Destroy All Podcasts DX Episode 230 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Interesting to see Jeremy come down hard on this film. I first saw it when I was either 10 or 11 at the AMC Franklin Mall 6 back in '88. I suppose I could blame my mom for shoving that baby boomer stuff down my throat, but it was still pretty common them to see it anyway either on TV or home video (where she pressed Mr. Magoo on me). Looking back, I never thought of that as really being that bad anyway since I sorta liked the era my parents grew up in (politics aside), I use to watch this film plus the Back to the Future movies over and over just because I wanted to see more of the past myself. I guess I miss what the 80's gave me in terms of the movies that came out.

Many critics and fans would also sight Roger Rabbit, as well as Disney's "The Little Mermaid" in '89 as the beginnings of the "Toon Boom" that came about during the late 80's/early 90's in this country, also hyped through other things like The Simpsons on Fox in Prime-Time, Nickelodeon producing it's own cartoon shows and MTV's "Liquid TV". It was quite a great time to have gone through for someone like me who almost grew out of cartoons completely during high school.

Apart from Robert Zemeckis' directorial position (I think the best film he ever made was "Used Cars" with Kurt Russell), special mention should be given to Richard Williams who handled the animation section of the film, he would win a Special Achievement Oscar for this film because of the work and extra detail he gave every frame. Winning the award help to interest Warner Bros. to let him try to finish a pet project that he had been working on since the 60's, but even then it wasn't enough to have him see the film's completion until someone else had to step in and took over production ("The Thief & The Cobbler").
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqK8LeQrX1I

That part with the "dip" killing Judge Doom and one of the weasels (his name is "Smartass" by the way) since I kinda got it at an early age that both those guys weren't going to Heaven anyway unlike the other weasels whom laughed themselves to death.

I should read the book someday if I get around to it (hearing about those differences too). The film itself was in production for quite a long time really, going back to the early 80's when Disney optioned the original book and it went through different script re-writes and other casting choices. A rare clip from an early screen test for the film had Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens voicing the titular character instead of Charles Fleischer later on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDKfLZNMtmU

The only REAL way to watch the movie at all these days is looking for that CAV Widescreen Laserdisc release, in particular the first pressing that was recalled for having "glue problems" as Disney sighted, this was a total lie! A good detailed list of all the things to spot in that disc can be found here...
http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/stepinto/laserdiscreviews.html#Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Original CAV

Similarly, the shorts themselves were also slightly altered past it's initial laserdisc pressing too, I've got both discs in my collection!

Thinking of Touchstone Pictures, I often thought the one Disney film that led to it a little was 1983's Never Cry Wolf, with it's pretty dodgy moment of a man running naked among the wolves and caribou (and that film was rated PG). Certainly not a kids' film there but one I somehow saw thanks to Disney Channel!

Hey- where's Zuey?

I used to cringe at the sound of her in the beginning but I was judging her unfairly. She got much better and had become an insightful, intelligent member of the crew.

I guess she's pissed about being left out of the paprika podcast. Mike- I pronounce it the same way you do even though I know it's wrong. I can't help it.

Thank you for having a new podcast each and every week. Too many podcasts have fallen off the wagon but you never do. Very professional.

What did you say about German expressionism, Jeremy? Every time you bring it up, I fall asleep for some reason.

Um, why do you think anime fans would argue that anime doesn't use shortcuts in animation to keep costs down. Even kids can figure that out given enough exposure. I think anime film and American animated film are comparable because they both have budgets to do proper animation.

If Beetlejuice didn't have Beetlejuice in it, wouldn't it just be a Goth girl movie with Tim Burton sensibilities?

The game Epic Mickey is all about Oswald the Rabbit, the cartoon that everyone had forgotten about.

By the way, someone just showed off their collection of Who Framed Roger Rabbit swag he's selling!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMeaatPMtUc