The Complicated History of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
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- čas přidán 11. 11. 2023
- A Deep Dive Documentary into the History of ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’. From the original version that was cancelled, the production problems of the one that came to be, and the fascinating production stories of one of the most ambitious films ever made.
Special thanks to Ross Anderson for assisting with research and providing visual material.
Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat (Kindle version):
www.amazon.com/Pulling-Rabbit...
Special thanks to Randy Cartwright for providing a the 8mm footage of his visit to Darrell Van Citters office.
‘Who Censored Roger Rabbit? - E-Book:
www.amazon.com/Censored-Roger...
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PRIMARY INFORMATIONAL SOURCES:
Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat by Ross Anderson - The University Press of Mississippi
‘Who Censored Roger Rabbit?’ by Gary K. Wolf - Original publication by St. Martin’s Press - Gary K. Wolf
pullingarabbitoutofahat.com
ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONAL SOURCES:
www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-f...
/ i_am_gary_k_wolf_autho...
www.mouseplanet.com/12877/The...
www.tor.com/2015/11/05/when-y...
cartoonresearch.com/index.php...
la.curbed.com/2017/9/20/16340...
orangecow.org/board/viewtopic....
VIDEO & IMAGE CREDITS:
(due to CZcams's description limits, the rest of links are in End Credits)
Unless otherwise noted, conceptual artwork, storyboards & scripts for Darrell Van Citters Roger Rabbit provided by Ross Anderson, courtesy of Darrell Van Citters, copyright of The Walt Disney Company.
Persistence of Vision, 2012 © Kevin Schreck Productions
Who Framed Roger Rabbit © Touchstone Pictures / The Walt Disney Company
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toontown (FULL CUT) - Uploaded by ProgressCityUSA - © The Walt Disney Company - archive.org/details/roger-rab...
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toontown (Part 1) - Uploaded by The Thief and the Cobbler Archive Official, Garrett Gilchrist © The Walt Disney - • Secrets of Toontown 1 ...
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toontown (Part 3) - Uploaded by The Thief and the Cobbler Archive Official, Garrett Gilchrist © The Walt Disney - • Secrets of Toontown 3 ...
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toontown (Part 4) - Uploaded by The Thief and the Cobbler Archive Official, Garrett Gilchrist © The Walt Disney - • Secrets of Toontown 4 ...
Who MADE Roger Rabbit (Bonus Feature on Blu-ray Release) © Touchstone Pictures / The Walt Disney Company
Roger Rabbit: Behind the Ears (Bonus Feature on Blu-ray Release) © Touchstone Pictures / The Walt Disney Company
Early unmade version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Uploaded by The Thief and the Cobbler Archive Official, Garrett Gilchrist © Copyright of The Walt Disney - Company • Early unmade version o...
Waking Sleeping Beauty, directed by Don Hahn © The Walt Disney Company
Randy Cartwright’s Home Movie of Walt Disney Studios 1981 - Waking Sleeping Beauty (BONUS FEATURE) - © The Walt Disney Company / Randy Cartwright
Producers VS Animators Volleyball Game - Randy Cartwright - • Producers VS Animators...
Steven Spielberg Documentary for Japanese Television, 1982 - Uploaded by 1976REDRYDER - • STEVEN SPIELBERG & JAP...
Footage of Darrell Van Citters office at Walt Disney Studios - Courtesy of Randy Cartwright
Backstage At Disney Part 3, 1983 - Originally Uploaded by The Thief and the Cobbler Archive Official, Garrett Gilchrist © The Walt Disney Company - • Backstage At Disney 19...
Randy Cartwright’s Home Movie of Walt Disney Studios 1983 - Waking Sleeping Beauty (BONUS FEATURE) - © The Walt Disney Company / Randy Cartwright
Backstage At Disney Part 1, 1983 - Originally Uploaded by The Thief and the Cobbler Archive Official, Garrett Gilchrist © The Walt Disney Company - • Backstage At Disney 19...
Roger Rabbit 2 CGI test - Uploaded by Blake Harris © The Walt Disney Company / Eric Guaglione - • Roger Rabbit 2 - Zábava
This is one of the rare instances where the movie adaptation was way better than the book it was based on. Even the author agreed
The author even made a sequel that ties with the movie by retconned the events from original book.
Jessica Rabbit rule 34
@@poweroffriendship2.0 For real?
@@gregthehedgehog0956 The events from the original book turned out to be Jessica Rabbit's bad dream.
Gary K. Wolf wrote Who P-p-p-plugged Roger Rabbit in 1991 as a sequel to the film. I have my copy which I bought many years ago (5/18/1994- when I had to go across Houston to get it from the only bookstore that had the last copy left). He has written other books on Roger and Jessica).
I live in Los Angeles and a few years back they did a 30th anniversary showing of Roger Rabbit at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood. They had said a couple of guys from the production would be there and talk about the movie. What was surprising is when they asked "how many of you here worked on the movie?" and this was small theater. 30% of the room raised their hand, they surrounded us. And i was in awe that i was a part of this moment honoring this artistic achievement that these people all contributed to. These people created one of my childhood movies and it was unreal being in one of the few places they'd all be together again. It was beautiful.
