113-458: Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz . These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947, and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The title character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a cute panda . Andy became the second star of the Walter Lantz cartoons after Oswald
226-477: A Parkinson's disease diagnosis a year earlier, and died from pneumonia in 2014. Marshall confirmed that the film would be a prequel, similar to earlier drafts, and that the writing was almost complete. During an interview at the premiere of his film Flight , Zemeckis stated that the sequel was still possible, despite Hoskins' absence, and the script for the sequel was sent to Disney for approval from studio executives. In February 2013, Gary K. Wolf, writer of
339-482: A bar tended by his girlfriend, Dolores. Jessica tells Eddie that Maroon threatened Roger's career unless she posed for the compromising photos. Meanwhile, Dolores's research 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,
452-483: A cameo in The Woody Woodpecker Polka with Miranda Panda, Oswald Rabbit, and Charlie Chicken. In print, Andy Panda appeared in a Whitman Publishing 1943–1944 Better Little Book "Andy Panda and Tiny Tom" which differed from the usual Big Little Book format by having art on every page instead of art on alternate pages. Andy was scheduled to appear as a cameo in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit in
565-962: A considerable amount of time in the Siskel & Ebert episode in which they reviewed the film analyzing its painstaking filmmaking. In evaluating their top ten films of the year, Siskel ranked it number two while Ebert ranked it as number eight. Janet Maslin of The New York Times commented that this is "a film whose best moments are so novel, so deliriously funny and so crazily unexpected that they truly must be seen to be believed." Desson Thomson of The Washington Post considered Roger Rabbit to be "a definitive collaboration of pure talent. Zemeckis had Walt Disney Pictures' enthusiastic backing, producer Steven Spielberg's pull, Warner Bros.'s blessing, Canadian animator Richard Williams' ink and paint, Mel Blanc 's voice; Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman 's witty, frenetic screenplay; George Lucas ' Industrial Light and Magic, and Bob Hoskins' comical performance as
678-663: A depressed alcoholic following Teddy's murder by an unknown toon five years earlier. 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 both 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
791-415: A new character. Andy's first cartoon was the aptly titled Life Begins for Andy Panda in 1939. This was obvious wordplay on the perky titles of the popular Andy Hardy movies of that era. Coincidentally, a later Andy Hardy film was actually titled Life Begins for Andy Hardy . In the first three cartoons of the series, Andy's companion was a feisty turtle named Mr. Whippletree (voiced by Danny Webb) who
904-399: A new script for the project, and the animated characters would be in traditional two-dimensional, while the rest would be in motion capture . In 2010, Bob Hoskins had agreed to sign on for a sequel, but expressed scepticism about the use of "performance capture" in the film. Zemeckis said that the sequel would remain hand-drawn animated and live-action sequences will be filmed, just like in
1017-546: A perfect opportunity to produce a blockbuster . Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman were hired to write the script, penning two drafts. Robert Zemeckis offered his services as director in 1982, but Disney declined as his two previous films ( I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Used Cars ) had been box-office bombs . 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, and Russi Taylor as Jessica Rabbit. The project
1130-654: A preparatory drawing for a piece of art, such as a painting, fresco , tapestry , or stained glass window. In the 19th century, beginning in Punch magazine in 1843, cartoon came to refer – ironically at first – to humorous artworks in magazines and newspapers. Then it also was used for political cartoons and comic strips . When the medium developed, in the early 20th century, it began to refer to animated films that resembled print cartoons. A cartoon (from Italian : cartone and Dutch : karton —words describing strong, heavy paper or pasteboard and cognates for carton )
1243-645: A rabbit during the test, so the camera would go down the fire escape and the boxes would fall when a wire was pulled. The actor who played the voice of Roger, Charles Fleischer, insisted on wearing a Roger Rabbit costume while on the set, to get into character. Filming began on November 2, 1986, and lasted for seven and a half months at Elstree Studios, with an additional month in Los Angeles and at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) for blue screen effects of Toontown. The Dimco Buildings in London were dressed as
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#17327806793591356-490: A sequel, arguing that public tastes had changed since the 1990s with the rise of computer animation. "There was something very special about that time when animation was not as much in the forefront as it is now." In December 2007, Marshall stated that he was still "open" to the idea, and in April 2009, Zemeckis revealed he was still interested. According to a 2009 MTV News story, Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman were writing
1469-794: A short series of cartoon illustrations in sequence. In the United States, they are not commonly called "cartoons" themselves, but rather "comics" or " funnies ". Nonetheless, the creators of comic strips—as well as comic books and graphic novels —are usually referred to as " cartoonists ". Although humor is the most prevalent subject matter, adventure and drama are also represented in this medium. Some noteworthy cartoonists of humorous comic strips are Scott Adams , Charles Schulz , E. C. Segar , Mort Walker and Bill Watterson . Political cartoons are like illustrated editorials that serve visual commentaries on political events. They offer subtle criticism which are cleverly quoted with humour and satire to
