By Frank Paiva
Special to MSN Movies

Have you ever had a day at work so terrible that you wanted to take a large wooden mallet to your boss' head? Such a rash decision would lead to a quick dismissal and definite legal action in the real world. But in the cartoon world, your attack would result in little more than a bump on your superior's noggin, accompanied by goofy sound effects and a musical motif. Moments later, you would continue your usual shenanigans as if the violence never occurred. Perhaps your boss would retaliate by planting some Acme dynamite in the coffee room during lunch, but that's about the worst that could happen.

The desire to live in a world of make believe is understandable. Who wouldn't like to make friends with a ghost, dance with sombrero-wearing ducks, or flirt with an early-'90s animated Kim Basinger at the drop of their imagination's hat? The sad truth is that we can never attain this live action/animated reality, which is why we must get it from the movies.

Disney's "Enchanted" is the latest attempt to merge the animated world with our fleshy, "real" world. It's a mostly live action romantic comedy about an animated princess named Giselle who is transported to modern day New York. In December, Fox will release "Alvin and the Chipmunks," the latest movie to combine computer animated versions of beloved children's TV characters from the past with hapless and suffering actors from the present. Remember Robert De Niro and Rene Russo in "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle," anyone?

In honor of Giselle and Alvin's arrival, here's a look at 10 of the best films, in chronological order, that mix hand-drawn characters with real life actors:

'The Three Caballeros' (1944)
"We're three happy chappies with snappy serapes." Bless the Andrews Sisters and bless this movie. The plot is a series of vignettes centered on Donald Duck opening a pile of birthday presents from his Latin American relatives. Aurora Miranda and Carmen Molina appear in sexy dancing roles. Cultural practices are shown and discussed. The music is blaring and bright. The fact that this has been discontinued on DVD is a crime (the PC police have deemed it racist). Disney needs to open up that fake vault of theirs and pull it out.

'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' (1971)
Disney pioneered the live action/animation hybrid genre after the release of "Caballeros" with productions like "Pete's Dragon," "Song of the South," "Mary Poppins" and "So Dear to My Heart." But none of these films stars Angela Lansbury, which is why "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" is the clear winner. Running nearly two and a half hours, the movie features Lansbury as an aspiring witch who takes a trio of cockney orphans on magical and dangerous adventures using a flying bed. Oh, if only that bed were real. The thing puts "Harry Potter" to shame.

'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' (1988)
This groundbreaking film imagines a late-1940s Hollywood where cartoons worked alongside humans. The movie features a wealth of cameos by just about every famous animated creation in history -- Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny come together at last! The costly venture was both an artistic and financial risk, but things paid off for forward-thinking director Robert Zemeckis and Touchstone Pictures. The film grossed more than twice its $70 million budget domestically and won three Oscars. Not just for kids, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is a legitimate mystery that can be enjoyed by adults.

'Cool World' (1992)
This more adult answer to "Roger Rabbit" comes from veteran cult animation director Ralph Bakshi, whose immortal X-rated 1972 creation "Fritz the Cat" is still pretty shocking today. "Cool World" is a comic book. Its star is a dim blond vamp named Holli Would (played, naturally, by Kim Basinger), who desperately wants to become real. The only way that can happen is by having sex with a human man. Enter Brad Pitt. While not a great experience for most people, this thing continues to provide solid entertainment for college-age stoners across the land.

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