I just dues of jealousy 🙊‼
That's really cool. And I'm from Florida, worked at WDW and have met quote a few of my hero imagineers. Im still jealous😊
gay
Why hasn't Yesteryear updated in a while?
I had a verrrry similar experience: El Capitan anniversary screening of a childhood favorite film of mine (Homeward Bound), and a large portion of the audience were former crew!
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of the rare childhood movies that gets better watching it as an adult. It’s a masterpiece.
Honestly feels more like an adult film than a children's film
Jessica Rabbit rule 34
@@chompythebeastfor real, all the melting scenes were brutal! Scared me shitless as a kid
The sheer amount of work that went into that film, from a technical standpoint as well as licensing issues, is absolutely staggering. We're never going to see a project like this again. Just more Space Jam-style cameos of properties all owned by the same parent companies.
@@chompythebeastthe fact that the film is under Touchstone Pictures, it’s more adult than for children.
The moment Tim Curry as Doom was mentioned I immediately thought "Oh that would have been proper iconic nightmare fuel", so to then hear that he didn't get the role due to being too scary was priceless! I would love to see that audition!
What I'd give to see that audition!
His Joker was too scary also.
Can you imagine Home Alone 2 if they went "Tim, you are too scary." Lol
On one hand, it's hard for me to imagine anything scarier than Christopher Lloyd with that pop-eyed, unhinged expression he got at the end. Childhood me was truly terrified. But Tim Curry has a mouth that's just able to do some amazingly scary expressions. 🤣
As an adult, however, I'd have had yet another Tim Curry character to lust over, even as he was melting poor cartoon shoes... lol
HOLY SMOKES!!! DOCTOR BROWN IS A TOON!!!
WB also had audio of Tim Curry as the joker.
Andrea Romano said Curry wasn't declined for being bad, it just didn't fit the time of the animated series.
It's likely the audio was destroyed 😢😢
Yesterworld is the definition of quality over quantity.
I mean, that's what he mentioned back in 2018 when doing season 3 of his youtube theme park/entertainment type of documentaries.
Very true and it must’ve took him a long time to make this video so that’s kind of the reason why there’s a gap
@@eaglejones856 No, I believe it took so long because he is a cruel Content Baron who only allows us a pittance
Just like OverSimplified.
That is fact
I am so glad the story we ended up with has Rodger and Jessica as a really loving couple. Despite the whole "patty cake" misunderstanding, the two really seem to love each other and it's one of my favorite parts of the film. It wouldn't have been the same if we'd had one of the versions where one or both of the characters are horrible
I agree ❤
This movie could have been done so much better had they shown more of their relationship. They hardly interacted at all outside of a couple of scenes. That and a voice actor change for Roger who is utterly insufferable. I can barely make it through that movie because of how much an ear sore his voice is.
A cartoon that promotes bestiality and body dysmorphia! Was okay for you? Wow!
I also like how other girls are jealous of Jessica. When Betty Boop says, "what a lucky guirel" but it makes sense. If you are a cartoon, marrying the most ridiculously funny one would be the status symbol. 😂 ❤ I do wish there were more scenes of them together, but the whole "I'll make you a carrot cake" and his goofy giggle. Made me laugh. And of course when Eddie thinks Jessica is running to him, only for her to be running to her husband 😂 so funny. Gah I love that movie lol
Playing Patty cake is more than a misunderstanding
I loved hearing Charles Fleischer describe how he played the role, it's what we later came to associate with Andy Serkis. It's not just voicework, it's a full performance that uses the medium of animation. Great to see somebody describing that way before mocap acting.
Did anyone else think that Richard Williams looked like Andy Serkis as well?!
The actor for JarJar Binks did a similar approach with his role... Didn't go over nearly as well tho... during production I mean - the end product is, of course, sublime.
@@SGresponse- Everyone likes to shit on JarJar Binks, but I thought his character was funny. I liked him. I do think it would be great if he turned into a Sith Lord though.😂
Who Framed Roger Rabbit, what a masterpiece! Man...I'm so glad that they changed Jessica's characterization from the book in particular lol. Like, yeah, she's hella memorable for being the ultimate smokeshow design wise & also starring in an iconic sequence animated by one of the GOATs, Richard Williams (R.I.P), but her actually being a loving devoted wife ( _highly aware of the prejudice thrown her way_ ) is what seals her as a legitimately awesome character.
Agreed, that's the main thing I love about her
Yea they nailed it with her😉
"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way" is a line that I thought was funny as a kid and really meaningful as an adult.
My meat never bee. Happier
@lord451
This was exactly the line that I came to reply to the above post about.
I am very glad that I am not the only one who appreciated the line and the delivery.
The most amazing thing about the whole production is it took Richard Williams took less than 40 years to animate, for once
That wasn't the only thing he did. He also did commercials, Raggedy-Ann and Raggedy-Andy and an adaption of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
Yesterworld would get *so* much mileage out of Richard William's career
Commercials were really his strong-suit. They're perfectly short enough to actually be finished and his eye-catching buttery smooth animation made the commercials stand out.
@@mevb ...which won an Oscar.
