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Maroon Cartoon Studio
“We’re going to be happy again. You got that? Happy! Capital H-A-P-P-I!”
Roger Rabbit
In 1981, the novel Who Framed Roger Rabbit by Gary K. Wolf hit the shelves of bookstores. An adaptation was quickly considered and Walt Disney Productions commissioned a script while Robert Zemeckis was hired to direct. Amblin Entertainment, Steven Spielberg’s studio, is also involved but the 50 million budget is too high for Disney, which is in a bad way. The constraints are accumulating. Steven Spielberg wants to federate other studios to exploit characters like those of Looney Tunes, Industrial Light & Magic wants to make its animators work from its premises in San Francisco and the director of animation, for his part, prefers to operate from London. It is then that a new scenario is born, mixing live action and animation.
The filming began on December 2, 1986. The production operates from two studios: one in Burbank, Los Angeles and the other in London, where Richard Williams works. The latter does not wish to work at Disney. In order to bring Bob Hoskins and all the actors together with the animated characters, plastic models of the latter are used during rehearsals. The actors hired to double the toons are also present to give the line to their partners. Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger Rabbit, even dresses up in bunny ears, red overalls and yellow gloves during the sessions. All in all, the shooting takes place over seven months at Elstree Studios in London. Then the production moves to Los Angeles for another four weeks. ILM then takes care of the special effects, using the blue background technique in particular. Post-production, during which the animation is designed, is spread over fourteen months. Twenty-five facilitators lead a team of about 100 people, some of whom come from Canada, England, Europe and Australia. She directs the fifty-six minutes of animation in the film, in addition to the ten minutes produced at Disney Studios.
Real places are of course used to anchor the story in a very tangible reality. Thus, the Ren-Mar studio is chosen to house the Maroon Cartoon Studio, Roger Rabbit’s home, in the film. The entrance to the premises on Cahuenga Boulevard appears on the screen. A key place in the story is the Ren-Mar studio, an institution in Hollywood, notably thanks to all the television productions it has given birth to. So much so that even today, some people expect to see a toon appear at the imposing arch at the entrance.
Produced for $50 million, $20 million more than expected, Who Framed Roger Rabbit has grossed nearly $330 million at the worldwide box office. In 2016, it became part of the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress and has won numerous awards.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is considered the 34th animated film from Disney Studios.
RED Studios Hollywood
Successively called Desilu Cahuenga Studio and Ren-Mar Studios, Red Studios Hollywood was built in 1947 on land owned since 1920 by Metro Pictures.
In 1953, thanks to the success of I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz decided to buy the studios and began to produce more and more shows. The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, The Dyck Van Dyke Show and Hogan’s Heroes were filmed there. Sold in 1984 and renamed Ren-Mar Studios, the premises hosted the production of the Seinfeld pilot while Ally McBeal and Lizzie McGuire made their first appearances there. Madonna, Michael Jackson and Britney Spears also shot videos there. The studio is also visible in The Artist.
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Cult! movies: 100 mythical places of cinema [French Edition]
Since the dawn of cinema, films have invaded the world and highlighted sometimes unexpected places. Every film location has its secrets. The latter are sometimes as exciting as the feature films themselves.
Did you know that the cemetery where the final duel of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was built from scratch and that no body lies there? Or that the bus ofInto The Wild has been moved to discourage fans from spending the night there? From the story of the construction of The Bridge on the River Kwai to the incredible encounter during the shooting of the last scene ofIndiana Jones and the Last Crusadeembark on an exciting world tour with the greatest stars of the seventh art. Shiver in the real haunted house ofAmityville and discover the terrifying anecdotes of the making ofApocalypse Now in the Philippines. Visit the building of Blade Runner before stopping at Hogwarts and finally landing in Jurassic Parkin the middle of the Hawaiian archipelago. What if we also took you behind the scenes of the making of the Hobbits’ village of Lord of the Rings ?
Produced by a team of pop-culture specialists and enhanced by numerous anecdotes, Cult! movies tells the secrets of the places that made the history of cinema.
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Discover all the places Who Framed Roger Rabbit on our map
By Damien Duarte
Passionné par la culture pop depuis son enfance, ses références vont de Donald Duck à Batman en passant par Marty McFly. Fantripper dans l'âme, voyager sur les traces de Ghostbusters, James Bond ou des héros de romans comme Cotton Malone fait partie d'un séjour idéal et réussi !