1582-444: A similar product The Beano in 1938. On some occasions, new gag cartoons have been created for book publication. Because of the stylistic similarities between comic strips and early animated films, cartoon came to refer to animation , and the word cartoon is currently used in reference to both animated cartoons and gag cartoons. While animation designates any style of illustrated images seen in rapid succession to give
1695-1212: A single drawing with a typeset caption positioned beneath, or, less often, a speech balloon . Newspaper syndicates have also distributed single-panel gag cartoons by Mel Calman , Bill Holman , Gary Larson , George Lichty , Fred Neher and others. Many consider New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno the father of the modern gag cartoon (as did Arno himself). The roster of magazine gag cartoonists includes Charles Addams , Charles Barsotti , and Chon Day . Bill Hoest , Jerry Marcus , and Virgil Partch began as magazine gag cartoonists and moved to syndicated comic strips. Richard Thompson illustrated numerous feature articles in The Washington Post before creating his Cul de Sac comic strip. The sports section of newspapers usually featured cartoons, sometimes including syndicated features such as Chester "Chet" Brown's All in Sport . Editorial cartoons are found almost exclusively in news publications and news websites. Although they also employ humor, they are more serious in tone, commonly using irony or satire . The art usually acts as
1808-483: A stand-alone star in the vein of Mickey Mouse , and even acquired a Pluto -like dog named Milo (voiced by Bill Shaw) as a pet. The 1940 Andy Panda short Knock Knock featured the first appearance of Lantz's most famous character, Woody Woodpecker . By 1942, Andy Panda started wearing clothes and shoes in Nutty Pine Cabin . The character was then given a major overhaul by director Shamus Culhane for
1921-513: A stunt goes wrong and the cartoon 'baby' stalks off the set and lights a cigar and tells the human director to go to hell, we know we're in a new and special universe." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune praised the film's "dazzling, jaw-dropping opening four-minute sequence"; he noted that the sequence alone took nearly nine months to animate. Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four. Ebert and his colleague Siskel spent
2034-418: A toon taxi cab. Sheltering in a local 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. Maroon is assassinated and Eddie spots Jessica fleeing
2147-482: A visual metaphor to illustrate a point of view on current social or political topics. Editorial cartoons often include speech balloons and sometimes use multiple panels. Editorial cartoonists of note include Herblock , David Low , Jeff MacNelly , Mike Peters , and Gerald Scarfe . Comic strips , also known as cartoon strips in the United Kingdom, are found daily in newspapers worldwide, and are usually
2260-536: A writer for Time , said, "The opening scene upstages the movie that emerges from it". Corliss was mainly annoyed by the homages to the Golden Age of American animation . Chuck Jones made a rather scathing attack on the film in his book Chuck Jones Conversations . Among his complaints, Jones accused Zemeckis of robbing Richard Williams of any creative input and ruining the piano duel that both Williams and he storyboarded. The critical and commercial success of
2373-472: Is the sole shareholder of Cloverleaf and 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 unsuccessfully attempts to save Jessica, the couple is tied onto a hook in front of the machine's sprayer. Eddie distracts the weasels by performing a comedic vaudeville act full of pratfalls, causing them to die of laughter before he kicks their leader into
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#17327806793592486-408: Is a full-size drawing made on sturdy paper as a design or modello for a painting , stained glass , or tapestry . Cartoons were typically used in the production of frescoes , to accurately link the component parts of the composition when painted on damp plaster over a series of days ( giornate ). In media such as stained tapestry or stained glass, the cartoon was handed over by the artist to
2599-516: Is an innovative and entertaining film that features a groundbreaking mix of live action and animation, with a touching and original story to boot." Aggregator Metacritic has calculated a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Who Framed Roger Rabbit was placed on 43 critics' top ten lists, third to only The Thin Blue Line and Bull Durham in 1988. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave
2712-461: Is currently wending its way through Disney. In November 2016, while promoting his film Allied in England, Zemeckis stated that the sequel "moves the story of Roger and Jessica Rabbit into the next few years of period film, moving on from film noir to the world of the 1950s". He also stated that the sequel would feature a "digital Bob Hoskins", as Eddie Valiant would return in "ghost form". While
2825-543: Is finally reunited with his mother and father, Bugs Bunny . Mauldin later retitled his script Who Discovered Roger Rabbit . Spielberg left the project when deciding he could not satirize Nazis after directing Schindler's List . Eisner commissioned a rewrite in 1997 with Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver . Although they kept Roger's search for his mother, Stoner and Oliver replaced the WWII subplot with Roger's inadvertent rise to stardom on Broadway and Hollywood. Disney
2938-529: The film rights for the story 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 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,
3051-649: The film score , performed by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) under the direction of Silvestri. Zemeckis joked that "the British [musicians] could not keep up with Silvestri's jazz tempo". The performances of the music themes written for Jessica Rabbit were entirely improvised by a jazz combo performing with the LSO. The work of American composer Carl Stalling heavily influenced Silvestri's work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit . The film's soundtrack
3164-500: The loom , where the weaver would replicate the design. As tapestries are worked from behind, a mirror could be placed behind the loom to allow the weaver to see their work; in such cases the cartoon was placed behind the weaver. In print media, a cartoon is a drawing or series of drawings, usually humorous in intent. This usage dates from 1843, when Punch magazine applied the term to satirical drawings in its pages, particularly sketches by John Leech . The first of these parodied
3277-533: The second-highest-grossing film of 1988 , behind Rain Man . It brought a renewed interest in the golden age of American animation , spearheading modern 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,
3390-490: The "Dip", a chemical concoction of acetone , benzene , and turpentine which is capable of destroying the otherwise invulnerable toons. Roger's toon co-star, Baby Herman, 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 waiting. Roger insists he has been framed and Eddie reluctantly agrees to help after finding evidence of Acme's will; he hides Roger in
3503-520: The "Vista Series" line in a two-disc collection with many extra features including a documentary, Behind the Ears: The True Story of Roger Rabbit ; a deleted scene in which a pig's head is "tooned" onto Eddie's; the three Roger Rabbit shorts, Tummy Trouble , Roller Coaster Rabbit , and Trail Mix-Up ; as well as a booklet and interactive games. The only short on the 2003 VHS release was Tummy Trouble . The 2003 DVD release presents
Andy Panda - Misplaced Pages Continue
3616-490: The 1944 short The Painter and the Pointer , with a far more malicious personality than he had ever shown previously. In these shorts, Andy was depicted as having little patience for his canine companion and would occasionally threaten violence on him. This new version was disliked by both Lantz and audiences, and was not used again. Lantz continued to produce Andy Panda shorts until he closed his studio in 1949. Andy's last short
3729-481: The 30th anniversary of Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Zemeckis reiterated in an interview with Yahoo! Movies that though the sequel's script is "wonderful", Disney is still unlikely to ever produce it, and he does not see the possibility of producing it as an original film for the streaming service Disney+ , as he feels that it does not make any sense as there is no " Princess " in it. In November 2024, while promoting his latest film Here , Zemeckis again said that one of
3842-506: The 60th anniversary of Mickey Mouse . In 1991, Walt Disney Imagineering began to develop Mickey's Toontown for Disneyland , based on the Toontown that appeared in the film. The attraction also features a ride called Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin . Three theatrical animated shorts were also produced: Tummy Trouble was shown before Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ; Roller Coaster Rabbit
3955-481: The British strip Ally Sloper (first appearing in 1867) and the American strip Yellow Kid (first appearing in 1895). In the United States in the 1930s, books with cartoons were magazine-format " American comic books " with original material, or occasionally reprints of newspaper comic strips. In Britain in the 1930s, adventure comic magazines became quite popular, especially those published by DC Thomson ;
4068-578: The Cab was first conceived to be a Volkswagen Beetle before being changed to a taxi cab. Ideas originally conceived for the story also included a sequence set at Marvin Acme's funeral, whose attendees included Eddie, Foghorn Leghorn , Mickey Mouse , Minnie Mouse , Tom and Jerry , Heckle and Jeckle , Chip n' Dale , Felix the Cat , Herman and Katnip , Yakky Doodle , Mighty Mouse , Superman , Popeye , Olive Oyl , Bluto , Clarabelle Cow , Horace Horsecollar ,
4181-528: The Cab, Psycho, and Greasy. Lou Hirsch, who voiced Baby Herman, was the original choice for Benny the Cab but was replaced by Fleischer. Price and Seaman were brought aboard to continue writing the script once Spielberg and Zemeckis were hired. For inspiration, the two writers studied the work of Walt Disney and Warner Bros. Cartoons from the Golden Age of American animation, especially Tex Avery and Bob Clampett cartoons. The Cloverleaf streetcar subplot
4294-483: The Cat Productions , Turner Entertainment , and Universal Pictures / Walter Lantz Productions to "lend" their characters to appear in the film with (in some cases) stipulations on how those characters were portrayed; for example, Disney's Donald Duck and Warner Bros.' Daffy Duck appear as equally talented dueling pianists, and Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny also share a scene. Apart from the agreement, and some of
4407-453: The Dip. Doom is flattened by a steamroller while fighting with Eddie, but he survives, revealing he is actually a disguised toon and Teddy's murderer. Struggling against Doom's toon abilities, Eddie empties the machine's Dip supply, spraying and dissolving Doom to death. The machine crashes through the wall into Toontown, where it is destroyed by a passenger train . As police and toons gather at
4520-506: The Lucky Rabbit . He achieved considerable popularity until being eventually supplanted by Woody Woodpecker . When Oswald the Lucky Rabbit retired in 1938, following a nine-year run, Walter Lantz's studio went for months without recurring characters. It wasn't until late 1937, when Lantz had a trip to a zoo. There, the main attraction of the place was a young panda of which Lantz drew pictures. He would then use his drawings to construct
4633-570: The Seven Dwarfs (1937). Originally seven weasels were to mimic the dwarfs complement, but eventually two of them, Slimey and Sleazy, were written out of the script. Further references included The Ink and Paint Club resembling the Harlem Cotton Club , while Zemeckis compared Judge Doom's invention of the Dip to eliminate all the toons to Hitler 's Final Solution . Doom was originally the hunter who killed Bambi 's mother. Benny
Andy Panda - Misplaced Pages Continue