@@mevbHe's talking about the Thief and the Cobbler.
Christopher Lloyd refusing to blink is just stunning dedication as well as a genius touch.
follow the white rabbit.. christopher loyd plays zeus in the back to the future series
zeus defeats chronos (the god of time) with lightning bolts = loyd destroys the clock tower with a bolt of lightning ⚡
@@Willesden_Rab1_TV I love this comment
@@yourfriendlyinternetmeatshield down the rabbit hole we go ... Mount Hollywood Tunnel
(known in Back to the Future 2 as the River Road Tunnel) located behind the Griffith Park Observatory was the filming location for a number of movies including Who Framed Roger Rabbit as the entrance to Toontown
Loyd is at the end of this tunnel as executioner / grim reaper in WFRR
but in Back to Future 2, Loyd is at the end of the same griffith park tunnel as the savior
in The Pagemaster 1994 exactly 7mins into the movie - Macaulay Culkin is greeted by a bolt of lightning & thunder claps as he exits the griffith park tunnel - as he seeks refuge he is met by non other than Christopher Loyd who is his savior - Loyd always seems to be linked with this tunnel
in this movie Loyd himself is the Page Master - a wizard like sorcerer with white beard
like Moses is depicted with white beard and performs miracles so does Santa 🎅 (anagram = Satan)
Loyd is the great Zeus " bearer of lightning bolts" ⚡ known in ancient Egypt as Set - Mesopotamia as Baal - Norse as Odin ... etc
all i ask you to do my friend .. 1 very quick easy thing .. take you 2 seconds to google or SEARCH the movie cover of Haunted Lighthouse 2003 ...
see i told you so ..
@@yourfriendlyinternetmeatshield down the rabbit hole we go ... Mount Hollywood Tunnel (known in Back to the Future 2 as the River Road Tunnel) located behind the Griffith Park Observatory was the filming location for a number of movies including Who Framed Roger Rabbit as the entrance to Toontown
Loyd is at the end of this tunnel as executioner / grim reaper in WFRR
but in Back to Future 2, Loyd is at the end of the same griffith park tunnel as the savior
in The Pagemaster 1994 exactly 7mins into the movie - Macaulay Culkin is greeted by a bolt of lightning & thunder claps as he exits the griffith park tunnel - as he seeks refuge he is met by non other than Christopher Loyd who is his savior - Loyd always seems to be linked with this tunnel
in this movie Loyd himself is the Page Master - a wizard like sorcerer with white beard
like Moses is depicted with white beard and performs miracles so does Santa (anagram = Satan)
Loyd is the great Zeus " bearer of lightning bolts" known in ancient Egypt as Set - Mesopotamia as Baal - Norse as Odin ... etc
all i ask you to do my friend .. 1 very quick easy thing .. take you 2 seconds to google or SEARCH the movie cover of Haunted Lighthouse 2003 ...
see i told you so ..
@@Willesden_Rab1_TV there so many versions that popped up... I don't... I'm not sure what you wanted me to see i already kinda subscribed to the theory set forth prior.
I'm such a Roger Rabbit stan. So many people today don't even realize the impact of this film and its place in film and animation history. An entire theme park area of Disney was going to be dedicated to this stand alone film. In the 90s, Disney put Roger front and center as part of the "fab 5" with Mickey and the gang. I think movies of the 80s and 90s still hold up today because everything was "real" as practical effects versus today and everything being CGI. Even the best CGI today is obviously fake to the human eye. I hope new generations will discover and fall in love with Roger.
im 17 and ive always loved roger rabbit!
there are alot of disney characters that were based off roger, especially years after it's release. One of my favorites is wander from wander over yander. that character reminds me so much roger.
They are either too lazy or don't know how to make cgi look dirty.
Totally agree. I grew up going to Toon Town at Disneyland and so did my daughter. I have the absolute BEST memories of that place from my own childhood as well as my daughters.
They really really did everyone a disservice by closing it. I actually haven't been back since they did as I moved out of the state shortly after and I have no desire to visit whatever is there now. Toon town will always be a favorite place for me, even at my ripe old age of 40. It was like legit becoming a cartoon. Best place in Disneyland imo.
ETA - I JUST FOUND OUT THEY DIDNT END UP SHUTTING TOON TOWN DOWN!!!!! Omg!!!! I am completely shocked and surprised I didn't know this. Okay... I will DEFINITELY be going back to Disneyland now when I go back to ca to visit family!!! I am legit so exited!!!
Who Framed Roger Rabbit can be argued to be one of the greatest films of all time. No other movie can claim to have not only merged multiple genres and mediums seamlessly, but also single-handedly revitalized an entire industry for DECADES. Animation as a medium would be dead in the water had this movie not exist.
When the world needed him most, he returned.
Amen 🙏
He was cooking
Just in time
You got that right
@@EBTheOriginalMasterdefinitely was that lead to this
Yesterworld is like the Oversimplified of pop culture videos: he doesn’t upload very often, but when he does, you KNOW it’s a great video.
Oversimplified is great. But too slow for simple history that is... oversimplified! Armchair Historian could get 10 videos out in same time
While that may be similiar, Oversimplified is more of very short and straight to the point, where Yesterworld is more documentary similar to the ones on both the Travel Channel and History Channels back in the 1990s, 2000s, and early 2010s.
