Source: MTV(Found via Cinematical)
Do you guys remember Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Man, did I love that movie as a kid—back then, just the combination of real people interacting with cartoon characters was the coolest thing in the world. Or the fact that there was a place called "Toontown"? How could you not root for Bob Hoskins’ noir-ish private eye to stop Christopher Lloyd’s dastardly plan to destroy it?? [more thoughts and cool news after the jump]
What a brilliant movie. Better yet, once you grow out of the “wow” phase, you’ll notice that the script is genius. A wickedly clever mash-up of Hollywood history, pure, loony, cartoon goodness, and an old-school detective story. Fun for kids; especially fun for grown-ups. It’s that rare movie that makes an impact regardless of age or your love of cartoons.
So, is a sequel really a good idea?
Well, it could be…and the geek in me is dying for another trip to Toontown. So here’s what we know: original director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future trilogy, Cast Away, this weekend’s new A Christmas Carol) is developing it, and the original screenwriting team is already back to work hammering out the story. That’s a good sign all-around—it looks like they’re serious about making it good, and preserving the magic of the original in whatever way they can. Well, as they should—those are some might mighty big shoes to follow. Now here’s the rub: Zemeckis wants to employ his current M.O.: motion-capture, the middle ground between live-action and animation that we’ve seen in his past two films, Beowulf and The Polar Express. I’m not the biggest supporter of this; I think the results don’t yet justify the means and expense (especially since James Cameron’s Avatar, which uses the same technique, looks miles ahead of the stuff in A Christmas Carol and Beowulf). I’d really hate it if Roger Rabbit 2 turned into another exercise of pushing motion-capture further.
But…then again, what if the motion-capture element is part of the story? Now that’s something completely different…and a mighty interesting possibility for the world of Roger Rabbit. The first film was a savvy look at toons (those animated cartoon characters who lived alongside us humans) working in Hollywood. “Black-and-white” ones were unemployed and obsolete (color was just too in-demand), while even the “color” ones like Roger and his dangerously curvy wife, Jessica Rabbit, weren’t exactly sure things either. Well, what if motion-capture characters are introduced as part of the plot? What if that technique threatens the existence of regular, two-dimensional toons? Very, very intriguing.
Despite my indifference to his last few movies, Zemeckis is a smart filmmaker, and has a boyish, creative imagination that’s right up there with his old friend Steven Spielberg (who, not coincidentally, was his producer in the beginning). He would know not to tamper with the look and style of what made Roger Rabbit a masterpiece, and I think he’s clever enough to work his beloved motion-capture as a natural part of the story. Reading between the lines of his below interview with MTV, I think that’s exactly what he’s getting at.
Now that I can totally get behind. Update the timeframe of the original, bring in a smart new angle, and—as long as Bob Hoskins and Roger Rabbit (voiced by the amazing Charles Fleischer), along with the whole wonderful 2-D Disney-WB-MGM, etc cartoon universe, come back—I couldn’t be more for this.
Can’t wait to see how this develops. Check out Zemeckis’ full interview embedded below.
What do you guys think? Would you be up for one more journey to old Hollywood and Toontown? Or does this just run the risk of ruining a classic?
And what do you think of Zemeckis’ current run of motion-capture films—does the “uncanny valley” bridge between animation and live-action bother you? I think it has incredible possibilities—each film is a step forward (and I haven’t seen A Christmas Carol yet, so I can’t quite judge), so I guess we’ll just have to see how it evolves.
Images courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures.
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