>Box office $351.5 million

What made it click with people in 1988?

>>149278149 (OP)
Quality used to matter.

>>149278149 (OP)
>Red Lett Media does a review of Who Frame Roger Rabbit
>never one mentions Richard Williams.
Fucking hacks.

>>149278179
Are they not friends with Garrett Gilchrist anymore?

>>149278179
Red Letter Media are decidedly NOT animation fans.

>Roger, darling. I want you to know I love you. I've loved you more than any women ever loved a rabbit
It wasn't just a technical achievement. It also has heart

it was a perfectly timed nostalgia cycle
young gen xers and old millennials were just old enough to take to the theater
boomers grew up on those old toons so they were ok with introducing them to their kids
silents were old enough to not give a fuck about being judged for indulging in childhood nostalgia

It was the first time many classic characters were in a quality theatrical production in years.

>What could have possibly happened to you to turn you into such a sourpuss?
>You wanna know? I'll tell you. A toon killed my brother
>A toon? No...
>That's right. A toon. We were investigating the robbery of the first national bank of Toontown. Back in those days, me and Teddy liked working in Toontown. Thought it was a lot of laughs. Anyway, this guy got away with a zillion simoleons. We trailed him down to a little dive down in Yukster Street. We went in. Only he got the drop on us. Literally. Dropped a piano on us from fifteen stories. Broke my arm. Teddy never made it. I never did find out who that guy was. All I remember was him standing over me laughing, with those burning red eyes and that high squeaky voice. He disappeared into Toontown after that
>No wonder you hate me! If a toon killed my brother, I'd hate me too
>Come on. Don't cry. I don't hate you
>Yes, you do!
>No, I don't
>You do hate me. Otherwise, you wouldn't have yanked my ears all those times.
>Come on. I'm sorry I yanked your ears
>All the times you yanked my ears?
>All the times I yanked your ears
>Apology accepted! Put it there, pal

Such a good first impression
https://youtu.be/PZfu0xlXwm0?feature=shared

>>149278179
Dick might be the greatest animator to ever come out of Canada.

It was engaging, intelligent, full of memorable characters, appealed to multiple demographics and was a true masterwork in terms of special effects. Why wouldn't it be successful?

Love how Eddie is standing safe while his brother's killer is melted by his own creation
https://youtu.be/sxajkYqT3ZM?si=yqfK_QTlrqMLtFR3

>>149278155
Checked & fpbp

What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall when audiences first saw what Jessica Rabbit looked like. It's one of those "surprises" that everyone knows by now.

It's a dark movie at times. Forget about comparing it to something like Space Jam or Back in Action
https://youtu.be/nYk3LvHMPWM?si=JuuR-SPt4OxASuB9
https://youtu.be/LZqr-7XqCyw?si=24oA3hunw3QhSSkF
https://youtu.be/TE0KLwfbM-0?si=cjvw_vFhtQZfpS0Y

>>149278149 (OP)
Show up for the novelty of a Disney/WB mixed universe.
Stay for a great show.

I'm going to reveal the toons in this thread.
Shave and haircut...

>>149279210
Yeah, it’s a noir film with cartoon characters.

>I have to find my darling husband. I'm so worried about him
>Seriously, what do you see in that guy?
>He makes me laugh

>>149278149 (OP)
>All-star cast of classic cartoons from several different studios all in same movie together, some voiced by their original actors
>Cutting edge technology
>Funny premise
>Actual talent in front of and behind the camera made by people who were sincerely invested in the production and not cynically cashing in on established IP
>Reagan-era nostalgia for the past
This movie couldn't have been released at a better time. trying to do it earlier, the technology wouldn't be there (and Warner Bros. wouldn't have been desperate enough to let them use Looney Tunes), doing it later, it would have been closer to "Space Jam" and filled with obnoxious, irreverant wink at the camera jokes

>>149279266
TWO BITS

Headcanon: Roger and Jessica are Lola Bunny's parents.

>>149278155
Quality still matters to audiences, it just doesn't matter to studios anymore.

>She's married to Roger Rabbit?
>Yeah. What a lucky girl

It still upsets me that they couldn’t use Popeye in this film, KFS missed an opportunity to introduce him to a new generation.

>>149279520
I don't know if you were a kid in the late 80s, but Popeye was still everywhere at the time.

>>149279535
When was the last time you saw him animated in a theater?

>screenplay by the writers of Roger Rabbit
Shame it isn't as well written

>>149279608

>>149279631
How could the man that made Willow make such a dogshit movie?

>>149278179
They have no idea who Richard Williams is, they look at the movie from a purely film perspective because they don't seem to care about animation much.

>>149279640
The Grinch movie was probably the best feature-length attempt at it you could get

>>149279560
There was literally a new Popeye show the year before this movie came out.

>>149278149 (OP)
The concept was fun and it was well executed.

>>149279742
Well that, and constant re-runs that were being played on television on both syndication and on cable. Not to mention the Popeye's chicken restaurant using him as their mascot at the time and Quaker Oatmeal using him in all of their television advertisements. Old cartoons were ubiquitous at the time of Roger Rabbit's release. Kids didn't see those characters as old characters that their parents liked, they were still fresh in their minds. It's a very different situation today where old media is very segregated from modern media. You have to find a nostalgia channel in order to find classic animation (or anything made before 1999, really) now.

