Trail Mix-Up (1993)

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Best movie ever!

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This short was just about as good as the second Roger Rabbit cartoon "Roller Coaster Rabbit." Once again I was surprised to see that this one, just like the others, all had slightly differing animation styles from each other and the movie. Baby Herman really stole the show in this one especially with his fascination with the "doggy" (really a beaver). He almost reminded me of Swee'Pea from the old Popeye cartoons when getting into amusing and entertaining predicaments. The final touch at the end was a great addition with that clever and hilarious gag of them coming out of the set into the real world and wrecking Mount Rushmore.

Robert Zemeckis's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was the first movie that I saw in the theaters (and I was only four years old, so I didn't even understand the plot). I later saw the short "Tummy Trouble", and then "Trail Mix-Up". Watching all these, one would get the idea that Roger was always intended as a whimsical, accident-prone character inhabiting a completely batty world.Nothing could be further from the truth. I recently bought a copy of Gary Wolf's "Who Censored Roger Rabbit", the book on which Zemeckis's 1988 movie is based. The book is in fact quite dark. I suspect that while preparing the movie, they realized that it would be hard for people to take the idea of cartoon characters (called toons in the book and movie) coexisting with humans seriously, so they made it more slapstick.So yes, Roger's mishaps while babysitting Baby Herman in the forest are a far cry from the original dark story. Silly, but nothing else. Zemeckis's movie was really good, but how many spin-offs did they want? I'd kinda like to see a movie version of "Who Censored Roger Rabbit" that follows the novel's original tone. I assume that it's possible.

I remember 'Entertainment Weekly' panning this cartoon when it came out for its crudeness and sexiness. I'll agree that the 'dropped a log' line is a bit much but on the whole the cartoon seems to be a foil for Disney animator's frustrations with the 'Disney' way of storytelling. To that end, this is the most violent and faced-paced of the Roger Rabbit shorts with Roger getting threatened by a shot gun, bashed countless times, with a face-ful of bee sting welts, and sliced up by the saw-mill.The drawings are certainly not top-notch with Roger and Baby looking like distant cousins of their characters in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'. The backgrounds are bright and lively but this certainly is the most forgettable Maroon Cartoon short and possibly why others were not produced. Less an homage to Tex Avery and other 1940's-50's cartoon shorts, it just goes a little too far cramming one rabbit-pummeling gag after another.

The years were good for Roger Rabbit and the animation crew. It was three years since the previous Roger Rabbit cartoon when "Trail Mix-Up" was released, and the animation was quite contrasting compared to the first two Roger shorts. The visuals are almost up to feature-animation quality and are quite crisp and beautiful. Just imagine what Roger Rabbit cartoons would look like if they were made today!"Trail Mix-Up" has some very inventive and funny gags; like when Roger runs for safety only to have an unbelievably tall tree crash down on him miles away, and when numerous mini-Rogers appear after Roger goes through some buzz saws. This short even features Jessica Rabbit's sexiest appearance out of all the cartoons (and probably the feature too!). Who knew a cartoon character could accomplish such a thing. Man, I feel like the ultimate nerd by writing that! :PWhile watching "Trail Mix-Up" again, I had a hard time remembering why I prefer "Roller Coaster Rabbit" to this. All the gags were top-notch and hilarious, with a sexy Jessica Rabbit thrown in, and then we get to the ending. The water-skiing bear was pretty funny, but it all turned too manic and just not all that funny when they returned to the "real world." I don't know what exactly it was, but maybe I just didn't like seeing a national monument be destroyed or to even see Baby Herman harmed. The ending just didn't sit well with me.Aside from that, this is still a pretty good cartoon. There are plenty of laughs, and it's just a beauty to see.My IMDb Rating: 8/10