Where is Roger Rabbit?

[markedouglas]

I was just wondering, is there any news on a new edition of 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?'? That movie simply kicks ass!!!

Its not even available here in R4 land, is the transfer of the R1 copy worth the import cost?

Thanks!

[Marty McFly]

The transfer on the R1 disc available now isn't too shabby, but I'm holding off until a new SE is released.

[SolidSnakeASS]

Yeah I saw it cheap used but the transfer is so bad, and they editted out some of it as well. Hopefully this will be a Vista Series releases.

[BWilliams]

Roger Rabbit is hilarious! That one should definitely be restored for DVD, along with the outtakes shown in the CBS telecasts and the other Roger Rabbit short films.

[BubbleGumUK]

"Roger Rabbit" is my all time favorite film - a combination of Disney's grounbreakimg animation, coupled with Richard Williams' amazing technique and Bob Zemeckis' spot on direction.

Unfortunately, due to Katzenberg's departure from the Mouse House to co-found DreamWorks, and the almost-war between him and Disney chief Eisner, things don't look all that great for either a sequel or special ed of "Who Framed..."

It all comes down to politics in the Rabbit's case - basically neither company (Amblin now folded into DW) can do anything with the franchise without the other, and nether really want to swallow their pride and get along enough to earn themselves some easy cash.

Maybe in 2003 for the 15th Anniversary there'll be a Vista series edition?? Personally I'm thrilled with the forth-coming "Tron", and can't wait for a "Dick Tracy" SE, but a "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" would be the best!!

A commentary from Bob Z, and F/X whiz Ken Ralston was recorded for a laserdisc re-issue just before relations between Disney and DreamWorks broke down, and there's a great 50 min doc "The Secrets Of ToonTown" revealing the...uh...secrets of ToonTown, and of course the wonderful shorts "Tummy Trouble", "RollerCoaster Rabbit" and "Trail Mix-Up"! Plus those deleted scenes (and I'm talking about more than is in the telecast - just little additions, but very funny stuff), and throw in the trailer and there's a heck of a package just made up from existing stuff!

I'm lucky enough to own the original CAV pressing of "Roger" on LD, as well as the never-officially-issued/deleted "Best Of Roger Rabbit" CAV disc that presented the three shorts letterboxed, and the picture and sound on all is still top-notch, but those extras (and there's a couple of Richard Williams diocs out there as well!) would be well worth putting together!! WE NEED IT!!

Now, on to that other brilliant Disney animation/live-mix, "Song Of The South".......

[Chris in OC]

I'm not sure that Amblin has been folded into DreamWorks. That was always Spielberg's own company, and it still exists as co-producer of several existing and ongoing projects, like Jurassic Park III and the new re-release of E.T. It's also listed as a separate producer and owner of Saving Private Ryan, along with DW and Paramount. While I'm sure that Spielberg wouldn't want to muss up Katzenberg's hair (so to speak), I have a feeling that he pretty much does what he wants to with Amblin.

If there's no SE of Roger Rabbit (and I have a feeling there won't be) it'll be for other reasons, possibly including the licensing rights to all of the cartoon characters in the movie. It was a monumental task to get all those rights in the first place, and any special treatment might require re-negotiation. I also suspect that we'll never see the original, non-edited form, due to both Disney's long-standing and Spielberg's newfound desire for movie sanitation.

BTW, the acquisition of character rights was the one major stumbling block to a sequel. It's something that was discussed and attempted many times over, but to no avail. Last I heard, the project had been shelved indefinitely.

If there were to be an SE, a commentary from both Zemeckis and animation director Richard Williams (assuming Williams is still living) would be a great feature.

[BubbleGumUK]

While it is true that Spielberg still runs Amblin as a seperate entity (he produced "A.I." through Amblin this year), it shares personnell and offices with DreamWorks - it's practically the same operation, and now only pretty much the name Spielberg uses to endorse movies rather than "Steven Spielberg Presents", as use to appear on the older Amblin films (Back to the Future, Roger Rabbit).