4746-475: The Seven Dwarfs, Baby Huey , and Casper the Friendly Ghost in cameo appearances . This scene was cut for pacing reasons at the storyboard stage. Before finally agreeing on Who Framed Roger Rabbit as the film's title, working titles included Murder in Toontown , Toons , Dead Toons Don't Pay Bills , The Toontown Trial , Trouble in Toontown , and Eddie Goes to Toontown . Williams admitted he
4859-474: The actors where to look when acting with "open air and imaginative cartoon characters". Many of the live-action props held by cartoon characters were shot on set with the props either held by robotic arms or manipulated with strings, similar to a marionette . For example, a test was shot at ILM where an actor playing the detective would climb down a fire escape and the rabbit is supposed to follow and he knocks down some stacked boxes. Naturally, there would not be
4972-436: The animated TV series Tiny Toon Adventures . Who Framed Roger Rabbit 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 . It is loosely based on the 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf . The film stars Bob Hoskins , Christopher Lloyd , Stubby Kaye , and Joanna Cassidy , along with
5085-405: The animation was done using cels and optical compositing . First, the animators and layout artists were given black-and-white printouts of the live-action scenes (known as "photostats"), and they placed their animation paper on top of them. The artists then drew the animated characters in relationship to the live-action footage. Due to Zemeckis' dynamic camera moves, the animators had to confront
5198-428: The budget escalating to over $ 50 million, Disney moved forward on production because they were enthusiastic to work with Spielberg. VistaVision cameras installed with motion-control technology were used for the photography of the live-action scenes, which would be composited with animation. Rubber mannequins of Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman, and the Toon Patrol portrayed the animated characters during rehearsals to teach
5311-497: The burliest, shaggiest private eye." Gene Shalit on the Today Show also praised the film, calling it "one of the most extraordinary movies ever made". Filmsite.org called it "a technically-marvelous film" and a "landmark" that resulted from "unprecedented cooperation" between Warner Bros. and Disney. On CNN 's 2019 miniseries The Movies , Tom Hanks called it the "most complicated movie ever made." Richard Corliss ,
5424-464: The case for further proceedings. In a March 2005 hearing, Wolf estimated he was owed $ 7 million. Disney's attorneys not only disputed the claim but also said Wolf owed Disney $ 500,000–$ 1 million because of an accounting error discovered in preparing for the lawsuit. Wolf won the decision in 2005, receiving between $ 180,000 and $ 400,000 in damages. Spielberg discussed a sequel in 1989 with J. J. Abrams as writer and Zemeckis as producer. Abrams' outline
5537-406: The challenge of ensuring the characters were not "slipping and slipping all over the place." Ensuring this did not happen and that the characters looked real, Zemeckis and Spielberg met for about an hour and a half and came up with an idea: "If the rabbit sits down in an old chair, dust comes up. He should always be touching something real." After the rough animation was complete, it was run through
5650-735: The criminal characteristic of the Tweed machine in New York City, and helped bring it down. Indeed, Tweed was arrested in Spain when police identified him from Nast's cartoons. In Britain, Sir John Tenniel was the toast of London. In France under the July Monarchy , Honoré Daumier took up the new genre of political and social caricature , most famously lampooning the rotund King Louis Philippe . Political cartoons can be humorous or satirical, sometimes with piercing effect. The target of
5763-421: The deleted scene "Acme's Funeral", but a gold-colored Papa made the cut. The character appears in the 2018 Woody Woodpecker series, voiced by Scott Weil. Andy also has a more mature voice with a Southern twang in this series. Cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated , in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but
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#17327806793595876-462: The director went on to state that the script is "terrific" and the film would still use hand-drawn animation, Zemeckis thinks that the chances of Disney green-lighting the sequel are "slim". As he explained more in detail, "The current corporate Disney culture has no interest in Roger, and they certainly don't like Jessica at all". In December 2018, while promoting his film Welcome to Marwen and given
5989-532: The events of "Black Friday", when he allegedly betrayed the locked-out Miners' Federation . To Thomas, the framing of his image by the far left threatened to grievously degrade his character in the popular imagination. Soviet-inspired communism was a new element in European politics, and cartoonists unrestrained by tradition tested the boundaries of libel law. Thomas won the lawsuit and restored his reputation. Cartoons such as xkcd have also found their place in
6102-485: The extent that the criticized does not get embittered. The pictorial satire of William Hogarth is regarded as a precursor to the development of political cartoons in 18th century England. George Townshend produced some of the first overtly political cartoons and caricatures in the 1750s. The medium began to develop in the latter part of the 18th century under the direction of its great exponents, James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson , both from London. Gillray explored
6215-499: The fictional Acme Factory . The entrance of Desilu Studios in Los Angeles served as the fictional Maroon Cartoon Studio lot. Post-production lasted for 14 months. ILM had already used CGI and digital compositing in a few movies, such as the stained glass knight scene in Young Sherlock Holmes , but the computers were still not powerful enough to make a complicated movie like Who Framed Roger Rabbit , so all