>>149279210
It helps that it's basically a middle ground between Disney and WB. WB cartoons tend to struggle outside of strictly parody/comedy, while Disney cartoons tended to have more grounded atmospheres but weren't nearly as effective with its humor as a result. Roger Rabbit took the best of both worlds here; by being a fusion of the two, it patched up their weak spots flawlessly.

>>149278149 (OP)
Could a Roger-like movie with "modern" (90s, 2000s and 2010s) WB/CN and Disney characters work?

>>149279742
Emphasis on in a theater.

>>149279266
>the Toonhound

>people think that "playing patty cake" is sex and not literally just playing patty cake even though we see pictures

>>149279991
No because EVERYONE knew who the characters were. How many people really know who Johnny Bravo is in 2025 compared to Bugs Bunny in 88?

>>149280155
It's a euphemism and in cartoons, that means literal.

>>149279520
>>149279535
This popeye was still going strong back then. He didnt really fall.off.until after the millenium

>>149279991
Hard to say. WFRR feels like it existed at just the time (the 80s) to focus on just the period (the 40s). Not sure if a 2020s movie spotlighting the 90s or early 2000s would capture the same nostalgia without feeling manipulative/cynical. In any case, it would need to include Spongebob and Simpsons cameos, and then also remind people through marketing that both of these properties used to have soul.

>>149280173
Some people still remember him. He got a background cameo in TTG. So, don't be so pessimistic, anon.

>>149280222
>Simpsons cameos
They are part of Disney. Just like family guy.

>>149279520
>>149279560
Anon, I highly doubt him appearing for a few seconds would have added to his notoriety.

>>149279991
Could work in theory but won't be nearly as good or well executed as Roger Rabbit

>>149279451
>Pinocchio, Daffy, and Baby Herman blatantly standing in the Dip
I sure hope someone got fired for that blunder

>>149280155
That holds the same significance as sex for toons in the setting, Roger seeing the pictures of Jessica doing it with Maroon floors him the same way a betrayed spouse would react to catching their significant other in the act with someone else.

In the animated short trilogy, the first one, after the filming ends at shorts closure Jessica casually tells Roger she wants to play Patty Cake with him after a day's of work, again, sex analogue for toons.

>>149279991
You tell me

>>149280373
I bet WB could do it better

>>149280369
Only because it was funny.

>>149278149 (OP)
>Executive Producer
SAY IT

>>149281132
Glorified coffee girl.

>>149278149 (OP)
Quality

>>149278954
I really miss how good older films looked. The sets, the lighting, the film grain...all look great.

>>149279608
They really needed to stretch out the basic story far beyond breaking point.

>>149281789
It probably helps that it was all shot on actual film and analog equipment, instead of everything being digitally recorded now

>>149280373
> "Old cartoon" gets modern movie
>Its just a cgi "cartoons" in live action New York
The one cartoon where it could actually work they instead make it a weird mean spirited Meta Comedy
I guess its nice that they did something "new" but the movie was pretty crummy

>>149279082
Milt is my animation grandfather. I learnt from the guys he taught.
I miss Rich. Somehow Don is still around.

>>149278179
Why would they? I love RW's work but that literally wouldn't be relevant to their interests.

>>149278179
I'm surprised they even went out of their way to review Roger Rabbit honestly

>>149278149 (OP)
bnuuy

>>149278212
They stopped being friends long before Mike created the YouTube account

>>149281132
You forgetting Spielberg.

he was sexy

>>149280031
Great job moving the goalposts, because they’re still making a better point. He was still a common character in the public view when the movie came out. He wasn’t considered obscure until they stopped showing reruns.

>>149285138
whhoa

Sex with Judge Doom.

>>149280351
It was dried up and that was more like the "blood" of doom

>>149279712
I guess on some level, that's what animation-is-true-art fans really want, though? For animated and quasi-animated films to be based on their own artistic merits rather than just "pretty, colorful, fun visuals"?
Kind of like how no one really judges The Graduate or A Clockwork Orange or The Godfather for how good the effects are

>>149279500
incorrect the masses dont give a shit otherwise the studios wouldn't keep trying to get away with it. Unfortunately the left side of the bell curve are bigger in number.

>>149279991
Probably, at the end of the day they're mostly just background characters put in for the sake of worldbuilding. So long as the actual story is rock solid and the animation is consistent there's no reason why it wouldn't.

Hell, we already have Wreck-It Ralph as a sort of modern example.

>>149278149 (OP)
Big boobed woman

>>149285138
>t. Betty Boop

>>149278179
They added it to their description

>>149278905
>young gen xers and old millennials
I think you got that backward.

>>149281830
Sure but there is no excuse for movie sets looking so boring . Old movies actually made places looked “lived in” (though maybe they filmed in real locations more back then)

>>149287176
Studios will ALWAYS try to get away with it no matter how hard audiences reject it, because making trash is simply easier.

>>149278179
This shitty website didn't knew about Quino when he passes away. You have no right to call anyone "hack" when you are using this forum.

>>149291672
Sorry that we’re not all spics.