List Of Who Framed Roger Rabbit Characters

''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?''. The film stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Stubby Kaye, and Joanna Cassidy, with the voices of Charles Fleischer and an uncredited Kathleen Turner. Set in a 1947 version of Hollywood where cartoon characters (commonly referred to as "toons") and people co-exist, the film follows Eddie Valiant, a private investigator who must help exonerate Roger Rabbit, a toon who has been framed for the murder of the Acme Corporation's owner.

Walt Disney Pictures purchased the film rights for the film's 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 the film while 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, the production budget began to rapidly expand, and the shooting schedule ran longer than expected.

The film was released through Disney's Touchstone Pictures banner on June 22, 1988. It received acclaim from critics, who praised its visuals, humor, writing, and performances, with critics and audiences considering it to be "groundbreaking". It grossed over $351 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1988. 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 its animation direction by Williams.

In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

In a world co-populated by humans and cartoon characters, "toons" regularly interact with real people, act in animated shorts and films, and reside in an area of Los Angeles known as Toontown. Private detective Eddie Valiant once worked closely with toons alongside his brother Teddy, but sank into depression and alcoholism after Teddy was murdered by a toon during a case.

In 1947, R.K. Maroon, head of Maroon Cartoon Studios, is concerned about the recent poor performances of one of his stars, Roger Rabbit. Maroon hires Eddie to investigate rumors about Roger's voluptuous toon wife Jessica being romantically involved with Marvin Acme, owner of both the Acme Corporation and Toontown. After watching Jessica perform at an underground nightclub, Eddie secretly photographs her and Acme playing patty-cake in her dressing room, which he shows to Roger, who becomes distraught about his wife cheating on him.

The next morning, Acme is discovered dead in his factory, and evidence points to Roger being responsible. While investigating, Eddie meets Judge Doom, Toontown's sinister superior court judge, who uses a chemical substance known as "The Dip", capable of destroying the otherwise invulnerable toons. Eddie later runs into Roger's toon co-star, Baby Herman, who tells him that Roger is innocent, and that Acme's missing will, which will give Toontown's ownership to the toons, may be the key to his murder. In his office, Eddie finds Roger, who begs him to help exonerate him. Eddie reluctantly hides Roger in a local bar, where his girlfriend Dolores works. Jessica approaches Eddie and says that Maroon forced her to pose for the photographs so he could blackmail Acme.

Doom and his toon weasel henchmen discover Roger, but he and Eddie escape with help from Benny, a toon taxicab. They flee to a theater, where Eddie tells Roger about the tragic loss of Teddy. As they leave with Dolores, Eddie sees a newsreel detailing the sale of Maroon Cartoons to Cloverleaf Industries, a mysterious corporation that bought the city's Pacific Electric transit system shortly before Acme's murder. Eddie goes to the studio to interrogate Maroon. Roger is sent to guard outside, but he is kidnapped by Jessica. Maroon tells Eddie that he blackmailed Acme into selling his company so he could sell the studio, then admits he only did so out of fear for the safety of the toons. Maroon is then murdered by an unseen assailant before he can explain the consequences of the missing will. Eddie spots Jessica fleeing the scene, and assuming she is the culprit, follows her into Toontown. Once he finds her, Jessica reveals that it was Doom who killed Acme and Maroon and that the former gave her his will for safekeeping, but she soon discovered it was blank. She and Eddie are then captured by Doom and the weasels.

At the Acme factory, Doom reveals himself as the sole shareholder of Cloverleaf Industries and explains his plot to destroy Toontown with a machine fueled with dip to build a freeway full of attractions in its place and force people to drive it once he has the transit system decommissioned to control all the profits. When Roger unsuccessfully attempts to save Jessica, the couple is tied onto a hook in front of the machine's water cannon. Eddie performs a comedic vaudeville act full of pratfalls, causing the weasels to die of laughter before he kicks their leader into the machine's dip vat, killing him. Eddie then fights Doom, who is flattened by a steamroller but survives, revealing himself as a disguised toon – and the one who killed Teddy. Eddie empties the machine's supply onto the factory floor, spraying it all over Doom and melting him to death.

The emptied machine then crashes through the wall into Toontown, where it is destroyed by a train. As the police and many dozens of toons gather at the scene, Eddie reveals Doom as Acme's murderer to everyone, clearing Roger's name. Eddie also discovers that Roger inadvertently wrote a love letter for Jessica on Acme's will, which was written in disappearing/reappearing ink, and Toontown's ownership is handed over to the toons. Having regained his sense of humor now that he has avenged Teddy, Eddie happily enters Toontown with Dolores alongside Roger, Jessica, and the other toons.

