This zany, eye-popping, knee-slapping landmark in combining animation with live-action ingeniously makes that uneasy combination itself (and the history of Hollywood) its subject. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is based on classic Los Angeles private-eye movies (and, specifically, Chinatown), with detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) investigating a case involving adultery, blackmail, murder, and a fiendish plot to replace LA's once-famous Red Car public transportation system with the automobiles and freeways that would later make it the nation's smog capital. Of course, his sleuthing takes him back to the place he dreads: Toontown, the ghetto for cartoons that abuts Hollywood and that was the site of a tragic incident in Eddie's past. In addition to intermingling cartoon characters with live actors and locations, Roger Rabbit also brings together the greatest array of cartoon stars in the history of motion pictures, from a variety of studios (Disney, Warner Bros, MGM, Fleischer, Universal, and elsewhere): Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Woody Woodpecker, Droopy Dog, and more! And, of course, there's Maroon Cartoon's greatest star, Roger Rabbit (voice by Charles Fleischer), who suspects his ultra-curvaceous wife, Jessica Rabbit (voice by Kathleen Turner: "I'm not bad; I'm just drawn that way"), of infidelity. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Contact), not since the early Looney Tunes' "You Oughtta Be in Pictures" has there been anything like Roger Rabbit. -Jim Emerson The words unique and groundbreaking are often bandied around in cinema, but on its original release in 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a genuine landmark in filmmaking. It remains a movie that has lost none of its impact. While many special effects in the cinema have a tendency to date, what is most noticeable here is how vibrant and fresh the combination of real actors and animation still appears. Created long before the days of CGI and other computer-enhanced aids, the hand-drawn characters have a real frisson and life to them that stems from their cartoon heritage (Jessica Rabbit must still rank as one of the all time great screen sex symbols). The human performances are also superb, from Hoskins' downtrodden PI to Christopher Lloyd's insane villain. [+]

An over-the-top, sensory overload experience determined to replicate its frantic, television-anime origins, Speed Racer is wild enough to induce a headache or wow a viewer with one dazzling effect after another. Adapted for the big screen as a live-action feature, Speed Racer is written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, the sibling team behind the intensely satisfying The Matrix and its busier, less interesting sequels. Where the rich myth-making of The Matrix was entirely accessible, however, Speed Racer's overwhelming and gratuitously complicated story exposition is an enormous challenge to follow, let alone embrace. After a while, one simply surrenders to the unbroken din of dialogue concerning corporate chicanery, corruption in the sport of racing, and a value conflict between racing as a family business versus multinational cash cow. At the same time, the film's hyper-real equivalent of the old Speed Racer cartoon's great whoosh of color, motion, and edgy production design-such as inventive uses of scene-changing wipes, bold framing, shifting perspectives-are more overbearing than fun. Emile Hirsch plays Speed Racer, younger brother of a deceased racing legend, Rex, and son of car designer Pops (John Goodman). The latter invented Speed's Mach 5, and is singularly unimpressed by an offer from a giant conglomerate that would lock Speed into exclusive racing services. Speed opts instead for family loyalty, incurring the wrath of the conglomerate's unctuous head (Roger Allam). With family honor on the line and the affections of girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci) behind him, Speed hits the track in hopes of fulfilling his destiny as a master racer. The cast is largely enjoyable, including Susan Sarandon as Speed's mom, Matthew Fox as mysterious Racer X, and a pair of chimps as the irrepressible Chim-Chim. [+]

What can two little mice possibly do to save an orphan girl who's fallen into evil hands? With The Rescuers anything is possible! As members of the mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society, Bernard and Miss Bianca respond to orphan Penny's call for help. The two mice search for clues and with the help of an old cat named Rufus they track Penny to the clutches of the evil Madame Medusa in a dilapidated ship in Devil's Bayou. It turns out that Medusa is using Penny to locate and retrieve the Devil's Eye Diamond-a stone she'll stop at nothing to possess. With a cunning plan, courageous acts, cooperation from local animal life and lots of faith, Bernard and Miss Bianca try to help Penny find the diamond and escape from Medusa. This somewhat dark, classic 1977 animated Disney film is based on Margery Sharp's book, The Rescuers and Miss Bianca, and features the Academy Award-nominated song "Someone's Waiting for You". Voice talents include Eva Gabor as Miss Bianca, Bob Newhart as Bernard, Geraldine Page as Madame Medusa and Jim Jordan as Orville Albatross. The sequel is The Rescuers Down Under. (Ages 5 to 11) -Tami Horiuchi, Amazon. com.