The new movie Coyote vs. Acme has become a modest hit with audiences, partly because of its underdog story and partly because it blends classic Looney Tunes characters with real-life, flesh-and-blood actors. Whether it’s Osmosis Jones’ animated germ killers or the humans-vs-cartoons basketball games of Space Jam, several films have blended real life with animation. Some do it more creatively than others. Here are three movies that mix animation with real life.
[imbd.com]This isn’t my nostalgia talking; I think Who Framed Roger Rabbit is actually a great film—a rare big-budget, special effects-heavy movie that hits all its marks. Here, a down-and-out detective must team up with a wacky animated rabbit after the cartoon character is framed for murder. As animation, its visuals still look good 30 years on. Specifically, unlike previous live-action/animation hybrids that looked flat, the animators meticulously added hand-rendered highlights and shadows to the cartoons. This makes the characters look like they share the same physical space and lighting as the live actors. As comedy, it’s a loving tribute to the frantic violence of Looney Toons. It delivers sharp satire of studio-era Hollywood, clever industry inside jokes, and sophisticated double entendres (most famously encapsulated by Jessica Rabbit’s iconic line, “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.” Plus, the movie completely works as a Film Noir. Thanks to a terrific lead performance from the late Bob Hoskins. The cynical, traumatized, and boozing private eye directly channels archetypes like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. ★ ★ ★ ★
[imbd.com]How can I describe this next movie? Imagine if a gang of demented Italian perverts made Walt Disney’s Fantasia, and you would get this film. With Allegro Non Troppo (Not So Fast!) we get a series of bizarre animated sequences set to classical music. What’s even weirder is how it’s strung together: scenes with a demented conductor, an orchestra of old ladies, and an enslaved animator who must come up with cartoons to match the music. Between the slapstick live-action bickering, the film transitions into full-color, surreal animated shorts set to masterpieces by composers like Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky. The whole enterprise is an elaborate parody of the high-mindedness of Disney cartoons. Where Disney dealt with a sanitized highbrow aesthetic in their animated works, this cult film aims for raunchiness, sorrow, and raw authenticity. The result is a Disney parody that’s a must for specialists in strange cinema. ★ ★ ★
[imbd.com]Perhaps a mix of live action and stop-motion animation is the ideal format for adapting children’s stories. An example would be the ’90s adaptation of James and the Giant Peach. Here, we follow a bright young orphan (whose parents were killed by a runaway rhino) who escapes his evil aunties after discovering an enormous enchanted peach. What’s cool is how the story begins as live action but gradually changes to animation when James discovers his fantastic fruit is populated with strange creatures. That choice creates a more detailed, tactile fantasy world, complete with underwater pirates and a striking thunderstorm sequence where James confronts his greatest fear. Plus, the movie is funny; what could’ve been a syrupy kid’s film actually has flashes of wit and darkness that will appeal to grown-ups. ★★★1/2