Cast

Live-action cast

* Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant
* Christopher Lloyd as Judge Doom
** Corey Burton as Doom's toon voice (uncredited)
* Stubby Kaye as Marvin Acme
* Joanna Cassidy as Dolores
* Alan Tilvern as R.K. Maroon
* Richard LeParmentier as Lt. Santino
* Richard Ridings as Angelo
* Joel Silver as Raoul
* Paul Springer as Augie
* Mike Edmonds as Stretch

Voice cast

* Charles Fleischer as Roger Rabbit, Benny the Cab, Greasy and Psycho
* Kathleen Turner (speaking voice) and Amy Irving (singing voice) as Jessica Rabbit (both uncredited)
* Lou Hirsch as Baby Herman
* David L. Lander as Smart Ass
* Fred Newman as Stupid
* June Foray as Wheezy and Lena Hyena
*Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, and Sylvester the Cat. The film was one of the final productions in which he voiced his ''Looney Tunes'' characters before his death a year later in 1989.
*Joe Alaskey as Yosemite Sam
*Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse
*Tony Anselmo and Clarence Nash (archival recordings) as Donald Duck
*Tony Pope and Bill Farmer as Goofy and the Big Bad Wolf
*Mae Questel as Betty Boop
* Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse and birds
*Pat Buttram, Jim Cummings (imitating Andy Devine) and Jim Gallant (imitating Walter Brennan) as Eddie's toon bullets
*Les Perkins as Mr. Toad
*Mary T. Radford as Hyacinth Hippo, from ''Fantasia''
*Nancy Cartwright as the toon shoe
*Cherry Davis as Woody Woodpecker
*Peter Westy as Pinocchio
*Frank Welker as Dumbo
* Richard Williams as Droopy
*April Winchell as Mrs. Herman and Baby Herman's "baby noises"
*Archival recordings of Frank Sinatra were used for the Singing Sword, whose character design is based on Sinatra.

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.Stewart, p.72 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.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, and Russi Taylor as Jessica Rabbit. 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.

The film was finally green-lit when the budget decreased to $30 million, which at the time still made it the most expensive animated film ever green-lit. 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, Famous Studios, King Features Syndicate, Felix 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 this agreement, and some of the original voice artists reprising their roles, Warner Bros. and the various other companies were not involved in the production of ''Roger Rabbit''. However, executives at Warner Bros. expressed displeasure at the animators using the Daffy design by Bob Clampett and demanded they use the design by Chuck Jones; in response to this, Zemeckis had separate artists animate Daffy using Jones' design to satisfy Warner Bros. to use Clampett's design in the final film. The producers were unable to acquire the rights to use Popeye, 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 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 imbue "Disney's high quality of animation, Warner Bros.' characterization, and Tex Avery humor."Don Hahn, Peter Schneider, ''Waking Sleeping Beauty'' DVD commentary, 2010, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Casting

Harrison Ford 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 cartoon characters and human beings 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 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. To facilitate Hoskins' performance, Charles 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 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 (musician), Sting were also considered for 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 being overly evil characters which he considered being "fun to play". He avoided blinking his eyes while on camera to perfectly portray the character.

Fleischer also voiced Benny the Cab, Psycho, and Greasy. Lou Hirsch, who voiced Baby Herman, was the original choice for Benny the Cab, but he was replaced by Fleischer.Robert Zemeckis, Richard Williams, Bob Hoskins, Charles Fleischer, Frank Marshall, Alan Silvestri, Ken Ralston, ''Behind the Ears: The True Story of Roger Rabbit'', 2003, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Writing

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 was inspired by ''Chinatown (1974 film), Chinatown''. Price and Seaman said that "the Red Car plot, suburb expansion, urban culture, urban and political corruption really did happen," Price stated. "In Los Angeles, during the 1940s, car and tire companies Great American streetcar scandal, 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?'', 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 was deleted due to the technical challenges this posed. Doom would also have a suitcase of 12 small, animated kangaroos that Kangaroo court, act as a jury, by having their Joey (marsupial)#Early development, 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.Who Shot Roger Rabbit, 1986 script by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman

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 the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film), Snow White and 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 Cotton Club (New York City), Harlem Cotton Club, while Zemeckis compared Judge Doom's invention of the Dip to eliminate all the toons as Adolf Hitler, Hitler's Final Solution. Doom was originally the hunter who killed Bambi's mother. Benny 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 Cat, Tom and Jerry Mouse, Jerry, Heckle and Jeckle, Chip n' Dale, Felix the Cat, Herman and Katnip, Mighty Mouse, Superman (1940s cartoons), Superman, Popeye

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