Richard LeParmentier (Lt. Santino and Admiral Motti) dies at 66 years old

As reported by Daily Mail Online, Richard LeParmentier (who Roger Rabbit fans know as the Lt. Santino, and Star Wars fans know as Admiral Motti) passed away yesterday. He was only 66 years old, and the circumstances about his death are still unknown.

Farewell, Mr. LeParmentier. May your soul rest in peace.

Thanks to our own Daniel Kimbrell for the tip.

Roger Rabbit cast and crew interview

I found this video over at Oscars.org where several of the cast and crew were interviewed for the film's 25th anniversary.
 

Roger Rabbit back at Disneyland!

Remember that post in which we speculated about Roger Rabbit being back at the Disney parks?

Well, speculate no more: HE IS INDEED BACK!!

Disney Echo shared a couple of pics in which the Roger Rabbit costumed character makes his comeback to Disneyland (click on the links for the pictures). It’s maybe for a limited time, but it’s nice to see good old Roger back again =)

The Who Framed Roger Rabbit Bluray release

Daniel here.


I preordered the Blu-ray for Roger Rabbit in February, hoping for bigger things in store, not just the definition, but new things. I was hoping for everything to be sunnier in Toontown, hoping that with the movie back on store shelves, it would bring new fans. I still hope that.

But, there's some bits that you should know. If you want to know the special features besides the Hi-def versions of the three Roger Rabbit shorts, there's also the Before and After of Toontown feature, a thing explaining the Toon-stand ins, a commentary recorded years ago, and a few other things also from the 15th anniversary DVD set. Basically, the only difference is that it's in a better quality, the shorts were restored, and they put new menus and a loading screen with Roger's bowtie spinning.

And if you have both the 15th anniversary DVD set and the Blu-ray DVD pack, you basically have the same thing. The DVD for the Blu-ray is the first disc of the 15th anniversary set repackaged without the film reel look.

I have not lost faith in this set. Because of it I saw a few things I didn't notice before. Like, when Eddie Valiant is in the elevator, and it's speeding up, in one shot you can see an outline of The Road Runner, and a few seconds later you can see an outline of Wile E. Coyote.


With news of The Stooge, I hope they will do more with the characters of Roger and Jessica. But right now, it looks a little bit lessened.

“The Return of Roger Rabbit” on MousePlanet

If you’re a hardcore Roger Rabbit fan like us, maybe you’d like to read this excellent article from Jim Korkis at MousePlanet. He give us all the info we know about the 25th. Anniversary of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, the gossips about the proposed sequels (Robert Zemeckis and Gary Wolf’s ones) and the troubled life or a rabbit which only purpose in life is making people laugh.

But he also interviews Gary Wolf about the motivation to write a new novel involving the wacky rabbit and his friends, the proposal for “The Stooge” and how he sees Roger Rabbit in his own mind. It’s definitively worth a read, so you can’t miss this article if you love good old Roger or if you want to know a little more about the man behind the rabbit =)

Toonbusters

Toonbusters by ~Itchyscratchy on deviantART

I really loved this great piece of art, and if you ask me I didn’t see this coming… But it actually works =)

Great job, Alex!! =3

Roger Rabbit back at Easter on Disneyland

Facebook fan page Characters Photos Blog recently published some interesting news: if those are true and not only rumors, then the Roger Rabbit costumed character will be back at Disneyland for the upcoming Easter season, along with his friends Br’er Rabbit (from Song of the South and Splash Mountain) and Mr. Easter Bunny himself. Also, he will be part of the “Happiness is Here Parade” on Tokyo Disneyland for the park’s 30th. anniversary. There is a slight chance he travels to Disneyland Paris too.

