Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: Who Framed Roger Rabitt (1988)

 Disney Movie Challenge Bonus

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

1988 was a weird year for Disney.  Their major animated film Oliver & Company was a minor hit but really isn't very good.  On the flip side they released the massively popular (number 2 overall at the box office for the year) and critically praised Who Framed Roger Rabbit the same year.  The two films couldn't be more different.  

Who Framed Roger Rabbit has an interesting production history.  Disney bought the rights to the book Who Censored Roger Rabbit shortly after it was published in the early 80's.  After it started production it became clear that with a combination of live action and animation it was going to have a huge budget so they teamed up with Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment to co-produce the film.  The addition of Spielberg who by then had established himself as a hitmaker brought some prestige to the film.  Robert Zemeckis was circling the film for a while but after the huge success Back to the Future he earned the trust of the producers to take the reins.  The big question for Disney was how to release a film that some might find not so family friendly.  The answer was to release it through their Touchstone Pictures studio.  Touchstone was created as a way for Disney to release more adult themed films without harming the Disney brand.  Previous films released through Touchstone were Splash,  Ruthless People, and Good Morning Vietnam.  Disney's first R rated film Down and Out in Beverly Hills was released through Touchstone. 

The film is a noir that takes place in old Hollywood where cartoon characters live alongside human characters.  Roger Rabbit is a famous cartoon who ends up being framed for the murder of one of the biggest producers of cartoons.  To help clear his name he goes to Eddie Valiant, a private investigator who hates Toons but when he figures out there is a larger plot to take over Toon Land he helps Roger out and discovers the true identity of Judge Doom.  

The post production process on this film took a long time as it was a very painstaking process to draw the toons on the live action footage but the care and meticulousness put into it really shows.  Animation director Richard Williams said from the outset that he wanted to break every rule for making a hybrid animation film.  So he moved the camera a lot, used lots of shadows and crazy lighting, and made the toons interact as much as possible with real world objects.  In one scene there is a light swinging back and forth which created lots of shadows that had to be drawn to make it match the shadows in the live action part.  The term "Bump the Lamp" became a term animators use about going the extra mile to make things look realistic even for something small that the audience might not notice.  I like to keep my Bonus Posts short so I just want to say that if you're interested look up how the movie was made.  There was a lot of innovation and things I couldn't explain if I wanted but truly some mind blowing things going on in this film. 

Besides the cutting edge technical aspects the movie has a lot more going for it.  Namely the script and acting.  Watching this again I realized how great the script really was.  It really brings the world to life and leans heavy into the 40's noir feel.  They brought some real world situations into the film.  Notably the street car subplot is based on an actual situation in LA where automobile makers blocked a street car from expanding so they would sell more cars.  And the club where Valiant first meets Jessica Rabbit is somewhat based on The Cotton Club where some of the biggest black entertainers performed but no black people were allowed to patronize the club. To bring the script to life seems Bob Hoskins was the perfect person to play Valiant.  A lot of actors were considered including Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, and Bill Murray.  But Hoskins sold the hard drinking detective while also believably interacting with animated characters he couldn't see.  While the film won Oscars for it's technical achievement I think Hoskins should have been nominated for acting.  Truly an amazing job.  

Overall: I haven't watched this film in a long time and forgot how good it really is.  It's hard to believe that this came out the same year as Oliver & Company.  This animation not only looks great but the film also has a great script, and great acting.  If you haven't seen the film in a while I recommend checking it out.  There hasn't been another film like it.  

RANDOM FACTS:

Spielberg and Zemeckis wanted Bill Murray to play Eddie Valiant but because they could not get in touch with him he was never offered the part. He later says he would have taken it.  

Tim Curry auditioned for the part of Judge Doom but the producers found his performance too terrifying.  

It was a bit surprising to see Warner Brother's characters in the film. But they agreed as long as they got equal screen time as Disney characters.  That's why almost every time they appear in pairs like Daffy Duck and Donald Duck dueling piano scene and Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny appear at the same time.  

There is no question mark in the title because they are considered bad luck.