Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

A toon-hating detective is a cartoon rabbit's only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder.

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers:

Gary K. Wolf (novel), Jeffrey Price (screenplay)

Stars:

Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy

Won 3 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bob Hoskins	...	Eddie Valiant
Christopher Lloyd	...	Judge Doom
Joanna Cassidy	...	Dolores
Charles Fleischer	...	Roger Rabbit / Benny the Cab / Greasy / Psycho (voice)
Stubby Kaye	...	Marvin Acme
Alan Tilvern	...	R.K. Maroon
Richard LeParmentier	...	Lt. Santino (as Richard Le Parmentier)
Lou Hirsch	...	Baby Herman (voice)
Betsy Brantley	...	Jessica's Performance Model
Joel Silver	...	Raoul
Paul Springer	...	Augie
Richard Ridings	...	Angelo
Edwin Craig	...	Arthritic Cowboy
Lindsay Holiday	...	Soldier
Mike Edmonds	...	Stretch

Storyline

'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect. Groundbreaking interaction between the live and animated characters, and lots of references to classic animation.

---

Plot Keywords:

roger rabbit | maroon cartoon | private detective | year 1947 | rabbit | 

---

Taglines:

It's the story of a man, a woman, and a rabbit in a triangle of trouble.

---

Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jessica Rabbit was based exactly on four movie femme fatales. Writer Gary K. Wolf had based Jessica primarily on the cartoon character Red, Tex Avery's vixen from Red Hot Riding Hood (1943), who performs a musical number in Red Hot Riding Hood (1943) as Jessica would do at the Ink and Paint Club. In addition, animation director Richard Williams said he based Jessica mostly on Rita Hayworth in Gilda (1946), Veronica Lake for the peek-a-boo hair, and, at the suggestion of Robert Zemeckis, "the look" trademark of Lauren Bacall. Vikki Dougan has also been named as inspiration for her "look".

---

Goofs

During the scene where Eddie Valiant and Roger hides in the secret room in the bar for the first time, Eddie hands Dolores a picture of Acme's will. The picture however is cropped and only shows his pocket with the will in it. Yet from the moment Eddie first notices the will on the picture on the news paper, and until he hands the picture to Dolores, there is no time that he would have had the time to crop the photo. Back in 1947 to crop the image he would have had to re-process the photos from the negatives, and he did not have the time to do so between the two scenes.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Mrs. Herman: Mommy's going to the beauty parlor, darling, but I'm leaving you with your favorite friend, Roger. He's going to take very, very good care of you, because if he doesn't... HE'S GOING BACK TO THE SCIENCE LAB.

---

Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits: "Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Tweetie Bird, Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, Porky Pig, Acme, and all other Warner Bros. characters are trademark of Warner Brothers Inc. Copyright 1988 Warner Bros. Inc. used by permission."

---

Alternate Versions

Some versions include an extra sequence (called the "Pig Head Sequence"): Eddie Valiant had gone into Toontown, ambushed by the weasels and had a pig's head "tooned" onto his. He went home and took a shower during which Jessica walks into his apartment. This scene was cut from the original release, but did appear in theatrical trailers and a television broadcast. A scene cut from the theatrical version where Jessica rolls up her dress to reveal her stockings as she sits cross-legged is included in this sequence.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gunslinger (1993)

---

Soundtracks

Wild Clown #1
(uncredited)
Composed by Ib Glindemann

User Reviews

One of the best of all time

When this original movie was conceived and released in 1988, it was seen as a movie for the kids, but it soon found its way into the hearts of moviegoers everywhere. This was a landmark movie, cementing skills from all areas of Hollywood, from the budding special effects industry, to the acting skills of Bob Hoskins, to the SUPERB directing skills of Robert Zemeckis, to create one of the most impressive movies in Hollywood.

While this movie was not the first of it's kind, it was definitely the first to have cartoons and real actors interact so seamlessly, and it is impressive that it was made over 15 years ago. Another impressive part of this movie is the soundtrack, using the classic 20's jazz song "Why Don't You Do Right?" to bring back the old jazz club scene, to make for a truly authentic feel from a cartoon character, as well as the detective music used all originally composed. All around, this movie is one that I Grew up with, and children and adults will be enjoying for decades to come, because Who Framed Roger Rabbit will be a classic in the movie world for a long long time.

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Who Shot Roger Rabbit?

Filming Locations:

2715 N Vermont Canyon Road, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,226,239, 26 June 1988

Gross USA:

$156,452,370

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$329,803,958

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Silver Screen Partners III

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) Dolby SR (1995 Re-Release) DTS (Digital DTS Sound) (1998/2002 Re-Release) Dolby Digital (1998/2002 Re-Release) SDDS (1998/2002 Re-Release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1