Cours toujours mon lapin

Robert Zemeckis's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was the first movie that I saw in the theaters (and I was only four years old, so I didn't even understand the plot). I later saw the short "Tummy Trouble", and then "Trail Mix-Up". Watching all these, one would get the idea that Roger was always intended as a whimsical, accident-prone character inhabiting a completely batty world.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I recently bought a copy of Gary Wolf's "Who Censored Roger Rabbit", the book on which Zemeckis's 1988 movie is based. The book is in fact quite dark. I suspect that while preparing the movie, they realized that it would be hard for people to take the idea of cartoon characters (called toons in the book and movie) coexisting with humans seriously, so they made it more slapstick.

So yes, Roger's mishaps while babysitting Baby Herman in the forest are a far cry from the original dark story. Silly, but nothing else. Zemeckis's movie was really good, but how many spin-offs did they want? I'd kinda like to see a movie version of "Who Censored Roger Rabbit" that follows the novel's original tone. I assume that it's possible.

I remember 'Entertainment Weekly' panning this cartoon when it came out for its crudeness and sexiness. I'll agree that the 'dropped a log' line is a bit much but on the whole the cartoon seems to be a foil for Disney animator's frustrations with the 'Disney' way of storytelling. To that end, this is the most violent and faced-paced of the Roger Rabbit shorts with Roger getting threatened by a shot gun, bashed countless times, with a face-ful of bee sting welts, and sliced up by the saw-mill.

The drawings are certainly not top-notch with Roger and Baby looking like distant cousins of their characters in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'. The backgrounds are bright and lively but this certainly is the most forgettable Maroon Cartoon short and possibly why others were not produced. Less an homage to Tex Avery and other 1940's-50's cartoon shorts, it just goes a little too far cramming one rabbit-pummeling gag after another.

Having recently got one of my all-time favourite films 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' on DVD, all three Roger Rabbit shorts were included as bonuses. And what great bonuses they were, thoroughly enjoyable in their own way, go perfectly with the film and almost as good.

The final Roger Rabbit short 'Trail Mix Up' (sad that there wasn't more) is perhaps my least favourite of the three, despite its more expansive setting and like 'Roller Coaster Rabbit' being closer to the wild manic spirit of 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' than 'Tummy Trouble'. It is still however very, very good indeed, with its only mark against it being that all the gags in the other two cartoons worked whereas the ending falls flat a little. The basic story is not that special, if you remember the hilarious made-up short that started 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' you have the basic story structure for all three Roger Rabbit cartoons except in different settings.

What stops things from being predictable, repetitive and tired is the increasingly intensely frenetic physical comedy/violence (Roger always getting the worst of it), the wonderfully relentlessly madcap pacing that reminds one of a slightly faster paced Tex Avery cartoon (while occasionally feeling a touch rushed) and writing that's never less than very amusing and at its best hysterical (like with the tree, the numerous Roger Rabbits and the bear).

Anybody familiar with 'Animaniacs', 'Pinky and the Brain' and 'Tiny Toons', or who grew up with them, and only saw the Roger Rabbit cartoons recently like me, will love the vibrancy of the colours, the detail of the backgrounds and fluidity of the movements in 'Trail Mix Up'. The music is rousing and energetically orchestrated, Roger and Baby Herman work wonders together and the voice acting is fine. Jessica Rabbit of all the three cartoons is also at her sexiest.

Overall, very, very good final Roger Rabbit cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox

In the last Roger Rabbit short, Roger and Baby Herman go camping in Yellowstain Park. Some rather stressful shenanigans ensue.

It's produced in full Candybox Animation mode, and while I have some issues with the violence starting full bore and continuing throughout, I am willing to forgive all for the sheer structure of the cartoon, and the infinite flexibility of Roger; even Bob Clampett wouldn't have done anything quite that destructive.

Alas, there were no more of these beautiful theatrical Roger Rabbit cartoons. The impulse to produce them is a little vague, but the amazing success of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? Made them seen as something to keep people interested in the proposed sequel. Steven Spielberg, who produced them, loved them, but even for him it undoubtedly seemed less than sensible to keep on producing them when the sequel fell through.

This short was very funny. I like the Droopy scenes. Every Roger Rabbit short has a cameo by Jessica, and this one does too. It is a very funny one. I wish they would make more of these Roger Rabbit shorts, but I can only find three. Oh well do yourself a favor don't miss this one.