Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) – Zemeckis and Spielberg in The Mouse House

I had 99 problems today, but I’m finally home and I can watch a movie before going to bed. And an interesting thought came to me: after all, I write articles about albums while listening to them – so why not write an article about the film while watching it? So, today I decided to review one of the films of my childhood called Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988), but before I click on play, let’s turn to the story.

So, on June 6, 81, Gary Kay Wolf publishes a novella called Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, and in the same year Disney buys the rights to the film adaptation of this story, having seen a potential blockbuster in the book. Around the same time, Robert Zemeckis first appears in the history of the film, offering his services as a director, but since his previous films failed at the box office, Disney unobtrusively sends Bob to shoot something else.

Over the next four years, Disney developed two drafts, shot some test material and, in the end, decided to completely redo the project. And by the 85th, Robert Zemeckis, with the help of Steven Spielberg, managed to shoot Back To the Future, and in connection with this, his reputation went up sharply. Comrade Spielberg at that time was generally at the very top of his creative career and was still extremely far from the abyss in which he found himself now. What only says the fact that Comrade Spielberg’s participation in the already mentioned Zemeckis films, which failed at the box office, did not affect Stephen’s reputation in any way, but Robert was afraid to shoot Back To the Future with Steve: the story of time travel failed at the box office, and the title of director, who before I’m still in business only because of my friendship with Spielberg.

But Back To the Future did not fail, and Disney’s opinion of Robert Zemeckis has changed somewhat. To be honest, I don’t know exactly who was called first, but as a result, both Zemeckis and Spielberg ended up in the project – and immediately began butting heads with bureaucrats from large corporations. It was Spielberg who persuaded Warner Bros., Fleischer Studios, King Features Syndicate, Felix the Cat Productions, Turner Entertainment and Universal Pictures to lend their characters for the film. It was Stephen and Bob who refused to take Darrell Van Sitters, whom Disney wanted to appoint as the director of animated scenes, and it was thanks to this that a place appeared in the project for Richard Williams. It was thanks to Spielberg and Zemeckis that everyone’s favorite Christopher Lloyd starred in the film. It was Bob who rested his horn and did not allow the then directors from Disney to cut anything from the film: in particular, they believed that the film was too risky with allusions to sex, but fortunately, according to the contract, Zemeckis had the last word, and he refused to change anything. This film was released so much in accordance with the director’s vision that there is only one deleted scene in the additional materials to it – and it is there only because it was not finished in time.

Could it have been better at all? Yes, it probably could. Take for example the fact that Spielberg intended to take on the lead role of none other than Harrison Ford, but Disney cut the budget of the film from 50 million to 30 million, and Han Solo suddenly turned out to be too expensive. In addition to Comrade Ford, guys like Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson and Bill Murray were offered to take the place of the protagonist – and as a result, Bob Hoskins played him, and, as it seems to me, this role has remained his biggest and most successful. And you can also take into account the nuance that Steven Spielberg could not persuade King Features, Turner, Western Publishing, Harvey Comics and Viacom to share their characters, and from that, for example, the well-known Tom and Jerry did not appear in the film – I think if this movie was filmed now, it would not no one would agree at all. But we will return to the realities of Disney-2019, but for now it’s time to click on the play and see again what Robert Zemeckis shot in the 80s of the last century.

You know, now that I’ve become a fan of American culture of the last century, this movie looks even better than when I was a kid. Los Angeles of the 47th year… By the way, many critics noted as the main disadvantage of the film that the cartoon, funny characters are superimposed on the dark, noir reality of that time – but it is this fact that makes this film so unique in my eyes. I only watched it for a little over twenty minutes – and I already managed to feel that very atmosphere. Old American cars, alcohol, femme fatale… Probably, this cartoon should have been done in black and white for greater effect. And the song Why Don’t You Do Right, which is familiar to all of us, performed superbly by Amy Irving, is just the quintessence of everything that is happening.

Amy Irving – Why Don’t You Do Right

At the fortieth minute, I wanted to celebrate the execution of plot twists in this film. The character’s disclosure was loud and direct, but here are the neat details of his past, designed to gently turn the narrative in the right direction – they are subtle and inconspicuous. They make you look at the screen and follow what is happening. A couple of newspaper clippings, one line of dialogue – it’s all pretty easy to miss. Yes, perhaps this approach loses somewhat in terms of surprise, when compared with films where the plot bend is announced to the characters a la “I am your father”, but any director can reveal the character with dialogue and throw everything else on the actors and their skills. But to turn the plot with the help of the situation, with the help of a couple of casually inserted words, without focusing the viewer’s attention on them – for this, it seems to me, you need to have a certain skill.