@SuperFlashDriver by 2010, documentaries on main media felt more like the host saying "Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!" Only Orson Wells or Morgan Freeman could do that
@@anthonyruby2668 Yeah, hence why The 1990s and 2000s were much better in terms of presentation compared to the 2010s onward. Nowadays they're trying waaay too hard to even compete with those low attention span individuals.
@SuperFlashDriver i even remember a main media documentary on Hitler and Stalin that jumped time periods so out of wack. You'd be in Stalingrad one minute and then the 1920s the next. Then, back to WWII, then WWI.
To add a bit for it, another factor why Zemeckis didn't moved forward with the first pitch for Roger Rabbit is probably due to the fact that Ron Miller and Disney rejected his Back to the Future pitch for being to "raunchy" for them (they objected Lorraine having the hots for Marty), while other studios thought the script was too "innocent". No wonder Bob decided to do it with Spielberg and Universal after Romancing the Stone.
@@vickyzimmer527 he did not say sooner
Bob Hoskins doesn't get nearly enough credit. You believe him every minute. It's normal now for actors to use green screens and imagination for other objects, but it wasn't then. Amazing performance!
right!!! he def did NOT give Lifetime movie acting !! lol
He was my favorite part of the movie. His story ❤
Also he was never the same after.
follow the white rabbit.. christopher loyd is zeus in back to the future series, he battles chronos (the god of time) and wins
@@Willesden_Rab1_TVwhat
I know a number of animators who worked on this film. They all graduated from Sheridan College in Oakvile, ON Canada. They were travelling to Europe after graduation (ended up in Germany when the wall fell). They were recruited by someone associated with the film and ended up in London. Excellent history of this great film.
I loved Roger Rabbit as a kid and was amazed to find it was a book. I actually tracked down Gary Wolf through social media and had correspondence with him for a bit where I bought one of the original "Who Censored Roger Rabbit" books that he signed for me. Such a great IP that they should have done more with, like the Rocketeer.
"Such a great IP"
I phrase i hope to never hear again.
They used him alot in the 90's. He was all up in the parks, parade floats, even in the opening to Wonderful World of Disney
Oh I agree so much. Both movies seemed to make me want a sequel or prequel made from them.
As one who got to go to WDW and MGM studios at the time, I got to see The Acme Factory, the dip machine, and got my picture with Rodger Rabbit. I was about 5 or so at the time. Also I got to go to the animation building in the park. Where they were creating Rollercoaster Rabbit. We got to watch them up close seeing some of the frames being created. This by far was the most memorable moment for me. I cherish it today and really still watch Who Framed Rodger Rabbit and the shorts every few years. Still one of my top favorite movies. :3
@@Wrathgir I was about 8 the year it opened, and I think it was our second trip to the parks. I was SO. EXCITED to see all the Roger Rabbit stuff. I remember they had Roger's painted footprints leading up to it (maybe the factory, I don't remember that clearly), and I was practically dragging my mom to get there faster. Dad, of course, got a picture next to the cardboard cutout of Jessica. I had one of me by the car, making a gun with my hand, lol. Definitely a cherished memory! I loved both the Acme Factory and the backstage tour!
Such a great IP@@NostalgiNorden
I met Richard Williams when I attended his Animation Masterclass back in 1997 in Denmark. He did tell his fascinating story about his lifelong passion the Thief and the Cobbler, and also (not mentioned in this documentary) that he used to be a Television Service Tech (which is kinda funny, because I was that too before I became an animator). However, rest in peace Mr. Williams, a stubborn genious that I remember for pointing out that Preston Blair (the DeFacto animation book) had a missing frame in the skip section and bouncing ball principle, kinda funny little tidbit there that most people who read this comment, never ever will - even get, but it's funny to those who where there, you know who you are.
Oh my goodness, thanks for sharing 😂 😔
I have Richard Williams and Preston Blair's books. Now, I have to find that page in Blair's book in which you speak of!
@@THRITCHIE76 Well what you have to do is to make an animated sequence with the templates of the skipping animation cycles he is using, Mr. Williams said that 1000s of movies and games was animated using Preston Blair's templates and thus contained this error and he joked about how he was able to spot any sequence made with those templates, and it was most animations made in modern times, they all had this error so he could easily spot that it had that error and they probably used Blair's Animation book as a guide.
We used to joke about that in Animation school, and who could "spot" it and find it when we watched movies we were into.
i love the theif and the cobbler. im happy that fans added back the unfinished parts and uploaded the entire thing on youtube. the movie is great even if its unfinished
_Who Framed Roger Rabbit?_ is such a great film that even the author surprisingly loved it that he actually made a sequel that tied to the film by retconning the events from the original book.
Plus, the film revolutionised the animation/live action hybrid genre, regardless that Robert Zemeckis (same director behind Back To The Future) hated the idea of it.
Yes, Gary K. Wolf not only wrote Who P-p-p-plugged Roger Rabbit but also Who Wacked Roger Rabbit, and a Jessica book; Xerious Business.
How is this for being "that guy": _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_ does not have a question mark in the title. It's frequently said that this is because there was traditionally a Hollywood superstition that a movie with a question mark in the title would flop. (Obviously they have gotten over it in recent years.) The closest I could find to actual corroboration is a New York Times letter to the editor back during its theatrical run (replying to an article musing about the missing question mark) stating that the letter writer had asked Zemeckis about it, who had said he had one until the studios removed it, claiming that movie titles do not have punctuation. A skeptical Zemeckis mentioned Airplane! but apparently the die was cast. Anyway I guess we'll never know.
Robert Zemeckis also directed the hit holiday movie , Polar Express and a slew of other motion capture CGI movies in the 2000s , with Polar Express being the most successful of these series of movies , just breaking even at the box office
@@salvadorromero9712
Hi Salvadore,
I truly appreciate your message about the punctuation....
I don't know if this will make an alert on your 'phone or PC....
But if it does, and in the spirit of your original text....can I just say how amused I am by your point about the missing question mark being introduced by the question "how's this for being that guy' without the question mark at the end?
Just for fun. Sure it was a throwaway comment ?😅
“The enigma known as Bill Murray couldn’t be reached” that’s my favorite line I’ve ever heard 😂 To me, this is what quality content on the internet should be! I love Roger Rabbit, it’s forever one of my favorite movies!
What’s funny to me is that apparently this is typical Bill Murray. If you watch The Movies That Made Us, it covers how Bill Murray nearly lost his role in Ghostbusters because he could not be reached
@@nastasjadesch4903 Yes! Something similar happened with Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola contacted Murray, asked him to be in the film, he said yes and that was it, she said she was terrified that he would not show up to to film the movie at all 😹 but Wes Anderson told her he will haha and he did! It’s said he doesn’t have an agent or a cellphone 😹
And apparently, Murray later regretted skipping out on the film. This is the reason why he was featured in “Space Jam” less than a decade later.
The year Who Framed Roger Rabbit came out, I was obsessed. I was a freshman in high school and I took a Roger plush when I went on a singing tour with my church choir. While on tour I found Who Censored Roger Rabbit at a bookstore, and I read it under the disapproving eye of the grown-ups (who were very suspicious of it). I agree that the movie was much more fun than the book, and at the time I was blown away by how many characters were put into the movie. The scene with Donald and Daffy's dueling pianos and Bugs and Mickey parachuting in Toontown were heaven for a lifelong animation nut like me. I did NOT know Bob Hoskins was an Englishman for years!
Another example of how great English actors are
Movies used to hang around theaters a lot longer back then. I still remember the insane hype surrounding this, Batman, The Land Before Time, and The Little Mermaid. It was a great time to be a kid, and you did a great job with this video!
I miss when movies used to b in theaters longer, too 🥲 Now it’s off to streaming they go! Meh.
One of the most fascinating movies ever made, this huge crossover in the 80's was absolutely wild
The amount of work, care and ingenuity that went into making this movie is staggering
This is easily the most detailed video I've seen about this movie. There are clips I've never seen before and facts I've never heard. One of my new favorite videos on CZcams. Thank you so much for this!
Thank you so much for the kind words! I’m glad you enjoyed it so much :)
@@YesterworldEntertainment I was wondering if you can do Dick Tracy in the future?🔫
I don't think it's an overstatement to say that you yourself have created something pretty special with this doc. I've learned a lot about the film over the years, and there was still plenty here I didn't know.
Dude should b nominated for something. Very informative and had my attention the whole time
35:45 A minor correction: Richard Williams did the animation sequence for Return of the Pink Panther. Friz Freleng did the original 1963 film. Very-well researched though.
I worked with an animator who worked on this film years back (he's since retired), and he had a few stories to tell about this film as well (and yes, from what I've heard it definitely corroborates this documentary's assertion of the abrasive nature of Richard Williams).
Darn, not sure how I missed that!
@@YesterworldEntertainment It's all good, I mean you weren't wrong technically, he did do a Pink Panther movie :) And it's a very well-done doc, I learnt a lot of stuff here I never knew, and I love this film. Great work :)
@joshuamunn2410 Why were characters cut from the scene?
@@robgronotte1Due to Pacing
Roger Rabbit and The Thief are both technical masterpieces. At the time, Richard Williams was doing things that even Disney were not.
Richard Williams didn't think story was important and loved the craft aspect too much. That's what killed Theif.
@@ericlurio246i disagree but to each their own ofc
There's still nothing out there that matches this incredible film. What a fascinating deep-dive into its history! Seeing the actors doing it without the animation and selling it so well is mind-blowing.
It's 2023 and much of the world's poorest and most isolated human beings now carry around devices the size of old pocket calculators that can shoot a feature quality movie and access the knowledge deposit of human history in fractions of a second. Yet this movie from the 1980s still leaves you wide-eyed and stunned at the visuals. There can't possibly be enough credit to go around for this accomplishment.
It is a movie that will simply never age. Watching people watch it for the first time is a joy, especially your kids.
Speilberg and Zemeckis: let's get "The Thief and the Cobbler" guy as our animation director! What could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile: The Thief and the Cobbler is STILL not finished.
