Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. The film, which combines live-action and animation, is loosely based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? The film stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Stubby Kaye and Joanna Cassidy, with Charles Fleischer providing the voice of the title character. Set in an alternative history Hollywood in 1947, where humans and cartoon characters (referred to as "toons") co-exist, Who Framed Roger Rabbit follows Eddie Valiant, a private investigator with a grudge against toons, who must help exonerate Roger, a toon who has been framed for murder.
Walt Disney Studios purchased the film rights to the novel shortly after its publication in 1981. Price and Seaman wrote two drafts of the script before Disney brought in executive producer Steven Spielberg and his production company, Amblin Entertainment. Zemeckis was brought on to direct and Canadian-British animator Richard Williams was hired to supervise the animation sequences. Production was moved from Los Angeles to Elstree Studios in England to accommodate Williams and his group of animators. While filming, the production budget rapidly expanded and the shooting schedule ran longer than expected.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released through Disney's Touchstone Pictures banner in the United States on June 22, 1988. The film received critical acclaim for its visuals, humor, writing, performances and groundbreaking combination of live-action and animation. It grossed $351.5 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1988, behind Rain Man. It brought a renewed interest in the golden age of American animation, spearheading the renaissance age of American animation and the Disney Renaissance. It won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for Williams' animation direction.
In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
In 1947 Los Angeles, animated cartoon characters, or "toons", co-exist with humans. Private detective Eddie Valiant, once a staunch ally of the toons, has become a depressed alcoholic following his brother Teddy's murder by an unknown toon five years prior. Maroon Cartoon Studios owner R.K. Maroon, upset about the recent poor performance of his toon star Roger Rabbit, hires Eddie to investigate rumors that Roger's glamorous toon wife, Jessica, is having an affair with Marvin Acme, owner of the Acme Corporation and Toontown, the animated metropolis in which toons reside.
After watching Jessica perform at The Ink and Paint Club, Eddie secretly photographs her and Acme playing patty-cake. He shows the pictures to Roger, who becomes distraught, refusing to believe Jessica was unfaithful. The next morning, Acme is found murdered, and evidence implicates Roger. At the crime scene, Eddie meets Judge Doom, the sinister human judge of Toontown—having bribed the electorate for their votes—and his five weasel minions, the Toon Patrol. Doom reveals that he will execute Roger using the "dip", a chemical concoction of acetone, benzene, and turpentine, which can destroy the otherwise invulnerable toons.
Roger's toon co-star, Baby Herman, believes Roger is innocent and suggests to Eddie that Acme's missing will, which supposedly bequeaths Toontown to the toons, may have been the killer's true motive. Eddie returns to his office and finds Roger hiding there, insisting that he has been framed. Eddie agrees to help after finding evidence of Acme's will; he hides Roger in a bar tended by his girlfriend, Dolores. Later, Jessica tells Eddie that Maroon threatened Roger's career unless she posed for the compromising photos. Meanwhile, Dolores uncovers that Cloverleaf Industries recently bought the city's Pacific Electric railway system and will purchase Toontown at midnight unless Acme's will is found. Doom and the Toon Patrol find Roger, but he and Eddie escape with help from Benny, a toon taxi cab. Sheltering in a movie theater, Eddie sees a newsreel of Maroon selling his studio to Cloverleaf.
While Eddie goes to the studio to interrogate Maroon, Jessica abducts Roger. Maroon denies involvement in Acme's murder, admitting he intended to blackmail Acme into selling his company, as otherwise Cloverleaf would not buy the studio. In the middle of his confession, Maroon is assassinated, and Eddie spots Jessica fleeing. Assuming she is the assailant, he reluctantly follows her into Toontown after throwing away his remaining alcohol. After saving Eddie from being shot by Doom, Jessica reveals that her actions were to ensure Roger's safety, and it was Doom who killed Acme and Maroon. Acme gave his will to Jessica for safety. When she examined it, the paper was blank.
Doom and the Toon Patrol capture Jessica and Eddie, bringing them to Acme's factory. Doom reveals that he is the sole shareholder of Cloverleaf. He plans to erase Toontown with a dip-spraying machine so he can build a freeway in its place and decommission the railway system to force people to use it. When Roger fails to save Jessica, the couple is tied to a hook in front of the machine's sprayer. Eddie performs a comic routine that causes four of the weasels to laugh themselves to death, then kicks their leader into the dip before confronting Doom. After being flattened by a steamroller, Doom reveals himself as a disguised toon and Teddy's murderer. Struggling against Doom's toon abilities, Eddie empties the machine's dip supply, spraying and destroying Doom. The machine crashes through the wall into Toontown, where it is destroyed by a train.
