflections that
obey the rules of the natural world. The film also brought our live action
protagonist into the “Toontown” animated world with an equally amazing look.
The
result is a film that for Zemeckis was a once in a generation cinematic
experience that he resisted making a sequel and even the prequel that had been
in development and has not come to fruition. For Zemeckis this film is like
Spielberg’s “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” which fans are well aware that
aside from a novel that came out in the mid 1980s, there are no plans for an “E.T.”
sequel either. The film helped to bring Actor Bob Hoskins to the attention of
American audiences. He had previously garnered acclaim for his role in “Mona
Lisa” and had appeared in Terry Gilliam’s cult classic “Brazil.” Now for
families and film buffs alike this new release is perhaps the definitive home
video release to appear yet.
A
Touchstone label release from the mighty media empire that is Buena Vista,
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” is presented in both a full screen (1.33:1) aspect
ratio and an anamorphic matted (1.85:1) widescreen aspect ratio presentation.
Both versions of the film are presented in transfer that have been THX certified
complete with the THX Optimizer™ program for picture and sound calibration.
Taking advantage of the full canvass to do justice for the time consuming and
expensive animation, viewers will get to see more vertical information on the
(1.33:1) version and more horizontal information on the (1.85: 1) edition.
Having watched both versions I think the source print used for the widescreen
version was different from the full screen version. The widescreen version looks
more rich with less noticeable anomalies and vibrant colors. The (1.33:1)
version reveals a bit more grain and few flecks on the source print. However
they both still look much better than both the previous DVD release and
obviously the original NTSC VHS release.
The
full screen version features English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound as well as
French and Spanish Language Dolby Stereo Soundtracks while the widescreen
version also includes a DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack. I found
the quality of the DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks to be nearly
the same. Both are great mixes with discrete use of sound effects and dialogue
as well as the Alan Silvestri musical score. The DTS sounded like it had a
higher fidelity, but I am inclined to note that I have a preference for DTS over
Dolby Digital, but since to my ears the soundtracks sounded so close, my own
preference for DTS could have tampered with my objectivity so to be fair, as far
as I’m concerned both soundtracks are simply great and regardless what one
might prefer or have access to, I think consumers will be pleased. The
widescreen version also has a retrospective and screen specific feature length
audio commentary track with Director Robert Zemeckis, Producer Frank Marshall,
Writers Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman, and Effects Gurus Steve Sharkey and Ken
Ralston. English Captions and
Closed Captions for the hearing impaired are encoded onto both feature
presentations on both discs.
Beginning
with disc one, newly filmed DVD menus featuring “Benny The Cab” will drive
the viewer through the interactive live action menu world to see the various
extra features within the DVD, which for both discs the majority of the menus
are standard interactive still frames, but some do feature interactive animated
elements from the film. So if you choose the “Movie Theater” on disc one,
Benny will drive you to his favorite movie, guess what that is? “Valiant’s
Office” gives access to disc one’s audio and captions options, and “Ink
& Pain Club” contains home video trailers for “School House Rock” (:
59) and a (1.85:1) trailer for “Ultimate X” (1:33). Both feature 5.1
Surround Sound, but strangely unless it is hidden as an Easter egg within the
set, there are no trailers for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” included at all.
There is a DVD-Video set-top game that requires the player to pass various tests
with their remote and answer questions to save “Toontown.”
The
gems of disc one are the three “Roger Rabbit” cartoon shorts that were
produced after the success of the film and released theatrically with other
features. They can be viewed individually or as one reel (24:29) and are
presented in (1.85:1) aspect ratios with full 5.1 Soundtracks. These three
shorts are made up of “Tummy Trouble” (7:45), “Rollercoaster Rabbit”
(7:50), and “Trail Mixer” (8:52). A featurette with Charles Fleischer
entitled “Who Made Roger Rabbit” (10:57) is also included. These special
featurettes can be found within the “Acme Warehouse” which features all
sorts of animated extras to explore that include the following provided you
highlight them: left box – hammer with the boxing glove that pops out, center
box - pies are thrown at you, lower right box – the shoes will break free, top
right box – rockets, and watch out for the safe and those bombs!
The
more academic extra features on disc two take place within the “Maroon
Studios” that include a (1.33:1) deleted scene (5:31) with an optional video
introduction from Robert Zemeckis explaining why the scene was cut and where it
would have fitted in the story. The scene was included during a 1991 television
broadcast. There is a text commentary full of anecdotes and facts that can be
activated by choosing the “Toontown Confidential” option. There is a great
documentary filled with brand new videotaped interviews with various people
involved with the film entitled “Behind The Ears” (36:36). Three other
featurettes that cover “Before And After” (3:09) demonstrations for
comparison, “Toon Stand-Ins” (3:15), which shows how the live action was
shot using various puppets that would later be replaced by the animated
characters in the film, and another “On-The Set” (4:32) showing more
behind-the-scenes footage including Charles Fleischer dressed in a rabbit suit
working with Hoskins on screen. The Valiant Files contains several galleries
within galleries of various stills from characters development through
promotions. The discs come packaged within a two-disc Digipack gatefold within a
glossy sleeve and there is a companion booklet and two collectible glossies that
are within the packaging.
“Who
Framed Roger Rabbit: Vista Series” is definitely worth the upgrade as well as
the general purchase for anyone who has been waiting for this DVD release and is
available at retailers on and offline now from Touchstone Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Text Link Below!
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Vista Series)