Oh, Honey Bunny!

PostED ON OCTBER 18, 2018

Screened yesterday at the magnificent Auditorium of Lyon, the sensation of the year 1988, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” by Robert Zemeckis, generated charming nostalgia for the festivalgoers, who showed up in droves.

ÀTo justify its reputation as the most expensive movie of the 1980s, we tend to mention the revolutionary technical accomplishments required to make this hilarious jewel, combining live actors and animated characters. Mickey and Bugs Bunny. Donald and Daffy Duck. Disney and Warner Bros. The brilliant idea of bringing characters from these two studios together was the brainchild of Steven Spielberg, executive producer of animation, in a tribute to the golden age of Hollywood cartoons, as well as films noir like “The Maltese Falcon” (1941). In today’s era of well-honed animation, Roger Rabbit stands out as an artisanal pearl. For the first time, actors interacted with animated characters throughout an entire movie. Its creation was a technical challenge: each scene was broken down into still images, where the illustrators sketched the characters; their drawings were then colored, using an optical printing process. 326 artists-animators were mobilized full-time to obtain a storyboard of 82 000 drawings, resulting in this audacious cult film with its imperiously free attitude. “That's all, folks!”

Charlotte Pavard