Let’s wait for a confirmation from official sources, but let’s hope for the best too =3

P.S. Thanks to ImNotBad.com for the info =D

Random Roger Rabbit news – Part Deux

Well, we can expect several new interviews with Charles Fleischer, Gary Wolf or any other person related to Roger Rabbit in the following days. Meanwhile, I’ll bring you the newest ones:

• Silas Lesnick from ComingSoon.net had a very interesting interview with Charles: half of it consists in the things we already know from previous interviews, but the other half is worth the read. Let’s say Charles Fleischer is “not just another rabbit” ;)
  
• BuzzFeed bring us a list of 20 interesting tidbits of trivia about “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”; many of them are well known to hardcore Roger Rabbit fans, but newest fans will find them amusing =)
  
• Flavorwire does a very extensive essay about the reasons “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” was a revolutionary film back in the eighties, and still remains as one of the greatest movies of all time. If you have enough time, I highly recommend you to give it a read.

Stay tooned for more news and interesting articles!! =3

Random Roger Rabbit news

Have you already got your Blu-ray copy of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit – 25th. Anniversary Edition” which was released yesterday? Not yet? Then you’d love to read the following links before going to your nearest store:

• William Bibbiani from Crave Online interviews Charles Fleischer; you can’t miss this interview since we can finally know how Roger Rabbit’s speech impediment is called, among other interesting tidbits about the movie production and his future interventions on the possible sequel(s).
  
• Then Cameron Meier from Orlando Weekly gets his own interview with Charles; it’s more or less like the previous interviews but it’s still worth a read.
  
• Mike Gencarelli from Media Mikes got his chance with Charles Fleischer too, discussing his own point of view about “The Stooge” (it’s all ‘puffery’, he says), the future of the “Roger Rabbit” sequel and his own theories about “Moleeds” and gamma-ray bursts.
  
• Ain’t It Cool News (sorry again guys) goes deeper into the new “The Stooge” poster artwork, reposting an interview made to conceptual artist Douglas Sirois: creator of that awesome piece of art. They also have been in touch with Gary Wolf, and he assures them “The Stooge” project is actually happening.

And in the least interesting history of the bunch… YES. I’M BACK =3

The Stooge poster

Gary Wolf has posted the poster art for The Stooge. Splendid, simply splendid! Digging that old-school painted look.

Charles Fleischer interviewed again.

In celebration of the film's 25th anniversary, NBC interviewed our old pal Charles Fleischer. So hurry over and check it out folks. 

Thanks again to Bunnyfriend for the heads up

Fleischer not sure about The Stooge

Charles Fleischer was interviewed by Slashfilm.com regarding "The Stooge", where he goes on to say it could be just a rumor.

But don't throw yerselves in the Dip yet kiddies, from the looks of things it seem he's just speculating. Based on what I've read so far the project is in it's very early stages, so there probably hasn't been any need to contact any voiceactors yet. So hold in there until we get more news on this. Keep your fingers and ears crossed and hope Gary Wolf can get Roger back in action again.

Thanks again to Bunnyfriend for the heads up.

The Dvd shelf movie reviews: Roger Rabbit

An in-depth review of our favorite film has been posted over at The Agony Booth. And this must be one of the best ones I've seen so far. In addition to expressing his love for the film, David Rose also go on to tell us about the making of it in great detail. A very enthusiastic video made by someone with great admiration for the film.

Roger Rabbit Cast reunion.

The Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science isn't letting the 25th anniversary of Who Framed Roger Rabbit go on unnoticed. They have a special celebration planned with the people behind the film. Check it out for yourselves over at Animation Magazine:

Academy Plans ‘Roger Rabbit’s’ 25th Anniversary Reunion

Thanks to our old pal Bunnyfriend for the news.

New Charles Fleischer interview

Don't worry about Bunnyfriend leaving. He's still contributing to the blog. He just sent me this new interview with Charles Fleischer.
 
Thanks, old buddy!

Roger Rabbit voiced by Duke Nukem?

Wow, you can find Roger Rabbit-related stuff in the strangest of places. Your old pal Al happens to be a big fan of Duke Nukem and while watching a interview with his voiceactor; Jon St. John I was quite surprised when he did a Roger Rabbit impression. And a darn good one to. He goes on to say the reason for doing this was because he used to stand in for Charles Fleischer. Quite an interesting bit of trivia there.


Skip to 17:20 to hear his Roger voice and again to 33:05.
Hail to the king baby!

Goodbye, Toontown. Bunnyfriend is out.

