What Parents Should Know
Parents should know that some of the nuances of the story line and much of the film's humor will go right over children's heads. Several scenes feature cartoon violence including one where characters are thrown into "the dip" (an acid-like concoction that will "erase" toons). A live-action character is shot on screen (no blood), and someone is run over by a steamroller. Also, adult language used by the live-action characters includes "son of a bitch" and "bastard." Silly double entendres proliferate.

Families who see this movie might have to explain some of the plot points to their youngest kids. But there's a fun discussion to be had about the mix of live action and animation, which this movie pioneered. Do your kids think it looks dated?

Common Sense Media Review
The movie that popularized the term "toon," ROGER RABBIT won four Oscars for its imaginative visual effects. Thought to contain the ultimate in technical innovation at the time of its release, the film's landmark mixture of live action and animation is not as impressive today in light of the more sophisticated and complex computer-generated animation featured in features like SHREK and FINDING NEMO.

As with any detective story, the film focuses on a myriad of details and double crosses; as with any decent farce, the plot is nothing but a pretext for a number of comic situations. Zemeckis and company unfortunately dote on the plot's machinations, slowing the movie's pace down to a crawl at a few points.

What can be re-seen numerous times are the truly magical sequences when Valiant visits toon territories. At these points, we are treated to the (unfortunately brief) interaction of cartoon immortals from the Disney/Warner Brothers, and Fleischer stables. Though the film's sensibility is a resolutely adult one (with plenty of potentially frightening moments for smaller viewers), parents won't be blamed for wanting to show their child the only screen union of Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, or a raucous piano duet between Donald Duck and his WB counterpart, Daffy. These moments are so enchanting that one almost dreads the inevitable return to the central story line.

The film's ending is incredibly cheery, but that may not wipe out some of the nightmarish visions conjured up earlier. Parents in search of lighter, more kid-friendly fare featuring human/toon interaction are advised to check out the Disney classic MARY POPPINS (1964).