Who Framed Roger Rabbit? [Part Two]: I'd Murder Him, Too.

This week we follow up on our detailed breakdown of the behind the scenes on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.

While we covered all of the technical aspects of the film last week, this week we're breaking it down into our other categories!

Aly starts us off with Music and Casting (with some interesting alternative casting notes!), and Sarrah follows up with the litany of awards and reviews this film received.
Aly lets us all know where Roger and his crew stand in the modern world before we head straight into our (pretty long and in depth) walkthrough!

So head into that speakeasy secret room, don't let the rabbit hear shave and a hair-cut, and let's get down to it!

Welcome to our second part as we look into 1988’s “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”.

Last week we took a deep dive into exactly how the movie was made and where it came from. This week we’re taking a brief look at other elements before we head into our walk-through.

First, Aly lets us all know some fun information about the music and casting for this film. There are some pretty interesting names who were considered before Christopher LLoyd and Bob Hoskins took the leads.

Sarrah tells us all the different awards that this movie received, and what the reviews were (spoiler: pretty much all good. Who’da thunk?)

Then Aly takes us into modern day Roger Rabbit. Where is he? What is he doing now?

Well, if you take a look below you can see some of the original attractions featuring Roger and his friends at Hollywood Studios in the 1980’s and early 90’s. There was an entire store dedicated to Roger, and it mainly included photo ops and a nifty green screen photo booth.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Recently, Hollywood Studios had a few Roger Rabbit nods, including the two photos below taken by Aly on her last visit to the park (4 years ago and before it went through massive construction). You can see the Maroon Studios billboard featuring Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman, and Jessica. Not to mention the Valiant Private Eye window next to Roger’s blinds cutout.

View fullsize

View fullsize

So now that you’ve seen where we’re at now, let’s head back in time and join our friends in old school Hollywood and Toon-Town!

Star Rating for ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’:

Voice Cast: Full Star - You just can’t argue with the casting. From Fleischer being so dedicated he dressed as Roger onset, to the immense amount of detail and character each actor brought to their roles. Roger had one part in one movie, and he’s still a pretty decently sized member of the Disney canon, and that’s all thanks to the talent behind his voice (and his animators!).

Music and Songs: Half Star - We fought on this one. But Sarrah is ultimately right. The score is beautiful and does exactly what it needs to do, the old school sax solos are a great touch. But the actual songs aren’t memorable, and the last one is just downright annoying.

Animation: Full Star - Williams did his thing and he did it right. There’s a reason he got a special Oscar nod for his work on this film. While some parts may look dated, there’s no denying that they achieved what must have seemed impossible at the time. It does hold up overall, and that’s a major achievement!

Story: Full Star - Not only was the original novel compelling and completely unique, but the screenwriters (with Gary K. Wolf on board) were able to take a complicated plot and streamline it into something that celebrated the novel but was something new and fun. It’s a smart script and we stand by it.

Style: Full Star - It’s got great style! Somehow they were able to take all of the different animated characters from different studios and creators and make it all work in one film without looking messy or Disney-fying everyone. It has a great film-noir feel that we haven’t seen yet, and is the best example of animation combined with live-action to date. Sorry Space Jam!