Remember settling into your cinema seat, maybe clutching a box of popcorn, waiting for Warren Beatty's square-jawed detective in Dick Tracy to hit the screen back in 1990? And then, before the main event, BAM! You were unexpectedly thrown back into the chaotic, eye-popping world of Toontown. That glorious, frantic jolt was Roller Coaster Rabbit, a seven-minute explosion of pure, uncut cartoon energy that felt like a mainline hit of nostalgia even then, harking back to the golden age of animation while showcasing the cutting-edge talent revitalized by its parent film.
### Back to the Tooniverse
Directed by Rob Minkoff, who clearly honed his skills for kinetic pacing here before co-directing a little film called The Lion King (1994), Roller Coaster Rabbit doesn't bother with complex narrative. Why would it? We're here for the mayhem! The setup is classic Roger: the perpetually frazzled rabbit, voiced with manic perfection once again by Charles Fleischer, is tasked with watching the cigar-chomping, trouble-magnet infant, Baby Herman (voiced with gravelly gusto by Lou Hirsch), while his mother steps away at the local fair. Of course, Baby Herman immediately wanders off in pursuit of his lost red balloon, leading him straight into the perilous landscape of an active amusement park. And Roger, bless his floppy ears, must give chase.
### Buckle Up, P-p-p-please!
The heart of the short, naturally, is the titular roller coaster sequence. Baby Herman toddles onto the tracks, Roger frantically tries to save him, and they both end up on a high-speed, physics-defying journey that makes even the wildest real-world coaster look like a gentle Sunday drive. This sequence is a masterclass in cartoon timing and visual gags. The animation is fluid, expressive, and packed with the kind of extreme takes and impossible scenarios that defined the best of the classic Warner Bros. and Disney shorts – exactly what writers Gary K. Wolf (the original creator!), Bill Kopp, and Sherri Stoner were aiming for.
Every frame bursts with activity. Eyes bulge, bodies stretch and squash with impossible elasticity, and the sheer velocity is palpable. You feel the G-forces, the near misses, the dizzying drops. It's a testament to the animators' skill that they could recapture the specific energy of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) so perfectly in pure animation, without the live-action element. And let's not forget the brief, but memorable, appearance of Jessica Rabbit, voiced here by the versatile April Winchell (who also voiced Mrs. Herman), adding her signature allure even amidst the chaos before getting unceremoniously swept up in the pandemonium herself.
### Retro Fun Facts: A Shot of Adrenaline
These Roger Rabbit shorts were a special kind of treat. Born from the massive success of the original film, Disney wisely decided to keep the Toontown magic alive by attaching these high-budget animated shorts to their major live-action releases. Roller Coaster Rabbit followed Tummy Trouble (1989, shown before Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) and preceded Trail Mix-Up (1993, shown before A Far Off Place). Attaching this particular short to Dick Tracy was a smart move, pairing two visually distinct, stylized worlds rooted in classic pop culture – comics and cartoons. The goal wasn't just to entertain, but to remind audiences of the sheer joy and technical brilliance animation could achieve, serving as glorious appetizers that sometimes threatened to steal the show from the main course. Think about the density of the gags – it demanded repeat viewings just to catch everything happening in the background!
### Still a Thrill Ride
Watching Roller Coaster Rabbit today, perhaps on a well-worn compilation tape or a digital stream, it still feels remarkably fresh and energetic. It’s a concentrated dose of everything that made Roger Rabbit such a phenomenon: the blend of frantic comedy, dazzling animation, and characters bursting with personality. It doesn't try to be deep; it exists purely to elicit laughter and awe through relentless visual invention. The pacing is breathtaking, barely giving you a moment to recover before the next gag hits. It’s a perfect distillation of the Roger Rabbit spirit.
Rating: 9/10
This score reflects the short's technical excellence in animation for its time, its perfect capture of the characters' voices and personalities, its sheer comedic energy, and its success in delivering a pure, unadulterated blast of cartoon joy. It achieves exactly what it sets out to do with infectious enthusiasm and masterful craft. It only falls short of a perfect 10 because, well, it is "just" a short, lacking the narrative depth of a feature, but as far as animated shorts go, it's top-tier.
Roller Coaster Rabbit remains a delightful shot of adrenaline, a reminder of a time when seeing beloved animated characters return in short-form bursts before a feature film felt like a special event. It's pure, chaotic fun – hang on tight!