As police and toons gather at the scene, Eddie realizes that Acme's will was written on the "blank" paper in temporarily invisible ink, confirming that the toons inherit Toontown. Having regained his sense of humor, Eddie happily enters Toontown alongside Dolores, Roger, Jessica, and the toons.
Cast
Live-action cast
Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant, a Los Angeles private investigator Christopher Lloyd as Judge Doom, a Toontown Superior Court judge Stubby Kaye as Marvin Acme, the owner of the Acme Corporation and Toontown Joanna Cassidy as Dolores, a bar waitress and Eddie's girlfriend Alan Tilvern as R.K. Maroon, the head of Maroon Cartoons Richard LeParmentier as Lieutenant Santino Richard Ridings as Angelo, a bar patron who frequents Dolores' place Joel Silver as Raoul J. Raoul, a Maroon Cartoons director Paul Springer as Augie Mike Edmonds as Stretch Betsy Brantley as Jessica Rabbit's performance model Morgan Deare as a Maroon Cartoons editor
Voice cast
Charles Fleischer as: Roger Rabbit, a toon rabbit and cartoon short star Benny the Cab, a toon taxi Greasy, the second-in-command of the Toon Patrol Psycho, a member of the Toon Patrol Lou Hirsch as Baby Herman, an infant-based toon and Roger's co-star, who speaks normally when off set David Lander as Smart Ass, the leader of the Toon Patrol Fred Newman as Stupid, a member of the Toon Patrol June Foray as: Wheezy, a member of the Toon Patrol Lena Hyena, an unattractive humanoid toon whom Eddie mistakes for Jessica Mel Blanc as: Bugs Bunny Daffy Duck Porky Pig Tweety Sylvester the Cat Joe Alaskey as Yosemite Sam Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck Clarence Nash as Donald Duck (archival recordings) Tony Pope as: Goofy The Big Bad Wolf Mae Questel as Betty Boop Russi Taylor as: Minnie Mouse Song of the Souths hummingbirds Pat Buttram, Jim Cummings and Jim Gallant as toon bullets which Eddie once received from Yosemite Sam Les Perkins as Mr. Toad from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Mary T. Radford as Fantasias Hyacinth Hippo Cherry Davis as Woody Woodpecker Morgan Deare as Bongo the Gorilla, the bouncer of The Ink and Paint Club Peter Westy as Pinocchio Richard Williams as Droopy April Winchell as Mrs. Herman and Baby Herman's "baby noises" Archival recordings of Frank Sinatra were used for a singing sword at the Acme factory, whose character design is based on Sinatra.
Uncredited cast members include Kathleen Turner as Jessica Rabbit, Roger Rabbit's wife; Frank Welker as Dumbo, Winchell as a cow practising lines, Nancy Cartwright as Yoyo Dodo and a toon shoe destroyed by the Dip, Bill Farmer as Koko the Clown and Goofy's singing voice, and Dave Spafford as Daffy Duck's "woo-hoos".
Production Development
Walt Disney Productions purchased the film rights to Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? shortly after its publication in 1981. Ron W. Miller, then president of Disney, saw it as a perfect opportunity to produce a blockbuster. Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman were hired to write the script, penning two drafts. In 1982, Robert Zemeckis offered his services as director, but Disney declined as his two previous films (I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Used Cars) had been box-office bombs.Robert Zemeckis, Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, Ken Ralston, Frank Marshall, Steve Starkey, DVD audio commentary, 2003, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Between 1981 and 1983 Disney developed test footage with Darrell Van Citters as animation director, Paul Reubens voicing Roger Rabbit, Peter Renaday as Eddie Valiant, Russi Taylor as Jessica Rabbit, and Jack Angel as Captain Cleaver. The project was revamped in 1985 by Michael Eisner, the then-new CEO of Disney. Amblin Entertainment, which consisted of Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, were approached to produce Who Framed Roger Rabbit alongside Disney. The original budget was projected at $50 million, which Disney felt was too expensive.