"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is such an entertaining movie that it's easy to forget that it is also a technically brilliant movie. Take the seamless way that the real life actors and locations interact with the animations it is just stunning on so many levels. But that is in many ways the obvious technical brilliance because one you don't necessary spot is the brilliant blend of noir style story with cartoon craziness. It's an unlikely marriage as we watch a private investigator snooping around a murder which involves toons but the genius of Robert Zemeckis pulls it off to create cartoon-noir. And whilst "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is heading towards being a quarter of century old it is still as entertaining and impressive today as it was when released back in 1988.

When toon star Roger becomes distracted by rumours of his wife Jessica playing patty cake with someone else, private investigator Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins - The Cotton Club) is hired to follow Jessica and get the truth. But things turn dirty when Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye) is murdered and Roger becomes the main suspect causing him to p-p-p-plead with Eddie to not only protect him but prove his innocence especially as Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd - Clue) is on the war path and will execute Roger in a vat of acid if he finds him.

Where do you start to describe and review "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" as there is so much to it. There is the noir style storyline as we have private investigator Eddie Valiant first called in to prove that Roger's wife Jessica has been cheating on him and then investigating the murder of Marvin Acme. It is classic noir, a thriller where Eddie would find his life in danger whilst falling for a buxom broad and you get that buxom broad in the form of the shapely Jessica Rabbit. And whilst on first watching it's little surprise when the mystery of the murder is solved and Eddie has protected the wrongly accused Roger it's still engaging because it is so well written.

But then you have the classic comedy side of things which starts with an amusing cartoon as Roger is filming a cartoon with Baby Herman. Not only do we get all the craziness of the cartoon world with once hilarious scene of cartoon slapstick after another but we also get the characters. And here is the thing yes there are some which are expected such as Daffy Duck but then you get Disney cartoon characters as well from Dumbo through to the brooms from Fantasia. All of these characters from the new to the old all add something quite magical to the movie even if they only appear as faces in the crowd.

Now the combination of classic noir with cartoon to make cartoon-noir could have been terrible if it wasn't for the fact that Robert Zemeckis makes sure that the two combine seamlessly. From a technical point of view the way Bob Hoskins and all the actors interact with the cartoon characters is seamless and the way the backdrop blends from real to animation is just as impressive. But then you also have the combination of styles and watching Roger deliver a classic cartoon gag to the expense of Eddie is just amazing, such as the handcuff scene which is not only funny but delivers a brilliant comedy pay off which is as funny as the initial actual gag. To put it simply Zemeckis does what seemed impossible and take noir and cartoon and combines them not just visually but also in the humour and the storyline so that it feels all natural and strangely real, as if cartoon characters and real people live side by side in real life.

Of course a big reason why "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" works is down to the casting of Bob Hoskins who is perfect as private investigator Eddie Valiant. Hoskins looks natural as an old gum shoe style character, loves a drink, has a bit of history to trouble him and doesn't like toons. But then his comic timing is spot on so that with the aid of the brilliant animators every single joke comes off. Talking of which you have to say that the team of animators have done a sublime job not only by making the interactions smooth but also for creating some memorable characters. Of course Roger Rabbit is the star of the movie and is a highly amusing character but it is the shapely Jessica Rabbit which you never forget, from her incredible bust to her shapely bum this is a fantasy come true.

Ironically "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" also has a few other stars and the most notable of which is Christopher Lloyd who plays Judge Doom. But despite a solid performance from Lloyd you end up forgetting him because Bob Hoskins and the animators who deliver Roger and Jessica are on such fine form.

What this all boils down to is that "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is still a stunning movie on so many levels. Yes the technical side of it, the seamless merging of real life and animation is simply brilliant but it is also the combination of film-noir with the craziness of cartoon which is just as good. It means that you have a well rounded movie which is amusing, is visually stunning yet also has a solid enough storyline. Oh and it also has Jessica Rabbit which helps to make it unforgettable.