Who Framed Roger Rabbit – 1988 (WINNER)
This was a really fun and really enjoyable movie. Its main draw was its combination of cartoon and live action, which was certainly not a new concept. But it was an integral part of the plot, and as such, it was done to such an extent as had never been done before. And it was all in the details. When Jessica Rabbit pushes back the collar of Eddie’s coat, it moves in a realistic manner. When she takes off his hat and shoves it in his face, it is as if a live person is doing it.
According to Wikipedia, “Many of the live-action props held by cartoon characters were shot on set with either robotic arms holding the props or the props were manipulated by strings. The animators and layout artists were given black-and-white printouts of the live-action scenes known as “photo stats”, and they placed their animation paper on top of them. The artists then drew the animated characters in relationship to the live-action footage. After rough animation was complete, it was run through the normal process of traditional animation until the cels were shot on the rostrum camera with no background. The animated footage was then sent to ILM for compositing, where technicians animated three lighting layers (shadows, highlights, and tone mattes) separately, to make the cartoon characters look three-dimensional and give the illusion of the characters being affected by the lighting on set. Finally, the lighting effects were optically composited on to the cartoon characters, who were, in turn, composited into the live-action footage.”
So it is a long and complicated process. There were very few scenes in the film in which there were not animated characters. The post production for the film lasted for fourteen months. One of the most spectacular parts of the movie was the nightclub scene in which Jessica Rabbit sings a sultry, sexy song. It wasn’t just the character, but the stunning animation used on her dress. It sparkled with her every movement. It stood up to wide shots and closeups alike. The shots in which the camera is focused on her legs as she walked were amazing. The bright stage lights behind her showed through the animated fabric in such a way as to make it look incredibly real, and yet animated at the same time. It was some really impressive animation!
There were also plenty of stunts, sight gags, pratfalls, and the like. After all, the movie was a comedy, and a little physical humor is never a bad thing. Nowhere was this more evident than in the scene in which Eddie has to make the weasels die laughing, and he has a warehouse full of cartoon ACME products at his disposal. He juggles animated bowling balls, ultimately dropping all three of them on his head. There are trips, slips, and falls, putting Hoskins and his stuntmen to work.
All in all, the interaction between the Toons and the live actors had been ratcheted up to a level that had never before been done, and the result was fun, funny, and captivating. I think this one really deserved its Oscar win.