Firstly, I wanted to dedicate this article to the loving memory of two remarkable people who worked on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The film's animation director Richard Williams, who unfortunately passed away last year, did such a fantastic job pairing animation with the live-action elements and developed superb animation with a team of other talented animators. And it also goes without saying that the late Bob Hoskins gave a very memorable and well-realized performance as P.I. Eddie Valiant. I found the character to be so relatable and a great protagonist, and it's a shame we lost such a great actor. Rest in peace to them both, they'll be greatly missed and remembered for their incredible work in this movie and all the films they worked on.
You ever have one of those movies that just fills you with so much joy? For me, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of those movies. Loosely based off of Gary K. Wolf's mystery novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?", Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a filmmaking feat seamlessly pairing live-action with animation in a 1940s Hollywood setting so fluently than any other film had at the time. And on a technical scale the movie still holds up, but more importantly, the heart and humor still shine. The chemistry between the fun and eccentric Roger Rabbit and curmudgeon and hard-boiled detective Eddie Valiant still adds to the movie magic of this imaginative piece of storytelling.
While the mystery regarding why Roger was framed for the murder of Marvin Acme was compelling material, finding out that Judge Doom was behind it all and even fit the big picture of killing Eddie's brother culminated in a pretty phenomenal twist. With the storytelling being just as strong as its visual feat, the film can provide so much joy that if done with the same amount of care and energy that this would thrive on a sequel.
Using the advantage of creating a world where cartoon characters and real humans exist in 1940s Hollywood could call for more film-noir flavored adventures and other fun mysteries to explore. Who wouldn't want more mysteries with Roger and to see more excellent supporting characters like Benny the Cab, Baby Herman, and Jessica Rabbit? I loved the different personalities of all these characters and to see how they would react in different scenarios would be a blast to watch. Maybe we could see the four of them team up to solve a mystery and they could have their own scenes to have their time to shine more than they did in the first movie.
While it was awesome to see Roger and the other toons play off of Eddie Valiant's character so well, I think because the toons themselves were developed as characters very well that they should lead the ship for their own story. I think it should be about the four of them solving a mystery that could affect the lives of toons and maybe show business in general. But the question is even though we have the characters lined up, when should this new story take place? What could this new entry in a potential story be about?
Well if you haven't known already in the early 90s Disney published a Roger Rabbit comic book series featuring Roger and all his friends in their own little adventures, and one of those storylines was The Resurrection of Doom. Basically, just like the title says, Doom gets reincarnated by the Weasels' cousins and all hell breaks loose. And do I think there could be some fun had there if they took elements from that comic? I think it'd be fun if they brought back Christopher Lloyd to reprise his role and maybe there could be more mythical elements about the world of toons and we could maybe even see what Doom as a toon looks like in full.
And with Roger and the gang solving the mystery, this could maybe also be a movie that honors the legacy of Bob Hoskins and the character of Eddie Valiant. Maybe because their beloved friend Eddie passed that Roger and everyone decided to continue his legacy and help toons from the chaos that would ensue. I think that would be a remarkable way to go.
But the question is what year should this new story take place? Should it now be in 50s Hollywood where it could play up the idea of movie theaters having a low place and the rise of television? Maybe the story could be about Roger trying to figure out why television has become more popular than going to the movies. Or what if it's in the 60s or 70s with Roger and company trying to adapt to the stylistic changes of showbiz society? The 80s could be a fun era because everyone is trying to understand why the new toons are made alongside selling toys and it could be a fun satire with Roger dealing with the corporate world and entertainment marketing. Also, it could be fun to do a 90s era movie where we see Roger dealing with the popular cartoon stars of that era like SpongeBob and the Rugrats or worse dealing with CGI characters like the Toy Story cast for the first time. There were legalities made with Warner Bros characters so why not bring in Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network stars?
I don't think I'd want Roger and everyone walking around today in the modern-day because it could lose that charm from a classic era and there was more of a boom of cartoon shows in earlier decades as opposed to now. As long as the whimsical charm in its direction is there like we saw in the first movie I think no matter what decade it could be an exciting movie. Also, I knew there was a prequel in the works about Roger fighting alongside other toons in WWII in a squad called the Toon Platoon and how he met Jessica and Baby Herman but was canceled since Spielberg had no interest and it was being worked on alongside his film Schindler's List. And with the Roger Rabbit film set in the same era, it was considered a little too inappropriate to make at the time. While I wouldn't mind seeing that movie now, I think the possibilities of continuing the story from the first movie could be a lot more fun.
There was even talk about a buddy movie between Roger Rabbit and Mickey Mouse in development called "The Stooge" that wouldn't necessarily be a continuation of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but nonetheless another good time with Roger playing off of Mickey Mouse, no less. Personally, I'd rather see another movie in the same vein as the original movie, with another mystery and more character development with Roger, Jessica, Baby Herman, and Benny. Let's have them go on a whacky adventure together that spiritually is like the original and captured with traditional hand-drawn animation. You could do some fun CG that has some fluidity to it, I mean there is an animation test online from the late 90s when a second film was proposed, but nothing beats the original 2-D charm of that animation.
I think there's a slim chance of a sequel happening nowadays, BUT I have a feeling we might get something because there is a sequel to a movie coming out next year that's a lot similar to Roger Rabbit for its 90s nostalgia and that movie was Space Jam. Space Jam: A New Legacy is set to be released on July 16, 2021, and that was a movie that I personally didn't think would be made in this day and age. Yet, even though a different franchise, the Looney Tunes are having their own comeback on the new Warner Media streaming service HBO Max and the new cartoons on there are stylized like the characters' older designs and executed in a way to replicate that classic 2-D style.
So what I'm getting at is since the retro Looney Tunes and style of the classic cartoons are there and depending on how successful the new Space Jam will do, maybe that will give Disney the idea to do their own movie to pull on the nostalgic heartstrings with Roger Rabbit. Of course, this is all speculation and theories, but I have a feeling that since we're in an era where the retro franchises are making a comeback, who knows what could happen? All I know is that Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a film I adore and has a rich universe and compelling story and character material that I think a sequel would be something I'd welcome in this day and age. Because who wouldn't want more fun and imaginative adventures in this universe? All I'm asking is "P-p-p-please?"
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