Friends and followers, I’m really sorry about my poor performance on this blog. I’ve ranted enough to fill a tall building with frustration and curse words. I’ve called people “liars” or “not professionals” when they were right from the very beginning. I’ve done a lot of harm to the Roger Rabbit fandom with my false assumptions and snobbism.

I’m sorry folks. Take my most sincere apologies.

+++++

From this moment, I’m stepping down as the webmaster of Toontown Antics. Instead, Alex will be the head of this blog.

Alex: I know this will be sudden and unexpected, but I also know from the bottom of my heart you’ll be fine with Toontown Antics. You’re a true Roger Rabbit fan, and about that old question of ours: yes, actually you do love Roger Rabbit more than I do.

Sorry fellas. I can’t take care of this place anymore. Thanks for all those years of support, laughter and hope. Maybe someday I’ll be back, but I can’t be sure. Keep Toontown alive and wacky for me.

Thanks guys. I’ll miss you. =’)

The fake news… Weren’t that fake after all

Maybe you’ve already read my latest rant about some online blogs giving as a fact the last entry on Gary Wolf’s blog about a buddy movie starring Roger Rabbit and Mickey Mouse, which will feature Walt Disney and a cameo by Orson Welles.

It was too good to be real, so I went full skeptic.

But, know what? It’s actually real, and it’s actually happening!!

A person who is closer to Gary Wolf than me (who wants to remain anonymous) told me those news are, in fact, real. “The Stooge” is an actual in-development project, which is being discussed with Disney and Pixar at this moment. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be greenlighted, but there’s a slight chance they pull the trigger and give “The Stooge” a try.

My most sincere apologies to Ain’t It Cool News and Bleeding Cool for my rant on the last entry of my blog. Also my most sincere apologies to Gary Wolf and his star columnist Walter Windchill.

This is the second time I rant about legit news that are actually happening. Maybe I should be less skeptic and more receptive to those kind of news.

Hey guys from Ain’t It Cool News and Bleeding Cool: do you realize than…?

…Those “news” posted in Gary Wolf’s blog about a Roger Rabbit movie, are not supposed to happen in real world?

If you can read carefully, the pen name of the guy writing the info is none other than Walter Windchill: a gossip columnist for the Toontown Telltale (some kind of tabloid on Toontown) who also will be one of the core characters in the upcoming novel “Who Wacked Roger Rabbit?” to be released later on this year. Walter was introduced in one of Gary’s blog earlier posts, and he’s posting in behalf of Gary Wolf some news to us Roger Rabbit fans in the real world, and some other news which only happen in the world of toons and wacky antics we know as Toontown.

Also, how in tarnation would you get Walt Disney and Orson Welles to star in a movie, without bringing’em from the dead via CGI or Mo-Cap? And without bringing a load of lawsuits and hurt feelings from their fans, relatives, heirs and estate owners?

Finally, just read the entry. Really. This isn’t meant to be taken seriously. And I mean, seriously as “is this really happening?”.

Shame on you Ain’t It Cool News and Bleeding Cool. Get your facts checked before posting this kind of “fake” news (which are fake to us, but very real for people in Toontown, you know ;) ).

WFRR 2 is again dead: NOT THIS S**T AGAIN

ImNotBad.com tipped me about Zemeckis finally giving a full explanation of his cryptic answer at the UK premiere of his latest movie, “Flight”, in which he confirms “Roger Rabbit 2” is shelved.

Yes, again. Like, ever.

Full info on Bleeding Cool’s article about this matter.

P.S. The only thing I can think now are curse words, so I apologize for the short entry. Hope this pic can express how dissapointed I am:

WFRR 2: Zemeckis’ crew says “IT’S ON”, Zemeckis itself says “NO WAY”… WHAT’S GOING ON?

Color us confused right now.

Bleeding Cool posted a couple of videos: one of those is very uplifting for the ones which (like us) are waiting the long-delayed sequel of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, while the other leaves us severely confused and annoyed, to say the least.