6328-509: The film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four, calling it "sheer, enchanted entertainment from the first frame to the last-- a joyous, giddy, goofy celebration of the kind of fun you can have with a movie camera." He writes that the opening cartoon is "a masterpiece; I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at an animated short. But then when
6441-490: The film in Full Screen (1.33:1) on Disc 1 and Widescreen (1.85:1) on Disc 2. On March 12, 2013, Disney released the film on Blu-ray and DVD combo pack special edition for the film's 25th anniversary. The film was also digitally restored for the release; frame-by-frame digital restoration was done by Prasad Studios removing dirt, tears, scratches, and other defects. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released
6554-418: The film on Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 7, 2021. Who Framed Roger Rabbit received near-universal acclaim from critics, making Business Insider ' s "best comedy movies of all time, according to critics" list. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 96% based on 76 reviews, and an average rating of 8.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, " Who Framed Roger Rabbit
6667-487: The film rekindled an interest in the Golden Age of American animation, and in addition to sparking the Silver Age of American animation and the Disney Renaissance , it has also gained a cult following. In November 1988, a few months after the film's release, Roger Rabbit made his guest appearance in the live-action and animated television special broadcast on NBC called Mickey's 60th Birthday in which to celebrate
6780-590: The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 1947 Los Angeles, animated cartoon characters, or " toons ", co-exist with humans, often employing their skills to entertain as film stars. Private detective Eddie Valiant , once a staunch ally of the toons alongside his brother and co-worker Teddy, has become
6893-415: The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Roger Rabbit served as inspiration for various live-action/animation films in the following decades including Cool World , Space Jam , Tom & Jerry , Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers , and Once Upon a Studio . With
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#17327806793597006-423: The film was too risqué with adult themes and sexual references. Eisner and Zemeckis disagreed over various elements of it but since Zemeckis had final cut privilege , he refused to make alterations. Roy E. Disney, head of Walt Disney Feature Animation along with studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg , felt it was appropriate to release the film under the studio's adult-orientated Touchstone Pictures banner instead of
7119-533: The film's LaserDisc release, Variety first reported in March 1994 that observers uncovered several scenes of antics from the animators that supposedly featured brief nudity of Jessica Rabbit. While undetectable when played at the usual rate of 24 film frames per second, the LaserDisc player allowed the viewer to advance frame-by-frame to uncover these visuals. Whether or not they were actually intended to depict
7232-500: The film, they would help distribute his unfinished film The Thief and the Cobbler . Supervising animators included Van Citters, Dale Baer , Michael Peraza , Joe Ranft , Tom Sito , James Baxter , David Bowers , Andreas Deja , Mike Gabriel , Chris Jenkins , Phil Nibbelink , Nik Ranieri , Simon Wells , and Bruce W. Smith ; Williams and associate producer Don Hahn spearheaded the animation production. The animation production
7345-543: The final film. The producers were unable to acquire the rights to use Popeye , Tom and Jerry , Little Lulu , Casper , or the Terrytoons characters for appearances from their respective owners (King Features, Turner, Western Publishing , Harvey Comics, and Viacom ). Terry Gilliam was offered the chance to direct, but he found the project too technically challenging. ("Pure laziness on my part," he later admitted, "I completely regret that decision.") Robert Zemeckis
7458-483: The flagship Walt Disney Pictures banner. The film opened in the United States on June 22, 1988, grossing $ 11,226,239 in 1,045 theaters during its opening weekend; it was in first place at the US box office. It was Disney's biggest opening weekend ever at the time of its release. It went on to gross $ 154,112,492 in the United States and Canada and $ 197,387,508 internationally, coming to a worldwide total of $ 351,500,000. At
7571-596: The humor may complain, but can seldom fight back. Lawsuits have been very rare; the first successful lawsuit against a cartoonist in over a century in Britain came in 1921, when J. H. Thomas , the leader of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), initiated libel proceedings against the magazine of the British Communist Party . Thomas claimed defamation in the form of cartoons and words depicting
7684-476: The illusion of them affected by the set lighting. Finally, the lighting effects were optically composited on to the cartoon characters, who were, in turn, composited into the live-action footage. One of the most difficult effects in the film was Jessica's dress in the nightclub scene because it had to flash sequins , an effect accomplished by filtering light through a plastic bag scratched with steel wool . Regular Zemeckis collaborator Alan Silvestri composed
7797-485: The impression of movement, the word "cartoon" is most often used as a descriptor for television programs and short films aimed at children, possibly featuring anthropomorphized animals, superheroes , the adventures of child protagonists or related themes. In the 1980s, cartoon was shortened to toon , referring to characters in animated productions. This term was popularized in 1988 by the combined live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit , followed in 1990 by
7910-465: The leading cartoonist in the period following Gillray, from 1815 until the 1840s. His career was renowned for his social caricatures of English life for popular publications. By the mid 19th century, major political newspapers in many other countries featured cartoons commenting on the politics of the day. Thomas Nast , in New York City, showed how realistic German drawing techniques could redefine American cartooning. His 160 cartoons relentlessly pursued