Man. Live action/animation hybrid films are so cool. Wish we got more of them... (glares at Warner Discovery).
Bob absolutely nailed the role of Valiant. This is one of the best crime dramas of all time.
Man you're timing in this is really something.
Somehow on CZcams I've been finding "react" videos of people watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit for the first time and being completely stunned that the film came out in the nineteen eighties and wondering "How did they do this?" for getting the cartoons and real life actors integrated into the same scene. Honestly I too have been wondering that as well and I'm surprised that even back then someone had the presence of mind to do behind the scenes documentary filming showing how it was done.
The amount of background research leading into this film is pretty incredible.
--Mozdoc
Happy 35th Anniversary to Who Framed Roger Rabbit! It’s seriously one of my most favorite movies.
considering how scary Lloyd Doom is, the thought of Curry Doom being "too scary" is terrifying
It’s interesting how heavily Roger Rabbit was pushed after release to the point where we almost could’ve gotten a sequel.
tbf we did... in comic form
And Bonkers.
@@KrazyKupoYeah, Bonkers was a Roger Rabbit proxy.
The sequel they had planned did... _not_ sound like it would have aged well. I agree the franchise has and may even still have potential, but we might have dodged a bit of a bullet there
We might not’ve gotten a proper sequel to the film, but there was plenty of extended media that kinda filled in that gap. Good Ol’ Groovy Jake has a great video on his channel going over the Roger Rabbit sequel comic and its spin-offs.
Roger Rabbit is my favorite movie of all time. There was so much in this documentary that I hadn’t heard before. Thank you for the always excellent work you do.
im not the biggest fan of the Disney Company as a whole but i’m real big fan of their theme park history (which explains why i’d like to see Mark do a video on ideas such as Westcot or Port Disney or Disneys America). i recently i watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit because Mark mentioned it as one of his favorite films. i was entertained by it the whole way through. an excellent film similar to how every one of Mark’s are excellent. i’m a fan of Kevin and the Defuntland crew. however Yesterworld is my favorite.
I used to like Defunctland until they started selling themselves out a bit and became, well, quite boring for me. Theme Park History is not a bad one, although that channel definitely needs work on the presentation end of things. Yesterworld on the other hand, I can listen to him talk for 5+ hours and never get bored of what he brings to the table.
Disney is not only making it clear that the golden days of the parks (such as they were) are behind them, but more importantly, they're on the hot seat with the BDS movement as well - the megacorp has certainly _more_ than earned our ire.
However, Yesterworld ain't Disney, and I do appreciate the video essays here. Cheers to them, and to all cracking a cold one and trying to relax a bit to this newest vid
@@chompythebeast ALL the major entertainment conglomerates are crap and always have been. Look no further than WB constantly throwing completed films and a chunk of its back catalog of movies and TV shows into the fire for corporate welfare, or the major writers and actors strikes. It's perfectly okay to like a company for its product and hate it for its business practices. It just annoys the hell out of me that everyone just goes for the lowest hanging fruit.
@@mightyfilm Of course that's true and there's no ethnical consumption under capitalism for that matter, but I don't see how Disney, the largest entertainment conglomeration on earth, is low hanging fruit. In regards to BDS it has a lot to do with a certain new Marvel "heroine" they're bringing to the cinematic fold, which is quite a specific call out
@@chompythebeast if bDS is some sort of code for some idiotic culture war bull, I want no part of it.
I don’t care how long you’re videos take, it’s always fun to watch. Keep up the good work
I've watched countless documentaries and BTS of Roger Rabbit over the years, and there was still some awesome stuff in here I never knew about. This doc is incredible!
I first discovered Roger Rabbit not through the movie but through a VHS that contained the three shorts made after. My grandma found and bought it for me while browing Building 19 (a defunct discount store) back in the early 2000s. So whenever I think of this movie, I also think of those shorts. Great work covering this movie
It boggles my mind the amount of time and effort that you put in to your videos. Even at a unusually long (for YT at least) length of 1:18 - this is a marvel of history and information. Thank you for giving us this documentary - especially when it seems all the world is heading into TikTok territory. Bravo !!
Should be nominated for something.
This is definitely something I could see airing on TV if it had an interview or two added in, he did a great job!
“Amount of time and effort” hmmm not so much to call Hoskins film Good Long Friday, that would’ve taken 10seconds to get right.
The man, the myth, the legend himself, YESTERWORLD HAS RETURNED!!
Edit: Foxy was not the first star of Looney Tunes, he was the first star of Merrie Melodies. Bosko was the first Looney Tunes star.
We have been blessed with a long awaited video from Yesterworld! We miss you man!
Thank you so much for another new episode! Roger Rabbit is my favorite imaginary character, and I wish he would have then had a cameo appearance in “Once Upon A Studio”!
I recall renting Roger Rabbit at a Blockbuster on time. Was so enthralled with the concept of real life people mingling together with cartoon characters. We need more live action/animation hybrids, WITHOUT CGI.
