Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Adventures in Toontown

Why is Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Adventures in Toontown our first blog of 2024? Why are we talking about the animation/live action hybrid’s history and legacy of art?

The impetus is that I recently got an email from our Disney Fine Art wholesalers announcing that as of January 23rd, they could no longer sell any Who Framed Roger Rabbit art. (This is true at the parks as well!) As it was, they only had a few images available, probably due to the fact that as of June 23rd, 2023, Disney had lost the license to the film. Obviously, the Disney Fine Art folks had some sort of extension that ended in 2024.

It makes sense, though, doesn’t it? Who Framed Roger Rabbit, released in 1988, broke so many rules in terms of studios working together and licensed characters being seen on the same screen that Hollywood folks have repeatedly said it could never happen again. THAT, along with the genius animation and character voicing, is what makes the film such an important one in animation and film history.

The story is based on Gary K. Wolf’s novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? Believe it or not, Terry Gilliam was at one point offered a chance at directing the film, and Daryl Van Citters was attached as animation director, but eventually the live action fell to Robert Zemeckis, with Richard Williams directing the animation. A metric ton of famous actors were offered the role of Eddie Valiant, including Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson, and Eddie Murphy, before Bob Hoskins took it on. Roger was, at one point, was being voiced by Paul Reubens before the job went to Charles Fleischer.

Here’s a video showing an early development of the film, featuing Paul Reubens and showing just how much the film noir aspect of the film was already at play:

At the time, the film won Oscars for best editing, best sound effects, and best visual effects, as well as a special achievement award for director Richard Williams for “animation direction and creation of the cartoon characters”. In 2016, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Here’s Robin Williams (as Mickey Mouse!) and Charles Fleischer doing quite the comic bit before giving Richard Williams his Oscar. In his speech, Williams singles out animator (and now Disney Legend) Andreas Deja as being essential to the making of the film:

Andreas talks about his work on the film at the Academy’s 25th anniversary celebration of the film. You can see that HERE. He also references his experience working on the crowd scenes on his own blog HERE.

I also interviewed Andreas about his career, and he talks about Roger, Lilo, the Nine Old Men and more:

 

As to the voicing, just look at the spectacular talent from the history of animation present for this film. Mel Blanc, who died in 1989, was featured as some of his classic characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, and Sylvester. June Foray voiced Toon Patrol member Wheezy and Lena Hyena. She is known for a host of characters, including WB’s Witch Hazel, Granny in the Sylvester and Tweety, Lucifer in Disney’s Cinderalla, and Rocky and Natasha in Jay Ward’s Rocky and Bullwinkle. Mae Questel, born in 1908 and who died only 10 years after the film, played Betty Boop, a character for which she is most know, having voiced over 50 shorts between 1931 to 1939. She also supplied the sass for Popeye’s Olive Oyl starting in 1933 to her hiatus in 1938. Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor, known for both voicing Mickey and Minnie Mouse AND being married in real life. Both have since passed away.

Although Charles Fleischer already had done many live action roles on TV, his work as Roger Rabbit became what he was most well-known for in his career. Fleischer was so into the role, that he asked to have a life-sized suit made for him to wear while on-set, and delivered his lines against Bob Hoskins in it throughout the production.

Uncredited stars involved in the film included Kathleen Turner and Amy Irving as the speaking and singing voice of Jessica, respectively, and even the great Little Richard took part, as Bullet #5.

And, as something we can file under the delightful title “You Can Find Everything On the Internet”, here are Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck and Mel Blanc as Daffy Duck in Roger Rabbit:

Roger Rabbit was also a film in which an animation studio co-owned by a woman (Jane Baer) worked on an entire sequence in Toontown.

The list of cameos featured in the film is as wide and as long as the Grand Canyon, and I’m not just talking about the usual Disney suspects. The film featured representative characters from Warner Brothers, (of course), but also MGM, Fleischer Studios, Famous Studios, Terrytoons, Walter Lantz Productions and RKO Pictures as well. You can see the whole list HERE.

Shortly after I started working in the animation field at one of the first galleries exclusively devoted to animation, Sotheby’s had an auction for art from Roger Rabbit. It was on June 28th, 1989. I’d say that was really the moment when cels started going nuts in the marketplace.

It was the first time people started paying high prices for art from newer animation features, and that, over the following few years, propelled a lot of the prices of older features into the stratosphere.

Strange, too, because at the time I was working at the new defunct gallery Artworks, in Old Town Alexandria, and really at the time there were only galleries worldwide that specialized in animation art. There was Howard Lowery, who had auctions, Gallery Lainzburg, who sold through their catalog, Circle Galleries, who were selling art we were selling for 4 times the price, and several other dealers few folks knew about. That was it! Still, the auction was a BIG deal, with most of the high-profile folks from the production in attendance, and prices going crazy almost from the beginning.

I remember being dressed up, wearing vintage black stiletto heels and walking way too far in them, and then sitting in shock as I watched the prices going up and up and up, and seeing famous people holding up their paddles, clearly with the attitude that price was no object. I was able to buy a few pieces for clients I had at the time, and I’m happy to say that either they or their progeny still own them. It was baptism of fire into an industry that expanded incredibly quickly from then on, because I saw the kind of passion some people had for cartoons. I was incredibly lucky to be there at the beginning of such a swell in interest for animation art, and to be able to meet so many voice artists and animation professionals who are now no longer with us.

One couple I have worked with almost from the beginning of my career is the biggest collector of Roger Rabbit art and collectibles in the world. I must have sold them over 50 original production cels from the film, maybe more, but they were at the auction as well, and as of this year, they have, I think, over 300 cels from the movie. They are also the biggest collectors of Nightmare Before Christmas, and have many of the spectacular dioramas and figures used in the film, in case you needed to feel a bit more envy of these folks. I can at least tell you they’re lovely people. The art found a loving home!

As for Jessica Rabbit, images of her were the last thing available from Disney Fine Art, before they pulled all images a few days ago. Fortunately, we have this gorgeous piece available from Disney artist Bill Silvers, and it really captures the fact she really IS “drawn that way”.  You can see that image HERE.

some of you know, we currently have a wonderful original production cel of Jessica Rabbit. It was purchased wayyyyy back in the early 90s, and now we have it for one of you Jessica fans!

Here is a video that shows Jessica and Eddie in the film. Our Jessica cel is 31 seconds into the scene!

I hope you enjoyed my deep dive into Roger Rabbit, and my experiences with the film and art. Those times are an important part of my education in the art of animation! It’s a beautiful thing that so many talented artists no longer with us are captured forever in this animated classic.