All the animation in this film is drawn by hand, but it is worth highlighting the moment when the protagonist of the film arrives in Tuntown – fans of classic Western cartoons will surely appreciate it. And there are also extremely good dialogues in this movie: I like the pun that accompanies us throughout the film, and the way the characters speak in general.For example, Roger uses the word jeepers from time to time – and it sounds extremely authentic. I love such details, but I’m not sure if they can be caught in the dubbing of the film. As it turned out, there are not so many actors in this movie – it is unlikely that new characters will be introduced after the first hour of timekeeping – and therefore I can’t say much about acting. Christopher Lloyd is charismatic as always, and Hoskins is very well suited to the role of a noir private detective… and that, in principle, is all. The rest of the actors appear on the screen at best for a couple of minutes.

Well, the ending… Well, I can’t say how unexpected it is, because the fact is that I remembered it perfectly. So I can only note that it is quite exciting and looks in one breath. Overall, it was a wonderful hour and a half. If you like unusual noir films like Bugsy Mallone and Dick Tracy, or the first part of Back to the Future, or just the work of Robert Zemeckis and classic Western hand-drawn animation, this is your movie one hundred percent. To be honest, I really can’t even find reasons why you shouldn’t watch this movie: yes, you can treat it quite indifferently, but it is unlikely to cause negative emotions in you. This is probably the end of the article about the film, but I would like to say a few more words to the Walt Disney company.

Being a fan of Rat Fink rather than Mickey Mouse, I always feel a little uncomfortable when I like something that Disney has given out. This company has proven itself by putting a solid fly in the ointment in any barrel of honey. For example, have you watched the TV series Motorcity? A great series full of rock’n’roll and cars – there will definitely be a separate article about it. But the fact is that Disney has blocked the second season, and the creators of the series would be happy to draw a sequel for fans without supervision from Mickey Mouse, but the sneaky mouse does not want to give up the rights to the cartoon in any way, although almost six years have passed. Have you watched the recent cartoon Zootopia? Well, just look at the additional materials and take a look at Rich Moore’s face, listen to how his voice sounds in those moments when he says that Disney banned his original idea of a movie with collars and electric shocks. Yes, Zootopia turned out not bad, but it could be… completely different. And knowing who Comrade Moore is, I’m willing to bet that his original idea was much better. I’m willing to bet that this is one of the reasons why Rich Moore changed Disney to Sony a couple of months ago, saying: “Sony’s desire to give artists and filmmakers the opportunity to take risks on their own and really go beyond in terms of visual style and breadth of storytelling is impressive, and I’m looking forward to being a part of that that will shape the future of the studio.”

The Movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I was no exception: I have already mentioned the attempts of the Disney management to intervene in the production process, but it is also worth telling about what happened after the release of the film. The fact is that there were quite predictable attempts to make a sequel: with CGI graphics, with character redesign, without Zemeckis and Spielberg – in general, every possible sequel promised to be a la Disney in the worst sense of the word. Fortunately, then common sense prevailed and the world did not see all the possible horror.

But in 2009, suddenly Robert Zemeckis announced that he was quite interested in the sequel to the film, and from time to time Bob still says a few words about a possible sequel. His vision of the sequel sounds extremely attractive: the 50s, in which Zemeckis is a real guru, all the same hand-drawn animation… It would seem – finally touched on a great sequel. But the fact is that the modern Mickey Mouse does not need the continuation of this film at all. According to Zemeckis himself, “the modern corporate culture of the company is not interested in Roger, and they don’t like Jessica at all.” In 2018, Bob again mentioned the sequel to the film, noting that it has a wonderful plot, but he does not see the possibility that Disney will produce a sequel.: it doesn’t make any sense since there is no princess in it.

The likelihood of a sequel is also reduced by the fact that modern Disney has de facto covered up Touchstone Pictures: obviously, the company has completely run out of desire to change and try itself in new directions. I can’t say exactly when, after Walt’s death, his studio became one of the pillars of a new, hostile culture that oppresses true creativity in every possible way, preferring to stamp out the same type and disposable art instead, but films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? – a wonderful example of what can happen when, by chance, the right people still get money and the production capacity of a large company. Zemeckis, Spielberg and Williams fought for their vision- and won. Disney, apparently, has realized its mistake, and is trying not to get involved in such adventures anymore, but no matter how hard the big-eared mouse tries, free-thinking people will still appear in its ranks from time to time. You just have to remember: good films from Disney studios nowadays are no longer the merits of the studio itself.