Top 25 Outdoor Movie: Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Our next movie on the Top 25 Outdoor Movies of All Time is Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a classic that mixes animated and live characters in a way that was groundbreaking at the time and is still unusual today. Here is the theatrical release trailer:
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a murder mystery set in 1947 and follows a group of cartoon characters called “Toons” who act out cartoons (much the way humans act out live scenarios).
The Toons interact with humans and live in Toontown, near Hollywood, California (the inspiration for Toontown in Disneyland). Roger Rabbit is the main star of the show, married to the glamorous cartoon woman Jessica. Roger is framed for the murder of Marvin Acme after he runs off upon learning his wife has been unfaithful.
The rest of the film keeps your audience on the edge of their seats as the action and drama escalate and Roger tries to solve the mystery of who killed Mr. Acme. And here’s some Who Framed Roger Rabbit trivia: the film features the only footage where Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse appear together on screen! It has a PG rating, so it’s not for small children, given its mild suggestive content and violence.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit would make a great outdoor movie or backyard cinema event for school and college crowds, and a really good pick for a date-night outdoor cinema. As we’ve noted many times, animations do very well as outdoor movies: their colors are crisp and bright, and the high contrast makes for a stunning overall image.
With Who Framed Roger Rabbit, you get the visual bonus of an animation with the teen-and-up content that usually comes with live-action films. It will bring out large crowds, since it’s a movie people don’t watch as often as others. Nostalgia will always draw a crowd!
If you’ve screened Who Framed Roger Rabbit as an outdoor movie, we’d love to see images from the event and hear your story. Please email us at sales@openaircinema.us, and we’ll share your story (even if it doesn’t have to do with Roger Rabbit!) with the rest of the open-air community.