With political correctness these days, it is true that there is many films from the past which would be difficult to start these days. At least, in the same way. It’s something that a good part of the public thinks about, but also filmmakers of the caliber of Robert Zemeckis. The person responsible for back to the future either Forrest Gump recently explained in an interview that it would be impossible for Disney to repeat the iconic Who framed Roger Rabbit? Mainly because of the sensual and stereotypical femme fatale character, Jessica Lapin.
Released at the end of the 80s, this cult film crossed in several ways age rangemarking a before and after in the blending of traditional animation and live action in a comedy that clearly satirized the Hollywood industry itself through a particularly colorful film. movie theater black. But what undoubtedly caught the most attention in the plot and remained the most in the collective imagination, is the presence of this kind of Gilda animated and his brilliant phrase “I’m not bad, they drew me like that”. Jessica Rabbit is one of the most controversial characters created by the House of Mouse. Likewise, Disney has already adapted her to the new times in their amusement park in California, when they changed the character, transforming her into a Los Angeles detective and hiding her curvy physique with a raincoat. This happened in 2021 and at that time the brand currently led by Bob Iger claimed that this change was made so that the film was “in tune with current culture”. Today, while Zemeckis was promoting his latest film, he wanted to explain how times have changed and that despite the idea of a following Who framed Roger Rabbit?Disney would not accept it in this era where every artistic decision is questioned.
A film that couldn’t be made today
According to the two-time Oscar winner, Who framed Roger Rabbit? was possible in the 1980s because the company was willing to “rebuild yourself”. But in today’s Disney creative line, a character like Jessica Rabbit would have no place. The script for the sequel has been written for a long time and of course the director didn’t want to miss the opportunity by promoted Here say how major I would never accept the development of the sequel.
“The Disney of today would never make Roger Rabbit today. They can’t make a movie with Jessica in it. The script for the sequel will never see the light of day, despite its quality. I mean, look what they did to Jessica in the park. “They tied her up in a raincoat,” Zemeckis began to explain.
Then the director described the process that gave birth to the creative germ in the podcast Happy Sad Confused hosted by Josh Horowitz: “We arrived when a new diet started and they were full of energy. I always said what I did Roger Rabbit like Walt Disney would have done. Walt never made any of his children’s films. He always made them for adults. This is what I decided to do with Roger Rabbit“.
Will the story of Roger Rabbit continue?
Available on the Disney+ platform, the official synopsis of Who framed Roger Rabbit? puts us in the shoes of Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), a small-time detective who was hired to find evidence that Marvin Acme, prank business magnate and owner of Tontownhangs around Jessica Rabbit, the femme fatale of superstar Roger Rabbit. But when Roger is found murdered, all evidence points to Roger, while the sinister Judge Doom He still wants to condemn him. Animated Rabbit Begs Valiant for Help find the real culpritBut everything becomes complicated as Eddie discovers, scandal after scandal, that the very existence of the drawing town is in danger.
Ideas for a sequel have emerged since the film’s release in 1988. Director JJ Abrams said years ago that there were several storyboards a sequel and also a project canceled a year later entitled Roger Rabbit II: The Toon Plattonwhere the protagonist would search for his parents and end up fighting against the Nazis during World War II. The latest attack or attempt to cover up the story is that of Zemeckis himself, who first revealed in 2016 the existence of a very good screenplay written by Peter S. Seaman and Jeffrey Pricethe screenwriters who adapted the original film, adapting the novel by Gary K. Wolf. However, according to the filmmaker, Disney is not interested in Roger, even less in Jessica.