The reason for the lack of the Special ed really is due to the political nature between the two studios - the character deals are totally in place, as any special editions wouldn't feature any extra other studio characters - only Droopy in the three spin-off shorts, which is all cleared for future broadcast and distribution rights (basically MGM get a fee every time the films are used). The reason for a lack of sequel is partly due to the negotiations on the characters rights - after the bonanza of "Who Framed..." they were all eager to participate, but at a price! This is what promted Warners to persue the "Space Jam" idea (oh well).

Richard Williams is indeed alive and well and living in Canada. After Roger, he wanted to use the money to complete his 30-year in the making "The Cobbler and the Theif". Unfortunately, he missed his deadline and distributors Warner Bros. ripped him off his own picture, and completed this delicately animated masterpiece with Korean heavy-handed inbetweeners, adding several unwanted songs. The result was dis-owned by Warners and picked up by Miramax, who released it to theatre as "Arabian Knight". Coming right after "Aladdin" (which "borrowed" more than a few ideas from "PATC"), the movie dissapeared.

It is rumored that Roy Disney, now aware that he owns the film through owning Miramax, has approached Williams to re-create the original vision of this amazing film. I've seen some of the original footage that never made the final cut, as well as Miramax's butchered version (which I have on LD), and the small rays of light that shine through from the original intention seem to indicate that this would have been something very special indeed!

Williams now runs "Animators Masterclasses", giving away tips and advice for the new generation, including CG artists. He is currently woking on another self-financed feature, which understandably he won't talk to anyone about!

BTW, I now work at the Studio where "Roger" was shot, and it's great to pick up stories of the shoot (Hoskins was always blotto when re-recording his ADR lines!) and hear whats going on with any sequel/special editions...

[egoing]

Originally posted by Chris in OC
If there's no SE of Roger Rabbit (and I have a feeling there won't be) it'll be for other reasons, possibly including the licensing rights to all of the cartoon characters in the movie. It was a monumental task to get all those rights in the first place, and any special treatment might require re-negotiation. I also suspect that we'll never see the original, non-edited form, due to both Disney's long-standing and Spielberg's newfound desire for movie sanitation.

Why would cartoon character rights preclude an SE of this title?

Hopefully they will release this as a vista title in the near future and release it uncensored.




Laserdisc .supplement's.

Audio commentary by director Robert Zemeckis, producer (I) Mashall, Frank, and writers Peter S. Seaman and Jeffrey Price
Original theatrical trailer
A deleted scene.




http://us.imdb.com/Laserdisc?0096438




P.S.

E.T. will be released in it's original form along with the 2002 cut on the DVD release. So i guess that debunks the "sanitation" desire of spielberg.

[Brad Vautrinot]

Spielberg's "sanitation" desires are alive and well but he has the good sense to realize that film historians, students, purists, and nostalgic wimps like myself want to enjoy the originals, hence at least he is offering these versions to us. Lucas, take note. Same to you, Disney.

I'll hang on to my uncensored LD of Who Framed Roger Rabbit until I see the same version on DVD.

[Eric]

I hate to sound stupid, but what precisely was edited out? I guess I'll have to dig up my old VHS copy to refresh my memory, but I don't recall too much in that flick that was really objectionable.

Eric

[SeanL]

Originally posted by Eric
I hate to sound stupid, but what precisely was edited out? I guess I'll have to dig up my old VHS copy to refresh my memory, but I don't recall too much in that flick that was really objectionable.

Eric

***Spoiler***

When the baby...I forget his name, anyway, he walks off stage, and walks underneath a woman, throwing his hand up in the process, as if to move her dress out of his way. His "finger" was doing something. They never bothered editing it on VHS or TV viewings because Disney said it couldn't be seen real easy, but with DVD's increased resolution, it would become quite visible.
That is how I remember it.... I might be missing a few details, but that is the "edit", for the most part.

If Disney releases this uncut, I'll get it for sure.

[SeanL]

Ohh, welcome to the forum Eric

[Little_Dragon]

"Where is Roger Rabbit?" would make a great title for a sequel.

[Nexus 6]

It's interesting that with all the other stuff in the movie, such as "A fifty-year-old lust in a three-year-old dinky," "Nice booby trap," "Wise-ass," and so forth, that they would choose to edit this one tiny bit. Why even bother? Besides, the movie was released under the Touchstone label, which was specifically created for edgier films. Weird.