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Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat: The Making of Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit emerged at a nexus of people, technology, and circumstances that is historically, culturally, and aesthetically momentous. By the 1980s, animation seemed a dying art. Not even the Walt Disney Company, which had already won over thirty Academy Awards, could stop what appeared to be the end of an animation era.
To revitalize popular interest in animation, Disney needed to reach outside its own studio and create the distinctive film that helped usher in a Disney Renaissance. That film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit , though expensive and controversial, debuted in theaters to huge success at the box office in 1988. Unique in its conceit of cartoons living in the real world, Who Framed Roger Rabbit magically blended live action and animation, carrying with it a humor that still resonates with audiences.
Upon the film’s release, Disney’s marketing program led the audience to believe that Who Framed Roger Rabbit was made solely by director Bob Zemeckis, director of animation Dick Williams, and the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic, though many Disney animators contributed to the project. Author Ross Anderson interviewed over 140 artists to tell the story of how they created something truly magical. Anderson describes the ways in which the Roger Rabbit characters have been used in film shorts, commercials, and merchandising, and how they have remained a cultural touchstone today.
To revitalize popular interest in animation, Disney needed to reach outside its own studio and create the distinctive film that helped usher in a Disney Renaissance. That film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit , though expensive and controversial, debuted in theaters to huge success at the box office in 1988. Unique in its conceit of cartoons living in the real world, Who Framed Roger Rabbit magically blended live action and animation, carrying with it a humor that still resonates with audiences.
Upon the film’s release, Disney’s marketing program led the audience to believe that Who Framed Roger Rabbit was made solely by director Bob Zemeckis, director of animation Dick Williams, and the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic, though many Disney animators contributed to the project. Author Ross Anderson interviewed over 140 artists to tell the story of how they created something truly magical. Anderson describes the ways in which the Roger Rabbit characters have been used in film shorts, commercials, and merchandising, and how they have remained a cultural touchstone today.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published May 23, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 23, 2024
I was so excited to get this book for Christmas. I’m disappointed. The writing is clunky. I’m not saying non-fiction should be flowery, but at the very least I wish the author had made more of an effort to avoid simply listing things in sentence form. For example, he lists every single Oscar Roger was up for, including who presented and whether or not they won. A simple list of what they won would suffice. Second, the last half of the book is made up of appendices and side stories. Finally, it seems odd that the author couldn’t get the rights to show images of the film. Is that Disney being Disney or was there another reason they didn’t give rights?
The anecdotes from the creators and animators were interesting. I’d have rather seen more of those and less of lists. Lists written like this. Lists that were shortened into sentences to do what seems to amount to helping the author fulfill a minimum word count, I’m sorry to say
The anecdotes from the creators and animators were interesting. I’d have rather seen more of those and less of lists. Lists written like this. Lists that were shortened into sentences to do what seems to amount to helping the author fulfill a minimum word count, I’m sorry to say
December 30, 2020
I never expected gossip to be this tedious.
August 26, 2019
Good info but redundant
Reading about animation and film making is always fun and this book has some new insights and stories from those who worked in the film. However, it does not seem well organized and often several facts and insights are repeated in large part because it does not follow a coherent timeline, or singular person as an anchor. As such, it meanders through to completion where we are left with pages of website links, a list of any movie referenced in the book, and a feeling like just a bit more time and this could have been more. Yet, I love the effort and it’s great fun to revisit the rabbit and understand just how unique, and groundbreaking this film was. And how there will never be another like it.
Reading about animation and film making is always fun and this book has some new insights and stories from those who worked in the film. However, it does not seem well organized and often several facts and insights are repeated in large part because it does not follow a coherent timeline, or singular person as an anchor. As such, it meanders through to completion where we are left with pages of website links, a list of any movie referenced in the book, and a feeling like just a bit more time and this could have been more. Yet, I love the effort and it’s great fun to revisit the rabbit and understand just how unique, and groundbreaking this film was. And how there will never be another like it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews