My Favorite Themes - Part XXI

Score: Who Framed Roger Rabbit by Alan Silvestri (Predator)

About the film: Set up for murder and on the lam, cartoon character Roger Rabbit (voice of Charles Fleischer) has only one place to turn for help: burned-out, toon-hating private eye Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins). Even two decades on, this mixture of live-action and animation still dazzles, buoyed by a fine script and well-tuned performances.

Title: "Roger's Theme". This is an appropriately cartoony theme, replete with fluttering woodwinds. However, it does get put throught a number of clever interpolations, like a distended, melancholy violin treatment when Roger believes that his wife Jessica has been untrue and an amusingly over-the-top horn version when he arrives at the factory in a heroic mood.

Other themes of interest: The theme for Eddie is a jazz/noir combo melody punctuated by Silvestri's trademark swirling strings. There's a string and trumpet theme for memories of the past and a (somewhat stereotypical) saxophone theme for Jessica. The villainous Judge Doom (the always-terrific Christopher Lloyd) is heralded by a toll of a bell and a succession of brooding, almost growling low horn notes. Doom's henchmen (or should that be henchweasels?) get a theme of skittering woodwinds.

Availability: Walt Disney Records released this in 1988, and again a couple of years ago. Both versions are incredibly hard to find, which is a shame. A terrific score like this deserves better.