In the first one, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey (producing partners of Robert Zemeckis) confirm there’s a “Roger Rabbit 2” in the works and that also the recently-retired Bob Hoskins “is ready to do it” (they talk about the possibility of bringing him with digital technology):

Meanwhile, the other video shows Bob Zemeckis denying any kind of sequel to Roger Rabbit, which makes us wonder: we know that possibly there won’t be a sequel, BUT a prequel (like the last failed attempts back in the 90’s), so… Is he being cryptic, like always? Or does he know something we don’t know about how Disney is considering a sequel to WFRR?:

Make your own conclusions, fellas. With the recent shelving of “Yellow Submarine”, it will no wonder us that RR2 will be canned… For the third time. Let’s hope for the best anyway.

Thanks to ImNotBad.com for the tip!

Zemeckis gives up on Yellow Submarine

Most people probably saw this coming, but here is the official statement from the man himself anyway. A recent article over at Wegotthiscovered.com reports that Robert Zemeckis' controversial Yellow Submarine remake is dead as a doornail.

It seems the negative feedback from Beatles fans and the unsuccessful Mars needs moms have gotten to him and he has no interest in remaking it anymore.

This could be good news for us Roger fans however since now he will hopefully have more time to complete RR2.

Puh-puh-puh PLEASE! My beginning

Hello everybody,

I'm sort of the new person on the blog. I'm Daniel. I'm a roleplayer for Roger, which I helped with the interview post as the character. I also am a writer, and am kind of skilled with things such as cartoon writing. My favorite Toons are Roger, Oswald and Bugs, for rabbits, but others include Daffy, Jessica and Horace Horsecollar. My first post is about my fandom of Roger and the world of Toontown in general.

My story of the Roger fandom started when I was 4. I got a tape of The Best of Roger Rabbit, which featured the 3 shorts Tummy Trouble, Roller Coaster Rabbit and Trail Mix-up. I had to say, I loved them. Roger, of course, was the best part. But when I was 6, I finally saw the movie, and it scared me. But, 2 years later, I found a whole site of Roger stuff, and I became a fan. That same year, I got the 20th anniversary DVD. It was my first DVD ever, and I loved it. The film was much better and less scarier than I remembered, and it gave me a good feeling of happiness, which I had not felt since I saw movies and other cartoons before it, like the Looney Tunes shorts and the Mickey Mouse and Disney movies. My dream, however, was to one day visit Disneyland's Mickey's Toontown and see the sights that the movie brought us into the park. But, when I went to Disney World, I saw Mickey's Toontown Fair. It closed down in 2011, and is now a new part of Fantasyland. I never forgot anything about it. But, I never got the one thing I wanted, a chance to interact with the character. When I became 16, I found out about a mailing service where you can send a letter to a Disney character, and you got a signed photo back. My first choice was, of course, the Rabbit from Toontown himself, Roger.

Of course, more recently, I became engaged, and our honeymoon will be taking me to Disneyland and Toontown. But, this Christmas, I got the one thing I had wanted. A Roger Rabbit doll.

That is my experience with the world of Toontown and Roger and Jessica.

I will never forget it.

Your pal,

Daniel Kimbrell

Happy Holidays to everyone!!

Your friends @ Toontown Antics wish you the most Happiest Holidays!! Hope you’re getting a lot of fun and gifts, huh-huh!! =3

P.S. This awesome pic belongs to Loren Javier, p-p-p-please pay him a visit! ;)

WFRR on Blu-ray gets official release date –YAY!

Do you remember this?

Well, it seems we’re finally getting a release date for this much-awaited Blu-ray: some little bird shared with me the following link, in which we learn “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” will get its Blu-ray release on March 12, 2013 (of course, if mayan prophecies let us live for that, huh-huh!) and it will get basically the same extras already loaded on the Vista Series DVD release.

Aaaaand where’s the link, you might wonder? Well, here it is!

Stitch Kingdom - 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' Comes to Eye-Popping Blu-ray on March 12, 2013

Stay tooned folks! =D

Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? – Third Roger Rabbit book, soon to be published!

It seems Roger Rabbit is on the news again! Now I found some info from two different sources (here and there), which tell us that Gary K. Wolf, the very-well-known creator of Roger Rabbit, Toontown and the prolific pen holder behind “Who Censored Roger Rabbit?” and “Who P-p-p-plugged Roger Rabbit?”, is releasing a new novel named “Who Wacked Roger Rabbit?” thru Musa Publishing, an independent digital publisher (which means the next novel will be an e-book).

