Robert Zemeckis was the latest guest on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast as he made the press rounds for his latest directorial effort “Here,” which reunites him with “Forrest Gump” stars Tom Hanks and Robert Wright. While going through his many box office hits, Zemeckis confirmed that a great sequel script for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” exists. However, one reason it’s unlikely to get made is because Jessica Rabbit is too hot for the current Disney regime.
“Here’s what you have to know: The current Disney would never make ‘Roger Rabbit’ today,” Zemeckis claimed. “They can’t make a movie with Jessica in it. The sequel script isn’t ever going to see the light of day as good as it is. I mean look what they did to Jessica at the theme park. They trussed her up in a trench coach.”
Directed by Zemeckis from a screenplay by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman (who returned to pen the sequel that never got made), “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” was the second highest-grossing film of 1988 with $351 million at the worldwide box office. The film famously combines live-action and animation and is set in alternate version of 1947 Hollywood where cartoon characters (called “toons” in the film) exist alongside humans. Bob Hoskins plays the private investigator Eddie Valiant, who must overcome his grudge against toons when he’s hired to exonerate Roger Rabbit from murder charges. The seductive and voluptuous Jessica Rabbit is Roger’s wife.
“We were able to make it right at the time when Disney was ready to rebuilt itself,” Zemeckis said about why the film turned out to be such a classic. “We were there when a new regime came in and they were full of energy. I kept saying, and I sincerely say this, ‘I am making ‘Roger Rabbit’ the way I believe Walt Disney would’ve made it.’ I say that because Walt never made any of his movie for children. He always made them for adults. That’s what I decided to do with ‘Roger Rabbit.’”
“One time we did a test preview with just moms and kids. I was terrified,” the director added. “These kids were five and six years old. They were riveted by the movie. I realized that kids get everything. They understand. They get it. The thing that Walt Disney never did was he never talked down to the children in his movies. He treated the kids like the adults.”
As Zemeckis noted, the Disneyland attraction “Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin” went through changes in 2021 when Jessica in her outfit from the director’s film was removed from the ride and later replaced by a detective version of the character wearing a trench coach.
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” was nominated for six Academy Awards and took home the prizes for best film editing, sound and visual effects. Richard Williams was also awarded a special achievement Oscar for his animation.
“Here” is now playing in theaters nationwide. Watch Zemeckis’ full interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in the video below.
