- Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a huge success when it was released in 1988
- However, its director says there is a reason why a sequel has never been made
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit paved the way for films like Space Jam
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a ground-breaking movie when it was released in 1988 but its director believes that a sequel will never be made by Disney.
Robert Zemeckis was in the director’s chair for the movie, which blended live-action with cartoons in a way rarely seen since. He says that while a script exists for a Roger Rabbit 2, he believes that it will sadly never be made – and that is primarily down to Jessica Rabbit.
Reason for no sequel
Talking to Josh Horowitz on his Happy Sad Confused podcast, Zemeckis said: “The current Disney would never make Roger Rabbit today. They can’t make a movie with Jessica in it.”
Zemeckis added that in Disneyland, Jessica’s appearance has changed in recent years. According to the director, she has been given a trench coat, rather than her trademark revealing red sparkly dress. Apparently, this was to align the character with her new career as a private investigator.
Pivotal character
In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit was Roger’s wife. She was designed to look like a femme fatale from 1940s noir films. In it, she sings, while wearing a revealing dress, which Zemeckis feels would not play well with Disney’s current hierarchy.
Jessica was pivotal to the movie, which starred the late Bob Hoskins as private investigator Eddie Valiant. Valiant works in 1947 Los Angles where humans and animated cartoon characters known as ‘Toons’ co-exist.
Valiant is hired by Roger’s boss to investigate claims Jessica is having an affair with Marvin Acme of the Acme Corporation. When Valiant shows Roger seeming evidence of her unfaithfulness with Acme, he runs off. When Acme is found dead the next day, suspicion falls on Roger – who, along with Valiant must now prove his innocence and who was really behind the crime.
The movie won numerous awards for its innovative blending of cartoon and live-action and paved the way for films such as the Warner Bros basketball comedy Space Jam which was released in 1996.
