70 Fun Facts About Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Who directed Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Zemeckis was hired in 1985 on the strength of Romancing the Stone and Back to the Future, after Disney had turned him down for the job in 1982.

In what year was Who Framed Roger Rabbit released?

It opened on June 22, 1988, and became the second-highest-grossing film of that year.

Who plays private detective Eddie Valiant?

Hoskins studied his daughter playing with imaginary friends to prepare, and later said he hallucinated weasels for months after filming.

Who provides the voice of Roger Rabbit?

He insisted on wearing a Roger Rabbit costume on set and stood in behind the camera so Hoskins had someone to act against.

Which actor plays the villainous Judge Doom?

He avoided blinking on camera to make the character more unsettling, and compared the part to his Klingon commander in Star Trek III.

In which year is the film's alternative-history Hollywood set?

The setting lets the plot borrow the real 1940s buyout of Los Angeles's Pacific Electric Red Car streetcars.

What are the cartoon characters who live alongside humans called in the film?

They are otherwise indestructible, which is why the Dip is so terrifying to them.

What three chemicals make up the Dip?

Zemeckis compared Doom's plan to use the Dip to wipe out an entire population to Hitler's Final Solution.

Which author wrote the 1981 novel the film is loosely based on?

He later sued Disney over royalties and, in 2025, said the rights to Roger and friends had reverted to him.

What is the title of the 1981 novel the film was adapted from?

In the book the toons were comic-strip characters rather than movie stars, and Roger is murdered partway through.

What is the name of Roger's glamorous toon wife?

Her look was a composite of Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake's peek-a-boo hair and, at Zemeckis's urging, Lauren Bacall.

Which actress provided the uncredited speaking voice of Roger's wife?

She took the job while pregnant because she 'just had to show up and do her voice', and says fans ask her to sign more photos of the cartoon than of herself.

Who sang 'Why Don't You Do Right?' for Roger's wife's nightclub number?

The song had been made famous by Peggy Lee in the 1940s. Irving was married to Steven Spielberg at the time.

Roger's wife famously insists, 'I'm not bad, I'm just...' what?

It is one of the only lines carried over almost word-for-word from the novel, and was nominated for AFI's 100 greatest movie quotes.

Eddie secretly photographs Roger's wife and Marvin Acme playing which game?

The 'compromising' photos are the toon equivalent of adultery, and they send Roger into a spiral.

Which company bought the city's Pacific Electric railway and is set to buy Toontown at midnight?

The name comes from an unproduced Chinatown sequel that was to be called Cloverleaf.

What was the name of Eddie Valiant's murdered brother?

His death five years earlier is why Eddie became a depressed alcoholic who wants nothing to do with cartoons.

How did Judge Doom kill Eddie's brother years earlier?

Eddie only realises who Doom is when the flattened judge reinflates and speaks in his real high-pitched voice.

Who played Dolores, Eddie's bartender girlfriend?

She dyed her red hair brown so audiences would not confuse her with Roger's wife, and based her makeup on Joan Crawford.

Which cartoon studio owner hires Eddie to investigate Roger's wife?

Maroon is later shot dead mid-confession while admitting he only meant to blackmail Acme into selling.

Before being changed to a taxi, Benny the Cab was first conceived as what?

Lou Rawls was the original choice to voice Benny before Charles Fleischer took that part too.

Where was the film's live-action production based?

Production moved to England because Richard Williams refused to work in Los Angeles.

In which London district was the animation studio for the film set up?

Walt Disney Animation UK was created at The Forum on Camden Street just for this production.

Which Canadian-British animator directed the film's animation?

He personally animated almost every frame of Baby Herman, his favourite character, and won a Special Achievement Oscar for the work.

Who composed the film's score?

His music was heavily influenced by Carl Stalling, the composer behind the classic Looney Tunes shorts.

The score was recorded by which famous ensemble?

Zemeckis joked that the British musicians could not keep up with the composer's jazz tempo; the themes for Roger's wife were improvised by a jazz combo.

Which two rival cartoon ducks perform a dueling-pianos act?

Warner Bros. wanted Chuck Jones's Daffy design, so Zemeckis had a separate team draw that version to placate them while the Bob Clampett design stayed in the film.

Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny share a scene doing what?

The rival studios' contracts required their stars to get equal screen time, so the two icons appear together.

Which two characters close the film?

Porky's sign-off line was recorded by Bob Bergen but replaced with Mel Blanc's version.

Under which Disney banner was the film released in the United States?

Roy E. Disney and Michael Eisner felt the film was too risqué for the flagship Disney label.

Roughly how much did the film gross worldwide?

That made it the 20th-highest-grossing film of all time on release.

Which film beat it to become the highest-grossing movie of 1988?

Rain Man went on to win Best Picture; Roger Rabbit had to settle for its technical Oscars.

How many competitive Academy Awards did the film win?

Film Editing, Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects, plus a Special Achievement Award for the animation direction.

In which year was the film added to the US National Film Registry?

The Library of Congress selects films it deems culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.

The streetcar-buyout subplot was inspired by which 1974 neo-noir film?

The writers noted the real Red Car plot happened: car and tyre companies bought out LA's Pacific Electric system in the 1940s.

Which comedian voiced Roger in the 1983 test footage before losing the role?

Pee-wee Herman himself auditioned; Eddie Deezen also tried out before Charles Fleischer got the part.