8023-470: The modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images intended for satire , caricature , or humor ; or a motion picture that relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist , and in the second sense they are usually called an animator . The concept originated in the Middle Ages , and first described
8136-404: The normal process of traditional animation until the cels were shot on the rostrum camera with no background. Williams came up with the idea of making the cartoon characters “2.5-dimensional”, and the animated footage was sent to ILM for compositing, where technicians animated three lighting layers (shadows, highlights, and tone mattes) separately, to give the characters a sense of depth and create
8249-433: The nudity of the character remains unknown. Many retailers said that within minutes of the LaserDisc debut, their entire inventory was sold out. The run was fueled by media reports about the controversy, including stories on CNN and various newspapers. Another frequently debated scene includes one in which Baby Herman extends his middle finger as he passes under a woman's dress and re-emerges with drool on his lip. In
8362-409: The original 1988 album on vinyl on September 17, 2021. The film features performances of " Hungarian Rhapsody " ( Tony Anselmo and Mel Blanc ), " Why Don't You Do Right? " ( Amy Irving ), " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down " ( Charles Fleischer ), and " Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! " (Toon Chorus). Michael Eisner , then- CEO , and Roy E. Disney , who was the vice chairman of The Walt Disney Company , felt
8475-468: The original film, but the lighting effects on the cartoon characters and some of the props that the toons handle will be done digitally. Also in 2010, Hahn, who was the film's original associate producer, confirmed the sequel's development in an interview with Empire . He stated, "Yeah, I couldn't possibly comment. I deny completely, but yeah... if you're a fan, pretty soon you're going to be very, very, very happy." Hoskins retired from acting in 2012 after
8588-400: The original novel, said Erik Von Wodtke and he were working on a development proposal for an animated Disney buddy comedy starring Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit called The Stooge , based on the 1952 film of the same name . The proposed film is set in a prequel, taking place five years before Who Framed Roger Rabbit and part of the story is about how Roger met Jessica. Wolf has stated the film
8701-488: The original voice artists reprising their roles, Warner Bros. and the various other companies were not involved in the production of Roger Rabbit . Executives at Warner Bros. were displeased by animators using the Daffy design by Bob Clampett and demanded they use the design by Chuck Jones ; in response Zemeckis had separate artists animate Daffy using Jones' design to satisfy Warner Bros., in order to have Clampett's design in
8814-487: The part. The role was eventually given to Charles Fleischer . Before filming, Fleischer was asked to come up with a speech impediment for Roger. He gave Roger a lisp and the stammering catchphrase "P-p-p-please!" as a tribute to all the other famous cartoon characters with speech impediments, which was inspired by Huntz Hall 's Sach Jones in The Bowery Boys . He had invented the "cheek flutter" while performing
8927-406: The pictures to Roger, who becomes distraught and flees, refusing to believe Jessica was unfaithful. The next morning, Acme is found murdered and evidence at the scene implicates Roger as a suspect. Eddie meets Judge Doom , the sinister human judge of Toontown—having bribed the electorate to gain their votes—and his five weasel minions, the Toon Patrol. Doom confirms he plans to execute Roger using
9040-524: The preparatory cartoons for grand historical frescoes in the then-new Palace of Westminster in London. Sir John Tenniel —illustrator of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — joined Punch in 1850, and over 50 years contributed over two thousand cartoons. Cartoons can be divided into gag cartoons , which include editorial cartoons , and comic strips . Modern single-panel gag cartoons, found in magazines, generally consist of
9153-477: The process meeting Jessica Krupnick (his future wife), a struggling Hollywood actress. While Roger and Ritchie are enlisting in the Army, Jessica is kidnapped and forced to make pro- Nazi German broadcasts. Roger and Ritchie must save her by going into Nazi-occupied Europe accompanied by several other Toons in their Army platoon. After their triumph, Roger and Ritchie are given a Hollywood Boulevard parade, and Roger
9266-409: 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 over $ 351 million worldwide, becoming
9379-578: The publisher sent observers around the country to talk to boys and learn what they wanted to read about. The story line in magazines, comic books and cinema that most appealed to boys was the glamorous heroism of British soldiers fighting wars that were exciting and just. DC Thomson issued the first The Dandy Comic in December 1937. It had a revolutionary design that broke away from the usual children's comics that were published broadsheet in size and not very colourful. Thomson capitalized on its success with
9492-597: The role. Christopher Lloyd was cast because he previously worked with Zemeckis and Spielberg on Back to the Future . He compared his part as Doom to his previous role as the Klingon commander Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , both overly evil characters which he considered "fun to play". He avoided blinking his eyes while on camera to portray the character. Fleischer also voiced Benny
9605-438: The role. Ultimately, Bob Hoskins was chosen by Spielberg because of his acting skill and because Spielberg believed he had a hopeful demeanor and he looked like he belonged in that era. Paul Reubens originally auditioned for the role of Roger Rabbit and even provided his voice in an early 1983 screen test, but lost out. Eddie Deezen , who had worked with Zemeckis previously, also auditioned to play Roger, but did not get
