#91: Why isn’t there a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Just the other day I was browsing Netflix for a movie to watch. Before I knew it, almost twenty minutes past right on by, and all I had done was idly sift through menus. Reader, I’ve been guilty of this so many times. There’s something about the abundance of choice without parameters that causes a paralysis in me. It was at this point I abandoned Netflix and moved over to a different app, Hulu Plus. (I find curates a smaller collection of movies compared to Netflix’s endless ocean.) After a much briefer search, one movie, in particular, caught my eye - one I loved as a kid but haven’t seen in at least a decade. 

I’m referring, of course, to 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit. 

For the unfamiliar, here’s a quick synopsis: the film, based on Gary K. Wolf’s novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit, is set 1940s Hollywood, where humans and cartoons coexist. Roger Rabbit finds himself framed for the murder of a well-known studio head, setting off a chain of events. Eddie Valient, a less-than-sober private investigator brilliantly portrayed by Bob Hoskins, takes on the case to find out the true culprit. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg, the film noir catapulted Roger, Eddie, and the other characters to pop culture fame. 

Upon rewatching, I was delighted to find the movie truly holds up after all these years. The story is still engaging, the special effects that blend real life and animation together are still believable, and the characters are just as real and funny as I remember. Reader, this got me wondering: in a world where sequels and reboots are paramount, why has there been no sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 

Admittedly, I spent way too much time looking into this, but the answer to this question isn’t so straightforward. Over the last thirty-five there have been numerous attempts and mentions of a planned sequel. Reader, in order to understand why, we must first analyze how the original was made.

Walt Disney Pictures purchased the film rights to Who Censored Roger Rabbit way back in 1981. However, the project remained stagnant until Michael Eisner assumed the role of CEO of the Walt Disney Company in 1984. Eisner previously headed production at Paramount Pictures, where he oversaw successful projects like Raiders of the Lost Ark. On Raiders specifically, Eisner would partner with both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Later on, Eisner and Spielberg would partner again in the making of Roger Rabbit, with Spielberg eventually serving as the film’s Executive Producer. 

Before the project entered pre-production, Eisner noticed a significant decline in Disney Animation Studios. He told then Walt Disney Studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg to correct this. Katzenberg would become a key player in the Roger Rabbit as well in a potential sequel. He recounts a meeting with Eisner at the time¹, “Eisner said, Jeffrey, one last thing before you go.' He walked me over to a corner window in his office. 'You see that building? That's where they make the animated movies. That's also your problem.'" It was then that Katzenberg decided to take the dormant Roger Rabbit project and blend live action and animation together.  

The film became a joint production between both Disney and Spielberg’s own production company, Amblin Entertainment. Reader, according to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, “[Amblin and Disney would] split the box-office takes and licensing rights 50-50.” This deal between the two would also impact a potential sequel.

In the original novel, Roger is a comic strip character and interacts with established characters of the genre like Dick Tracey and Snoopy. However, for a film adaption, Roger interacts with  famous animated characters like Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck. The properties and characters involved would inevitably cause a copyright nightmare. Sure, Disney characters would be present, but the creatives behind it wanted to employ well-known characters from Tex Avery, Warner Brothers, Felix the Cat Company, and many more. Reader, all of the rights were eventually worked out for the film, largely because of Steven Spielberg's involvement in the production. He was gold in the eighties and still is today. 

Spielberg was able to convince “these studios [to] lend their characters for the unbelievable flat rate of $5,000 per character, with minor stipulations.” For example, “Warner Bros. demanded Bugs Bunny to appear only in scenes opposite Mickey Mouse and with the same amount of screen time.” Reader, I’m sure the same stipulations were applied to that hilarious (and my personal favorite) piano scene featuring both Donald and Daffy Duck. In today’s Hollywood landscape, everyone is trying to create a shared universe, but Spielberg was able to create one way back in ‘88. 

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released on June 24th, 1988 and took home over 156 million dollars domestically and over 329 million worldwide. Reader, needless to say, it was an immediate hit. So much so that Roger Rabbit himself started to become a staple in the Disney theme parks. There were even plans for him to have his own ride and attraction at the then MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. The film also helped jettison, along with Katzenberg’s influence, a Disney animation renaissance that lead to The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Aladdin, and the Oscar nominated Beauty and The Beast.

Reader, talks of a sequel begin as early as 1989 with J.J. Abrams (yes you heard me correctly) drafting an outline for a new film. However, it never really got past that. Abrams himself states, “Honestly, we never really got to that phase [where it got serious]. We were writing an outline, but it honestly went away before it was anything. This was a long time ago.” Reader, as a fan of some of Abrams work, I’d love to hear his take on a follow-up. 

More talks would occur here and there throughout the early 90s, and in the meantime, there were a few animated short films featuring Roger, Jessica, and Baby Herman from the movie. All this, however, stalled in 1994.

In the mid 90s, Katzenberg was taking credit for a lot of the success happening at Walt Disney Studios. Reader, his boasts about what he did for the studio and desire for a promotion rubbed Michael Eisner the wrong way, causing conflict between the two. The eventual fall out between Eisner, Katzenberg, and Disney is a story all unto itself, so Reader, for the purposes of this entry, we’ll just focus on how the outcome relates to a Roger Rabbit sequel. And the outcome is this: “Katzenberg next partnered with...Steven Spielberg to create DreamWorks” a production powerhouse that still exists today. 

Disney and Amblin Entertainment still had that 50-50 split in rights and ownership of the film and potential sequels, and it appears that the creation of DreamWorks and the exit of Katzenberg, left a sour taste in Eisner's mouth. Production of a sequel and the short films halted, and Roger Rabbit, who had been prominent in the Disney Parks, appeared less and less until he didn’t appear at all. Rumbles of a sequel were heard here and there, and 1998 bought a CGI Roger Rabbit screen test, but nothing came from it. Sadly, in 2014 actor Bob Hoskins passed away, making it even harder for a sequel to get off the ground. 

The last real credible comment about a potential sequel came from director Robert Zemeckis himself in an interview with The Telegraph. Despite the fact that Zemeckis declares that existence of a “magnificent” script, he’s ultimately given up on the project. In the interview he says, “Most sequels, you’re behind the eight-ball on them...When audiences clamor for a sequel, what they’re really doing is expressing their enthusiasm for the movie they just saw. And that means they’ll have a love-hate relationship with whatever comes next because they want it to be the same movie, but different. If it’s too similar, they don’t like it. And if it’s too different, they really don’t like it. There’s nothing more difficult.”

Reader, I couldn’t agree more with his take on sequels. 

And with Zemeckis’s own words, I feel like we have the answer to this question. Simply put, the fallout between its creators, the rights to films and characters, and years of speculation ultimately keep this sequel at bay. The movie is over 30 years, and a continuation is very unlikely. 

Reader, I can’t help but offer a suggestion for a potential movie. Maybe this little idea will make its way to the creators. Probably not. I don’t have a full story, but I think setting it in the present day, where traditional animation films are hardly made anymore, could cause some conflict between Roger and CGI characters who are getting all of the animation jobs. This echos back to a similar conflict faced by silent movie stars as “talkies” were becoming more prevalent. Just an interesting idea. 

And there we have it.

Thanks for reading.

1. Links to articles were found in academic databases. Without the passwords and login information, you may not be able to access them.