Which star was the first choice to play Eddie Valiant but cost too much?

His price was too high; Chevy Chase was next but was not interested, and Eddie Murphy passed after misunderstanding the 'toon' idea.

Which actor auditioned for Judge Doom but was rejected as too terrifying?

Cleese was turned down for the opposite reason: not scary enough.

Who voiced the cigar-chomping Baby Herman?

He had auditioned for a human part and described the voice as Wallace Beery crossed with his British friends imitating him.

The animation director described Baby Herman's design as which two characters crashed together?

Roger himself was a mash-up too: Tex Avery's cashew-shaped head, Droopy's red hair, Goofy's overalls and Mickey's gloves.

The Ink and Paint nightspot was modelled on which real Harlem venue?

The Harlem nightclub of the 1920s and 30s was famous for Black performers playing to whites-only audiences, mirrored by toons entertaining humans.

The short Tummy Trouble was shown in cinemas before which 1989 film?

Two more shorts followed: Roller Coaster Rabbit before Dick Tracy and Trail Mix-Up before A Far Off Place.

Roller Coaster Rabbit is the only Roger Rabbit short to carry which rating?

Its risqué humour earned the bump; the other two shorts are rated G.

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin is a dark ride in which Disneyland land?

Imagineering began building the land in 1991, based on the film's animated metropolis.

Playing opposite cartoons helped Eddie Valiant's actor land which later role?

The 1993 video game movie was a notorious flop, but the character design of Crash Bandicoot also traces back to this film.

Which of these was one of the film's working titles?

Other candidates included Murder in Toontown, The Toontown Trial and Eddie Goes to Toontown.

Roger stars in the Japanese version of which Nintendo game, replacing its usual Looney Tunes hero?

Roger also got his own NES game in 1989 and a Game Boy title in 1991.

What was the title of Nat Mauldin's cancelled prequel script set during World War II?

Spielberg walked away, deciding he could not satirise Nazis after making Schindler's List.

According to the animation director, Roger's overalls were borrowed from which character?

He wanted Roger's red, white and blue to read subliminally as an American flag.

What colour is Roger's bow tie?

Red overalls, white fur and a blue tie were chosen deliberately to echo the American flag.

Which legendary voice actor reprised Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck for the film?

He alternated with his son Noel during production and could no longer manage Yosemite Sam or Foghorn Leghorn, so Joe Alaskey stepped in.

Which of these is one of Judge Doom's five weasels?

Slimey and Sleazy were written out when the gang was cut from seven weasels to five.

Judge Doom's weasel gang is a parody of which group of Disney characters?

The Dwarfs themselves pop up in the background after Eddie crashes his car in Toontown.

Doom was originally scripted to be revealed as which offscreen Disney killer?

Everyone at Disney rejected the idea, though another Bambi character did make it in as Roger's uncle.

A cut idea gave Doom a suitcase jury of twelve small toon animals of which kind?

Their joeys were to pop out holding letters spelling YOU ARE GUILTY, a pun on 'kangaroo court'.

Which famous MGM cat-and-mouse duo could NOT be licensed for a cameo?

Popeye, Casper and Rocky and Bullwinkle were also refused by their owners.

Which Bambi character is made Roger's uncle in the film?

Spielberg wanted Roger's mouth to resemble that character's, but the animators ignored him.

Acme's will turns out to have been written in what?

The 'blank' sheet Roger's wife had been carrying reveals that the toons inherit their town.

What flattens Judge Doom, revealing him to be a toon in disguise?

The reinflation shot was done with stop-motion puppets by Tom St. Amand.

How does Eddie dispatch four of the weasels in the Acme factory?

He then kicks the fifth into the Dip before facing Doom, having rediscovered his sense of humour.

Which producer's company, Amblin Entertainment, made the film with Disney?

His contract gave him extensive creative control and a large share of profits, while Disney kept all merchandising rights.

Roger's stammering catchphrase is 'P-p-p-' what?

Charles Fleischer added the lisp and stammer as a tribute to cartoon characters with speech impediments, inspired by Huntz Hall of The Bowery Boys.

Which comedian turned down the Valiant role after misreading the 'toon' concept, to his later regret?

Harrison Ford had been Spielberg's first pick, but his asking price was too high.

Which Monty Python member was offered the director's chair but found the film too technical?

Disney had earlier turned down Robert Zemeckis in 1982 because his first two films had flopped.

How was the flashing-sequin effect on Jessica Rabbit's dress created?

ILM technicians scratched the bag with steel wool; it was one of the hardest effects in the film.

King Features wanted $50,000 for a cameo by which clown, prompting a sneaky redesign?

Animators gave him Bozo-style hair instead of a hat and changed his colours at the end of the film.

Bob Hoskins suffered what for months after filming wrapped?

He had taken mime training and done his own stunts, and did not make another film until Heart Condition in 1990.

Who talked CEO Michael Eisner out of shutting production down when the budget hit $40 million?

The studio chairman had argued that the live-action/animation hybrid would 'save' Disney Feature Animation.

A blue cow hidden in the Toontown scene was inspired by a childhood drawing by whom?

A planned Betty Boop homage with a single risque frame was removed from later home video releases.

Besides three competitive Oscars, the film earned a Special Achievement Academy Award for what?

Richard Williams was also promised help distributing his unfinished film The Thief and the Cobbler in return for his work.