9718-427: The scene where Daffy Duck and Donald Duck are dueling on pianos, some heard Donald call Daffy a "goddamn stupid nigger", rather than the scripted and recorded line "doggone stubborn little". Gary K. Wolf, author of the novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? , filed a lawsuit in 2001 against The Walt Disney Company. He claimed he was owed royalties based on the value of "gross receipts" and merchandising sales. In 2002,
9831-465: The scene, Eddie realizes that Acme's will was written on the blank paper in temporarily invisible ink , confirming the toons inherit Toontown. Having regained his sense of humor, Eddie happily enters Toontown alongside Dolores, Roger, Jessica, and the toons. 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
9944-466: The scene. Assuming she is the assailant, he reluctantly follows her into Toontown, choosing to discard the last of his alcohol. After saving Eddie from being shot by Doom, Jessica reveals 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 but, 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 he
10057-558: The skilled craftsmen who produced the final work. Such cartoons often have pinpricks along the outlines of the design so that a bag of soot patted or "pounced" over a cartoon, held against the wall, would leave black dots on the plaster ("pouncing"). Cartoons by painters , such as the Raphael Cartoons in London, Francisco Goya's tapestry cartoons , and examples by Leonardo da Vinci , are highly prized in their own right. Tapestry cartoons, usually colored, could be placed behind
10170-407: The time of release, it was the 20th-highest-grossing film of all time. It was also the second-highest-grossing film of 1988, behind only Rain Man . In the United Kingdom, the film also set a record opening for a Disney film. The film was first released on VHS on October 12, 1989, and on DVD on September 28, 1999. On March 25, 2003, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released it as a part of
10283-501: The time would have still made it the most expensive animated film ever produced. Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg argued that the hybrid of live-action and animation would "save" Walt Disney Feature Animation . Spielberg's contract included an extensive amount of creative control and a large percentage of the box-office profits. Disney kept all merchandising rights. Spielberg convinced Warner Bros. , Fleischer Studios , Harvey Comics , King Features Syndicate , Felix
10396-408: The toons were comic-strip characters rather than movie stars. During the writing process, Price and Seaman were unsure of whom to include as the villain in the plot. They wrote scripts that had either Jessica Rabbit or Baby Herman as the villain, but they made their final decision with the newly created character Judge Doom. Doom was supposed to have an animated vulture sit on his shoulder, but this
10509-508: The trial court in the case ruled that these only referred to actual cash receipts Disney collected and denied Wolf's claim. In its January 2004 ruling, the California Court of Appeal disagreed, finding that expert testimony introduced by Wolf regarding the customary use of "gross receipts" in the entertainment business could support a broader reading of the term. The ruling vacated the trial court's order in favor of Disney and remanded
10622-450: The uncredited voice of Jessica Rabbit , Roger Rabbit's wife. Tim Curry auditioned for the role of Judge Doom, but was rejected because the producers found him too terrifying. Christopher Lee was also considered for the role, but turned it down. John Cleese also expressed interest for the role, but was deemed not scary enough. Peter O'Toole , F. Murray Abraham , Roddy McDowall , Eddie Deezen , and Sting were also considered for
10735-443: The use of the medium for lampooning and caricature , and has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon. By calling the king, prime ministers and generals to account for their behaviour, many of Gillray's satires were directed against George III , depicting him as a pretentious buffoon, while the bulk of his work was dedicated to ridiculing the ambitions of revolutionary France and Napoleon . George Cruikshank became
10848-558: The voice of B.B. in Deadly Friend . His portrayal of Roger was also inspired by Screwy Squirrel . To facilitate Hoskins' performance, Fleischer dressed in a Roger Rabbit costume and "stood in" behind camera for most scenes. Williams explained Roger was a combination of " Tex Avery 's cashew nut-shaped head, the swatch of red hair... like Droopy 's, Goofy 's overalls, Porky Pig 's bow tie, Mickey Mouse 's gloves, and Bugs Bunny -like cheeks and ears." Kathleen Turner provided
10961-434: The voices of Charles Fleischer and an uncredited Kathleen Turner . Combining live-action and animation , the film is set in an alternate history Hollywood in 1947, where humans and cartoon characters (referred to as "toons") co-exist. Its plot follows Eddie Valiant , a private investigator with a grudge against toons, who must help exonerate Roger Rabbit , a toon framed for murder . Walt Disney Pictures purchased
11074-476: The world of science , mathematics , and technology . For example, the cartoon Wonderlab looked at daily life in the chemistry lab. In the U.S., one well-known cartoonist for these fields is Sidney Harris . Many of Gary Larson 's cartoons have a scientific flavor. The first comic-strip cartoons were of a humorous tone. Notable early humor comics include the Swiss comic-strip book Mr. Vieux Bois (1837),
11187-660: Was Scrappy Birthday (1949), which featured his girlfriend, Miranda Panda (voiced by Grace Stafford ). When the studio reopened in 1950, the Andy Panda series never returned to production. Andy led a major part of his career in comic books, in Dell Comics ' Crackajack Comics and New Funnies . One early Andy Panda comic book adventure was drawn by Carl Barks ( New Funnies #76, 1943). John Stanley also did Andy Panda comic book work. In two 1943 cartoons, Andy Panda's Victory Garden and Meatless Tuesday , Andy's foil
11300-582: Was "openly disdainful of the Disney bureaucracy " and refused to work in Los Angeles. Accommodating Williams and his animators, production moved to England where a studio, Walt Disney Animation UK (subsuming Richard Williams Animation), was created for this purpose; located at The Forum, 74–80 Camden Street, in Camden Town, London , while the live-action production was based at Elstree Studios . Disney and Spielberg also told Williams that in return for doing
11413-678: Was Spielberg's original choice to play Eddie Valiant, but his price was too high. Chevy Chase was the second choice, but he was not interested. Bill Murray was also considered for the role, but due to his idiosyncratic method of receiving offers for roles, Murray missed out on it. Eddie Murphy reportedly turned down the role as he misunderstood the concept of toons and humans co-existing; he later regretted this decision. Robin Williams , Robert Redford , Jack Nicholson , Sylvester Stallone , Edward James Olmos , Wallace Shawn , Ed Harris , Charles Grodin and Don Lane were also considered for
11526-431: Was a caricature of Eddie Anderson . Andy's father, the bragging Papa Panda (voiced at various times by Danny Webb, Mel Blanc , and Dick Nelson) was often the fall guy for Andy’s pranks. When Mr. Whippletree disappeared from the series, Papa began to function as both companion and foil. Andy was at first a mischievous cub, whose blustery Papa is frequently trying to prove himself as a good role model . Later, Andy became
11639-563: Was a nameless rooster. In late 1943, this rooster became Andy's comic book sidekick, Charlie Chicken: "hatched" in NF 79 and rapidly growing into the cartoon model. Stories about Andy's and Charlie's often-bizarre adventures ran for many years. Some were reprinted domestically as recently as the 1990s, and in Sweden as recently as 2001. Andy also appeared alongside Woody in shorts such as Banquet Busters and Musical Moments from Chopin . He also had
11752-551: Was deleted due to the technical challenges this posed. Doom would also have a suitcase of 12 small, animated kangaroos that act as a jury , by having their joeys pop out of their pouches, each with letters, when put together would spell YOU ARE GUILTY. This was also cut for budget and technical reasons. The Toon Patrol (Stupid, Smart Ass, Greasy, Wheezy, and Psycho) satirizes the Seven Dwarfs (Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey), who appeared in Snow White and
11865-430: Was eventually abandoned. Nat Mauldin was hired to write a prequel titled Roger Rabbit: The Toon Platoon , set in 1941 to 1943. Similar to the previous film, Toon Platoon featured many cameo appearances by characters from The Golden Age of American Animation . It began with Roger Rabbit's early years, living on a farm in the midwestern United States. With human Ritchie Davenport, Roger travels west to seek his mother, in
11978-505: Was hired to direct in 1985, based on the success of Romancing the Stone and Back to the Future . Disney executives were continuing to suggest Darrell Van Citters direct the animation, but Spielberg and Zemeckis decided against it. Richard Williams was eventually hired to direct the animation. Zemeckis wanted the film to exhibit "Disney's high quality of animation, Warner Bros.' characterization, and Tex Avery humor." Harrison Ford
12091-592: Was impressed and Alan Menken was hired to write five songs for the film and offered his services as executive producer. One of the songs, "This Only Happens in the Movies", was recorded in 2008 on the debut album of Broadway actress Kerry Butler . Eric Goldberg was set to be the new animation director, and began to redesign Roger's new character appearance. Spielberg became busy establishing DreamWorks , while Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy decided to remain as producers. Test footage for Who Discovered Roger Rabbit
12204-623: Was inspired by Chinatown . Price and Seaman said that "the Red Car plot, suburb expansion, urban and political corruption really did happen," Price stated. "In Los Angeles, during the 1940s, car and tire companies teamed up against the Pacific Electric Railway system and bought them out of business. Where the freeway runs in Los Angeles is where the Red Car used to be." In Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? ,
12317-426: Was originally released by Buena Vista Records on June 22, 1988, and reissued on CD on April 16, 2002. On January 23, 2018, Intrada Records released a three-CD set with the complete score, alternates, and a remastered version of the original 1988 album, plus music from three Roger Rabbit short films , composed and conducted by Bruce Broughton and James Horner . Mondo Records and Walt Disney Records reissued
12430-418: 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. The film was finally green-lit when the budget decreased to $ 30 million, which at
12543-483: Was shot sometime in 1998 at the Disney animation unit in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; the results were a mix of CGI, traditional animation, and live-action that did not please Disney. A second test had the toons completely converted to CGI , but this was dropped as the film's projected budget would escalate past $ 100 million. Eisner felt it was best to cancel the film. In March 2003, producer Don Hahn doubted
12656-617: Was shown before Dick Tracy ; and Trail Mix-Up was shown before A Far Off Place . The film also inspired a short-lived comic book and video game spin-offs , including two PC games , the Japanese version of The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle (which features Roger instead of Bugs), a 1989 game released on the Nintendo Entertainment System , and a 1991 game released on the Game Boy . In December 2016,
12769-431: Was split between Walt Disney Animation UK and a specialized unit in Los Angeles, set up by Walt Disney Feature Animation and supervised by Baer. The production budget continued to escalate, while the shooting schedule ran longer than expected. When the budget reached $ 40 million, Disney CEO Michael Eisner seriously considered shutting down production, but studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg talked him out of it. Despite
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