There were a few big name animator perfectionists involved in the rebirth of animation in the 80s and 90s, and the actual rebirth and popularization of animation involved shutting down those perfectionists and integrating lots of shortcuts into the process. Because the animation that gets made is far better than whatever is stuck forever in production.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It never gets old.
constantly in awe of just how much research, effort, and time goes into your videos man. another great synopsis
Sounds like Roger was the actual beginning to the Disney renaissance
The thief and the clobber is one of my favorite films. Every like 3 to 5 years I rewatch that film and its added sequences. It's incredible.
No surprise that one of the greatest movies ever made is the subject of possibly the greatest Yesterworld videos & even documentaries I've ever seen, This is a really special movie & is one that will likely never be recreated at least for a long so it's amazing to see someone do this story the justice it deserves. You absolutely knocked it out of the park & I really hope this video & your channel gets the attention it deserves, Just great work all round.
He or they should be nominated for something. Tha was great work
I hope he covers Cool World's disastrous production cycle in a future video.
With the cancellation of Coyote vs Acme you publishing this couldn’t have been at a better time
One of my greatest experiences in a movie theater when I saw it in 1988 and ranks in my top ten
all-time.
This is such a great in-depth look at Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I'm so happy to see all of this information in one place. Truly a great job and it shows just how they pulled off the impossible to get this movie made!!
"We may bore you, but we'll never shock you," is an absolutely INSANE attitude for a STORYTELLER to have. I can't wrap my head around the idea that somebody said that as if it were a good thing.
It makes sense when you think about how Disney was both aimed at entertaining American families and made by someone who had an American family. Nothing shocking, a good amount of fluff for the kids and some witty jokes to entertain parents, but the bad guys were people who went against the status quo, societal norms, some like Captain Hook, Cruella DeVille characters coded as gay stereotypes. Characters who were willing to kill, lie and cheat for money like the aristocats butler and Pinocchio's pleasure islands managers having ambitions commonly seen as "Jewish" while good Christian businessmen were depicted as "kind employers, generous, understanding, willing to put profit aside for their neighbors." And we know it's some bullshit, but the cold war was on and going against this idea would put you in so many crosshairs, first and foremost would be whoever led the company.
Disney is the McDonalds of animation.
@@ajohnymous5699 It was better times back then.
Watching Roger Rabbit in 2023: "My god, how did they do this? Every frame is incredible. This is a masterpiece that will live forever."
Watching Chip and Dale in 2023: "I know how they did this. Every frame was compiled on a render farm. Even Chip, the ostensibly 2D character, is a 3D rig. The old ways are dead. Life is meaningless."
The only way that a sequel can come to fruition would be Spielberg and Disney getting together again to do it. Doesn't look like that will happen for Roger. Gary K. Wolf's books are as close as we're ever going to get, it looks.
I agree. I hate that I have things like washing machines to do my laundry instead of going out to the stream and beat it with a rock, and that I have things like microwaves and ovens to cook my food instead of carefully gathering firewood and roasting everything slowly outside on even the coldest nights.
The problem isn't CGI came in and ruined everything, modern advances are made off of the struggles of the past. They did this sort of thing then because the technology wasn't there, and they don't have to do it again because it does. And even today, those CGI hybrids STILL need puppeteers and guys in suits and rubber dolls for the actors to focus on. They just have less work cut out for them. That's why this thing was magical. They had to be innovative at the time, while those who wanted to do something similar learned from them until they developed technology to take as much of the burden of production as possible. It's just not nearly as interesting.
@@mightyfilm Okay... That must have been meant for another commenter.
This was very thoroughly researched. Definitely something you wouldn't see in the DVD bonus features.
This is incredible what a team of so many creative people can accomplish.
it’s one of my favourite movies. I wish more people would talk about it, I think it’s such a masterpiece of animation
A documentary on Who Framed Roger Rabbit! I love that film.
Looks like Christmas came early. Thank you! ❤
I had gotten my hands on the Pulling a Rabbit out of a Hat book a few years back and was amazed by the sheer amount of detail on the production it contained. So I’m delighted to see a video version bringing that research in with clips the book could only describe/reference. Now I’ve got something to show to any non-readers I know that captures the undertaking that was this movie. Thanks for the video and for highlighting the book for others to read
Watching this tells me that it would be virtually impossible to make a movie of this caliber in the modern era. So many things had to go right, so much faith had to be kept in production. No company or studio would ever take a risk like that these days.
According to Justin Lee Garrison (Big Hero 6, Frozen II, Zootopia, Ralph Breaks the Internet), Disney certainly couldn't make a movie of this caliber because, not only do they not have the resources, but they've gotten so lazy that they've allowed the finished footage of Wish to remain improperly rendered. He said that in a video he uploaded to TikTok, but you might be able to find it on CZcams.
Wow, I obviously thought about the actors 'reacting' to the animations, but I never considered all the tiny little practical effects like the puppetering or the robotics! Incredible! Films that do everything with cgi these days are really missing out
This was one of my favorite movies as a child. Now it is one of my 9 yo daughter's favorite films. Truly a near timeless piece of cinema.
Roger Rabbit is an absolute treasure of a movie. I watch it at least once a year and it’s so incredible every time. Some of the actor-animation interactions put modern movies to shame with how natural they feel.
