TGME Round 1: Batman Begins Vs. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

[GregMcduck]

(I'm putting this up a day early, because I don't know if I'll be able to get at a computer tomorrow)

How it works: Each poll will be open for two weeks, giving all of you time to watch each film. New polls added every Sunday and Wednesday.

Batman Begins (2005) vs. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)



Batman Begins is a superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman. Christopher Nolan directed the film, which stars Christian Bale as Batman, as well as Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman and Tom Wilkinson. When fate prevents him from avenging the deaths of his parents, young Bruce Wayne (Bale) flees to Asia where he seeks counsel from a dangerous ninja cult leader known as Ra's al Ghul (Watanabe). When he returns, Bruce finds that Gotham City has become overrun with crime and corruption, and that there are forces at work trying to remove him from his inherited place as the owner of Wayne Industries. Discovering a cave under Wayne Manor, Bruce assumes a new identity as a secret detective and guardian of the people of Gotham City against the criminals that plague them.

The film reboots the Batman film series, telling the origin story of the character with inspirations from classic comic book storylines such as "Batman: The Man Who Falls," "Batman: Year One" and "Batman: The Long Halloween." After a series of unsuccessful projects to resurrect Batman on screen following the critical and commercial failure of Batman and Robin (1997), Nolan and David S. Goyer began work on this film in 2003, aiming for a darker and more realistic tone. The film was primarily shot in England and Chicago, and relied on traditional stunts and miniatures; computer-generated imagery was used minimally. Batman Begins was critically and commercially successful.



Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a film produced by Amblin Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company which blends traditional animation and live action. The film is set in a fictionalized version of 1947 Los Angeles, where animated characters (always referred to as "Toons") are real beings who live and work alongside humans in the real world, most of them as actors in animated cartoons. The movie opens as production of a Baby Herman short subject – which in the realm of this film is "live action" slapstick – ends when Roger Rabbit blows his lines for the 23rd time. In an effort to discover why Roger cannot keep his mind on his work, studio boss R. K. Maroon, owner of Maroon Cartoons, hires washed-up, alcoholic private detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) to investigate. However, Valiant harbors a deep bitterness toward Toons and refuses to set foot in Toontown, since his brother Teddy was killed by a Toon years earlier. He quickly obtains photographic evidence that Marvin Acme, the owner of the Acme Company and of Toontown, and Roger's wife, Jessica Rabbit, a sexy Toon femme fatale, have been (literally) playing pattycake together. This is tantamount to infidelity in the eyes of a Toon. A devastated Roger attacks Valiant when shown the evidence, making it clear he will win his wife back, before running away. The next morning, Acme is found murdered, with all signs pointing to Roger as the culprit.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is seen as a landmark film that sparked the most recent era in American animation. The field of animation had suffered a recession during the 1970s and 1980s, to the point where even giants in the field such as The Walt Disney Company were considering giving up on major animated productions. This expensive film (production cost of $70 million - a staggering amount for the time) was a major risk for the company, but one that paid off handsomely. It inspired other studios to dive back into the field of animation; it also made animation acceptable with the movie-going public. After Roger Rabbit, interest in the history of animation exploded, and such legends in the field as Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, and Ralph Bakshi were seen in a new light and received credit and acclaim from audiences worldwide. It also provided the impetus for Disney and Warner Brothers' later animated television shows such as Darkwing Duck, Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures.

Please take the time to watch or re-watch these two films before voting. You can use this thread to post reviews after having watched them, campaign for your preferred movie, or just discuss the movies in general.

[Maverick Joe Six-Pack]

This is the hardest one yet!   

[ScottotD]

Really?  I'm supposed to take more than a second to decide?

How did Roger Rabbit get into 'films you can watch without vomiting blood' let alone this?

[Maverick Joe Six-Pack]

Really?  I'm supposed to take more than a second to decide?

How did Roger Rabbit get into 'films you can watch without vomiting blood' let alone this?

If you vomit blood when you watch certain movies... you probably shouldn't watch movies... 

[doggans]

For the most part so far, the pairs have been "personal favorite of mine vs. classic that I think is objectively very good but don't enjoy quite as much", or something like that.

In this case, however, both of these movies are personal favorites of mine. This'll take a while to decide.

[Courtney]

Really?  I'm supposed to take more than a second to decide?

How did Roger Rabbit get into 'films you can watch without vomiting blood' let alone this?

If you vomit blood when you watch certain movies... you probably shouldn't watch movies... 

Didn't you see the warning before the movie?  "If you vomit blood while watching WFRR, please consult your physician as it may point to a serious problem with animated rabbits with speach impediments and babies with cigars."    

[orionpaxxx]

Being that I am probably the only one here who hated Batman Begins. Katy Holmes? C'mon give me a break I didn't know Dawson lived in Gotham. Say that 3 times fast! But again I was never much a Batman fan. At least Roger Rabbit had the one and only time you will see Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny on the screen at the same time. Two icons of that stature together will never happen again.

[Maverick Joe Six-Pack]

Being that I am probably the only one here who hated Batman Begins. Katy Holmes? C'mon give me a break I didn't know Dawson lived in Gotham. Say that 3 times fast! But again I was never much a Batman fan. At least Roger Rabbit had the one and only time you will see Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny on the screen at the same time. Two icons of that stature together will never happen again.

Well... not until the apocalypse anyway.

[Cosmic Muse]

Batman Begins

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

I don't know, I thought Batman Begins kind of dragged in parts, my vote goes to the movie with Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd

[Petey Wheatstraw]

Really?  I'm supposed to take more than a second to decide?

How did Roger Rabbit get into 'films you can watch without vomiting blood' let alone this?

Why are you so extreme?

[Cosmic Muse]

I'm sorry. I just cannot watch Roger Rabbit because it's just not appealing to me anymore. I've grown out of it by now. Of course this is due in part to a friend who has an obsessive love of all things Christopher Lloyd. She rather ran movies like Roger Rabbit amd the Back to the Future Trilogy. I can't even so much as even see these titles and have a minor panic attack. Now Batman Begins......I can watch Christian Bale in that movie all day. He's such a hotty.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

yeah, I guess, he looked too much like Tom Cruise to me though


plus, his Batman voice 

[Pak-Man]

Ouch. One of the best Superhero movies Vs. the best movie EVER.

Gotta give it to the Rabbit. The movie changed my life and my very outlook (Not even kidding.) :^)

[Doktor Sleepless]

Roger Rabbit.

Batman Begin's while doing justice to the Batman legacy still had Katie Holmes, and some predictable/rehashed elements to it. I still don't know why they need a main female love interest in every Batman movie made.