1988 film directed by Robert Zemeckis
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. Combining live-action and animation, it is loosely based on Gary K. Wolf's novel, Who Censored Roger Rabbit?. The film stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Stubby Kaye and Joanna Cassidy, with Charles Fleischer providing the voice of the title character. Set in an alternative history Hollywood in 1947, where humans and cartoon characters (referred to as "toons") co-exist, Who Framed Roger Rabbit follows Eddie Valiant, a private investigator with a grudge against toons, who must help exonerate the title character, who has been framed for murder.
Walt Disney Studios purchased the film rights to the novel shortly after its publication in 1981. Price and Seaman wrote two drafts of the script before Disney brought in executive producer Steven Spielberg and his production company, Amblin Entertainment. Zemeckis was brought on to direct and Canadian-British animator Richard Williams was hired to supervise the animation sequences. Production was moved from Los Angeles to Elstree Studios in England to accommodate Williams and his group of animators. While filming, the production budget rapidly expanded and the shooting schedule ran longer than expected.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released through Disney's Touchstone Pictures banner in the United States on June 22, 1988. The film received critical acclaim for its visuals, humor, writing, performances and groundbreaking combination of live-action and animation. It grossed over $351 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1988, behind Rain Man. It brought a renewed interest in the golden age of American animation, spearheading modern American animation and the Disney Renaissance. It won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for Williams' animation direction.
In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.