I had no idea that the making of Rodger Rabbit was so complicated. A very enjoyable watch with loads of information.......
Who Framed Roger Rabbit has always been one of my favorite movies since I was a kid.
It’s still one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time.
I have only watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit once, when I was pretty young. This makes me realize how little I appreciated it for the groundbreaking feat of animation that it was!
I’ve got to watch it again now!
The amount of work involved in this movie is astronomical. My father was in advertising from the 70s to the 2000's. Worked with a lot of big companies and would always tell me as a kid how unbelievable the animation in this movie is. Said he didnt know which one was better this ot Akira. He knew the ridiculous amount of work it took. Funny thing is i thought he was dead wrong about Akira even being in the same league as this, years later he took me to his work and showed me what it took to do something similar but on a much smaller scale and i finally understood what he was talking about. To think no computers at all. Crazy
Yeah this was much much more work than Akira. I’ll give the animators on Akira a ton of credit but Roger Rabbit is on an insanely high level that will probably never happen again
one of my favorite scenes in the movie about 25 minutes in is in Eddie's office when he is looking at the photos he developed and sees the ones with Delores and his brother than a minute we are given so much exposition about the entertainment and showbiz dreams of Eddie and his brother, their father being a Ringling Bros circus clown,their work from beat cops and their work with Toons as Private Eyes. He used to love toons, and working to help them, and had a great relationship with Dolores which ended when Judge Doom as his toon form murdered his brother. It informs so much about him and his pain losing someone he loved like his brother and the joy of performing and the romance with Delores to the tragedy of his drinking and self imposed isolation.
All this exposition without a single word spoken, something that Zemeckis also did in Back To The Future, letting the camera inform the audience. And then, near the end of the movie he remembers that joy of performing and "tooning" later to kill the Weasels with laughter and comedy, he finds his happiness again with the help of Roger. And then the kiss at the end he gives Roger. He has found his new lease on life. Its wonderful
I absolutely applaud the quality of your videos. It is a treat every time and I love to rewatch. I would adore a video on the Thief and the Cobbler. It is one of my obsessions
I love the book & the film, so good to see you back with a great episode!!!
Thank you so much!
Always nice to see you pop up in my alerts, thank you for the video!
It's so good to see from you again! You were always a favorite channel of mine, glad you're still kicking
We had this on VHS growing up! Watched literally more times than i can count!!! Excellent video!
such a crazy behind the scenes story. Sad to think what could have been if Williams could have gotten over his perfectionist tendencies, then also the fact that the animators passed to make "the greatest achievement in animation" went on to create one of the greatest achievements in animation.
You know its a good day when yesterworld uploads
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is my favorite movie of all time, so this video totally speaks to me.
I shared this to Facebook and tagged Gary, so you can rest easily knowing that the creator of RR saw your work 😊
Great video, as always. Well worth the wait. I also would love to see a video on William's passion project, The Thief and the Cobbler. Absolutely insane production and a very bittersweet ending.
Matt McMuscles covered it on his channel, along with attempts to complete it and the various versions of it, in a Wha Happun' video.
the way that i anxiously wait for these videos to drop. excellent work as always!!
It’s amazing to see your growth through all the years. Amazing work.
Frank Wells was actually the former vice chairman of Warner Bros. He never worked at Paramount at all.
Fantastic work as always! I thought I knew a lot of the behind the scenes stuff for this film and I never heard of any of these challenges….. was surprised that character usage rights wasn’t more of a challenge or a concern about a % of time a character like Bugs was given vs Mickey I remember rumors of some of this. This was a masterful work and quality content. Thanks so much for this!
Wow, you’ve really outdone yourself, thank you for this…wonderful source material and information. At the end of the video you say the effects are as stunning today as they were 25 years ago, but 1988 was 35 years ago. Once again, thank you so much..two thumbs way up!!!!!
I had no idea that the production of this movie was so elaborate and complicated. It’s amazing to see that kind of innovation.
I recently graduated college majoring in 2D Animation. My professor for my class animated the shoe Judge Doom lowered into the dip!
Hello there old friend.
Glad you are back and hope you are well :)
Looking forward to the new content!
This is a fantastic story behind the story, thank you for compiling it into one epic video!
The best long youtube videos are the one where time doesn't st seem to pass and your saddened when the end happens. Great work
That was one of the best CZcams documentaries I've seen this year. Whoever does nominations for web awards or whatever needs to get this guy up there. Five stars outta five. Amazing work. Wen I tell people stuff like this is on CZcams they'm don believe me. Great work.😊
There's always something new to learn about this movie and it never ceases to fascinate me.
This is literally one of my favorite channels that I have been watching for a bit now after not having it on my feed for months, so happy about this upload 😅
great work my man, always love these videos and great to see one about one of my favorite movies!
My first experience with Roger Rabbit was on the VHS for Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.
It was the short where Roger was in a hospital and baby Herman swallowed a rattle.
Tummy Trouble.
They thought a dog punching a man and absailing down a building was boring? Must have been some crazy times!
Excellent docummentary! Love it from the beginning to the end. Thanks!😊
I’m in awe of how this channel can uncover all this! It’s surreal to see what was going on behind our childhood memories!