behind Jessica
is for Blamo exploding cigars.
Bob Hoskins' son was reportedly upset
that his father hadn't brought any of
Dad's cartoon co- stars home to meet him.
Director Robert Zemeckis had previously
directed Romancing the Stone (1984)
starring Kathleen Turner
and the mega hit Back to the Future (1985).
Born in Chicago, Zemeckis
won a Best Student Film award
at USC for "Field of Honor" in 1973.
Steven Spielberg was so impressed with
the film, he hired Zemeckis to direct
the feature about Beatles' fans,
I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978).
Zemeckis directed
and co-wrote 1941, released in 1979,
and Used Cars (1980) starring Kurt Russell.
Russell later screen tested as Eddie Valiant.
Zemeckis said Who Framed Roger Rabbit
was "akin to scaling Mt. Everest."
Robert Zemeckis originally saw a draft
of the script in 1982 and was intrigued.
The project did not progress until 1985 when
the new management at Disney teamed with
Steven Spielberg to combine their resources.
Zemeckis, who had just directed
Back To The Future (1985) forSpielberg,
was offered the new script.
The search began for a suitably zany,
unconventional animation director
who could help bring the project to life.
London-based animator
Richard Williams
had previously created
beverage commercials forTV
that combined dimensional-looking animation
with live action in a realistic way.
Williams had also finished some
unusual scenes on his pet project
The Thief and the Cobbler.
These works caught the attention
of Roger Rabbit producers
Frank Marshall and Robert Watts
and the whole team realised
Williams was the talent
for whom they'd been searching.
Animation Director Richard Williams
animated the opening titles for
Return Of The Pink Panther (1975)
The Pink PantherStrikes Again (1976),
What's New Pussycat? (1965),
and Casino Royale (1967).
The yellow hole
is a silhouette of Mickey Mouse.
The filmmakers chose 1947 for
a "Once upon a time" quality to make
the premise more acceptable,
like a fairy tale.
Judge Doom, Dolores, R.K. Maroon,
the weasels, and the transit system subplot were
inventions for the film
not in the original novel.
The number 10 was Los Angeles' first freeway.
It travelled the route Doom describes
but has fewer lanes.
His comments were sort of an inside joke
for L.A. audiences.
Originally budgeted at $27.5 million,
the film ended up costing around $45 million,
making it one of the most
expensive movies of its time.
The animation averaged between
$250,000 and $300,000 a minute.
A menacing shadow is cast on the back wall.
A menacing shadow is cast on the back wall.
George Gibbs supervised
30 special effects technicians
in advanced servo-hydraulics
computerised electronics,
and micro-robotics
to manipulate the real objects that
the Toons would later appear to be moving.
His special effects work can also be seen
in Superman (1978), Flash Gordon (1980)
Conan the Barbarian (1982) and
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
On this film, Gibbs said he was
most proud of inventing the Dipmobile.
Bob Hoskins believes there's
a little bit of a toughguy in everyone.
"The good thing about being
an actor is that you can let it out,
then go home and be a nice guy."
Freeze frame the shot when
Eddie presses a button for the calliope,
and check out the "tunes."
Find the "hidden Mickey"
when Eddie dances.
The bowling balls formed into a V
create that familiar silhouette.
Cinematographer Dean Cundey
became adept at handling effects films
withThe Thing (1982)
Back To The Future (1985),
and Big Business (1988).
He also worked with Zemeckis
on Romancing The Stone (1984).
Cundey originally studied to be
an art director. After a cinematography
course at UCLA, he switched.
"I discovered you could change
the mood of a scene or the look
of a set just by different lighting.
I wanted to deal with (those elemente)
instead of backgrounds."
The upcoming "Singing Sword" gag may