TBT: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

You probably don’t really think of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) as a frock flick, but at its heart, it’s a classic 1940s film noir, just with a bit of … extra elements.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the last 38 years, I’ll give a brief overview of the plot of the film. Set in an alternate version of Hollywood in 1947 where cartoons and humans live side by side, the film follows Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), an alcoholic former policeman turned private detective, who lost his partner and brother in a freak toon-related mishap (a piano fell on him).

Eddie lives his days in a drunken stupor with nothing much to live for until one day, R.K. Maroon, head of Maroon Cartoons, hires him to trail a beautiful nightclub singer toon, Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner) in order to catch her in the act with his rival, Marvin Acme, as well as break up her marriage with Roger Rabbit, one of Maroon’s biggest stars. When Acme turns up dead at the hands of a toon, Roger is framed for the murder, and Eddie is forced to set aside his personal feelings about toons and help Jessica and Roger clear their names.

While the humans in the film are obviously the most historically relevant for our purposes, the toons also contain a wealth of references to historical fashion and famous people of the era. Take for instance Jessica Rabbit, in her iconic red sequined evening gown. The official word on her design was that it was heavily influenced by Tex Avery’s Red Hot Riding Hood character, a popular short film in the early 1940s. Real-world influences included Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake, and Lauren Bacall, but I’d also venture there’s a good bit of Mae West in her as well. Also, I always thought she had Bette Davis eyes.

Now let’s look at Eddie’s outfit, even if there’s not a whole lot to look at. He gets all of one outfit for the entire film, though he wears it in a couple of different ways. A charcoal gray pinstripe suit jacket (appropriately rumpled) and matching slacks, white collared shirt (top button undone), short tie (as was the fashion back then), and suspenders. He accessorizes with a black fedora and scuffed brown leather shoes that have seen better days.

Interestingly, the one human character in the film who gets multiple costume changes is Eddie’s erstwhile girlfriend, Dolores (played by Joanna Cassidy). She has at least four distinct costumes from what I can tell. Costumer Joanna Johnston seems to have taken Dolores’ fashion pretty seriously, even though she’s only on screen a handful of times. Dolores is always depicted dressed fashionably with a stylish hairstyle and coordinating accessories, whether its an apron, hat, or clutch. She’s a working woman, but she’s clearly someone who takes great pride in her personal appearance — contrasted with Eddie’s slovenly outfit. Yet for some reason, she loves the big lug!

And finally, I can’t end this post without a look at the villain’s outfit. Judge Doom (played by Christopher Lloyd) was designed with heavy references to Nazi officer clothing, without coming across as a uniform. There’s also a certain Victorian flair to his look, seen in the shoulder cape overcoat and details like a pocket watch on a chain and small bowtie.

Have you ever thought of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) as a frock flick? Tell us in the comments!

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