Who Framed Roger Rabbit (film)
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is a groundbreaking 1988 film that uniquely blends live-action and animation, marking a significant milestone in cinematic history. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Disney, the film features a world where humans and animated characters, known as "Toons," coexist. The story follows Roger Rabbit, a cartoon character suspected of murder, as he enlists the help of hard-boiled detective Eddie Valiant, played by Bob Hoskins, to clear his name.
The film is notable for featuring iconic characters from both Disney and Warner Bros., including the memorable duet between Daffy Duck and Donald Duck. With a reported production cost of $70 million, it was the most expensive film made at the time and earned over $150 million at the box office. Its innovative animation techniques involved creating more than 85,000 hand-painted cels, showcasing a collaboration of legendary animators, including the famed Chuck Jones.
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" received critical acclaim, winning three Academy Awards and being nominated for several others, and is credited with revitalizing interest in animated films in Hollywood. The film's blend of humor, crime noir elements, and social commentary has made it a lasting classic, appealing to both adult and younger audiences.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (film)
Identification American film
Director Robert Zemeckis
Date Released June 24, 1988
The first full-length movie to feature live actors and animated characters throughout, this Disney production also featured cartoon characters from a variety of competing studios.
Key Figures
Robert Zemeckis (1952- ), fim director
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was the most expensive motion picture ever made when it was released. It also was the first full-length film effectively to combine animation and live action for its entire length, the first partnership of Disney and Warner Bros., and the first teaming of familiar cartoon characters from different studios. One example was the first and only teaming of Donald Duck and Daffy Duck, seen performing a wild piano duet.
The 103-minute film earned considerable critical praise, and a sizable box office, in its original theatrical release, more than doubling its reported cost of $70 million. “Where else in the Eighties can you do this?” asked director Robert Zemeckis in Rolling Stone magazine. Hollywood had attempted similar combinations of live and cartoon characters, such as a dance scene featuring Gene Kelly and Jerry the Mouse (of the Tom and Jerry animated series) in Anchors Aweigh (1945), as well as a nine-minute Looney Tunes cartoon, 1940’s black-and-white You Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and real-life Warner Bros. producer Leon Schlesinger. To create believable visuals for Who Framed Roger Rabbit, more than eighty-five thousand hand-painted cels were created after plotting each shot. Legendary animator Chuck Jones himself storyboarded the Daffy-Donald scene (although he later criticized the film for giving live actors more sympathy than cartoon characters).
Besides a fine display of new technology, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was also a good movie. Coproduced by Steven Spielberg and Disney, it was written by Peter S. Seaman and Jeffrey Price, who based their screenplay on Gary K. Wolf’s 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? Inspired by the film Chinatown (1974) and the actual conspiracy to destroy California’s streetcar systems to sell more cars, tires, and gasoline, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was an allegory for capitalism run amok versus an ideal, pastoral, Jeffersonian innocence, and it targeted adults as well as younger audiences.
Set in 1947 in a world inhabited by both humans and cartoon characters (“Toons”), the movie is a strange, funny blend of cartoon high jinks and film noir. Roger is the nephew of Bambi (1942) costar Thumper and is distracted from his acting jobs by jealousy over his wife Jessica. Roger’s boss hires hard-boiled (and Toon-hating) detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) to look into it, but things get complicated when Roger is suspected of murdering Jessica’s possible patty-cake partner.
Helping Hoskins juggle all kinds of detective and cartoon devices—plus crime-drama starkness and cartoon sunniness—are Christopher Lloyd (as Judge Doom), Kathleen Turner (as Jessica Rabbit), Stubby Kaye (as Marvin Acme), Joanna Cassidy (as Dolores), and Charles Fleischer (as Roger). Before casting Hoskins, filmmakers reportedly considered approaching several high-profile actors for the detective role, including Jack Nicholson, Eddie Murphy, and Bill Murray.
Distributed by Disney’s Touchstone subsidiary, the film was codirected by Richard Williams, who handled the animated segments. Those moments featured many other famous cartoon characters from several studios, including Goofy, Porky Pig, Woody Woodpecker, Betty Boop, Droopy, and both Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse.
Behind the scenes, the film featured notable voice actors, including Mel Blanc (Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and others), Wayne Allwine (Mickey Mouse), Tony Anselmo (Donald Duck), and Mae Questel (Betty Boop).
Impact
Who Framed Roger Rabbit earned $150 million in its original theatrical release, won three Academy Awards, and was nominated for four others. It is credited with reviving Hollywood animation, paving the way for Dreamworks, Pixar, Fox, and other companies producing animated features.
Bibliography
Corliss, Richard. “Creatures of a Subhuman Species.” Time, June 27, 1988, 52.
Powers, John. “Tooned Out.” Rolling Stone, August 11, 1988, 37-38.
Wolf, Gary. Who Censored Roger Rabbit? New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1981.