Here’s a quick synopsis of it:

The novel reunites all the old fan favorites—Eddie Valiant, his fuzzy sidekick Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman, and Roger’s va-va-voom mate Jessica, who continue their madcap human and Toonian adventures. This time, Eddie is hired to bodyguard for Gary Cooper and Roger Rabbit, the stars of a new movie that’s been receiving dire threats—shut down the film or else.

As with the previous novels, we’re expecting a whole load of wacky antics, elaborated puns and a well-written story with some twists and unexpected surprises. I’ve already read “Who Censored Roger Rabbit?” and although I got “Who P-p-p-plugged Roger Rabbit?” as an e-book, haven’t read it yet. After knowing about this new novel, maybe I should ;)

UPDATE: Here’s the press release about this new novel, in Gary Wolf’s own website:

http://www.garywolf.com/press-whowackedrogerrabbit.php

So we’re now absolutely sure the news are true =3

Zemeckis spills some more details.

Robert Zemeckis is in the news again. This time assuring us the toons won't be CGI, and that it will not be set in modern times. So I guess that means they'll stick with the classic and timeless cartoon characters like Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies again. Sounds like good news to me.
Read all about it at Joblo.com

A little clear-up about WFRR getting the 3D treatment

Some days ago, I published that NME was reporting “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” is going to be re-released on November 2013 as a 3D feature.

Sure they don’t have any back-up to their claims, but I know those NME guys and they take things seriously; in fact they own one of the most renowned music and media magazines among alternative audiences, and they usually don’t post false claims (whey they do, they promptly apologize).

Jessica’s owner Jarrod claims it is too soon to cheer up and advise us to take these news with a grain of salt (in fact, I got an e-mail for him asking about the core source of this tidbit of info) and maybe he’s right, since there it comes this sudden revelation out of nowhere. Even I had my own doubts when the trailer of the upcoming Blu-ray release of WFRR was premiered on a YouTube fan channel instead of an official Disney website, until I was proved wrong by the guys at Open Vault Disney.

You know me people. I’ve passed a lot of supposed Roger Rabbit news that are just rehashes of the old news we already know, while another ones are just plain dumb, silly and without any credible backup. My intention isn’t giving you false hopes or try to get more hits telling lies, which only will hurt the reputation I and Alex have gained thru all those years. In fact, after all those years of false starts and empty promises, I still fear we won’t gonna get a prequel, a sequel or even an affordable piece of memorabilia. Heck, I’m even sick of just staring at those Jessica Rabbit statues which cost an arm and a leg to get! Where’s Roger? Oh, yeah, I forgot: he’s not sexy or “hot”. He’s just a dumb old bunny that a lot of people consider obnoxious.

Okay, that was enough ranting for a while. My point is: let’s wait until these news get confirmed. If they are false, I’ll promptly apologize to all of you, expecting some of my credibility will be gone to the trash bin. But let’s hope they are true =)

2D art of 3D Roger found.

Remember the video with the CGI Roger? Cause then you might get a case of Deja vu from this image:

This drawing was found at the Living Lines blog I linked to in a recent post, but the date and the name of the artist indicates it was not made for the original film but the failed sequel attempt.

Rewatch the video and you can see the poses Roger makes are the same as in the drawing above.

“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” goes 3D in 2013

More good news coming, fellas! NME Magazine catches on the sequel buzz, but also tell us that the original movie, the one which started it all, the one and only “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” is getting a 3D re-release in November 2013 (roughly more than a year ahead) to mark the celebrations of the movie’s 25th. Anniversary.

Aren’t you excited to see the funny bunny and his friends in 3D? Because sure I am! =D

Finally! Some news about “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” sequel

Finally some sequel of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” could happen, says Showbiz 411’s Roger Friedman, who interviewed Robert Zemeckis about his upcoming live-action movie “Flight”.

Basically the article says Zemeckis has submitted a script to Disney executives, which are in a kind of settle-down moment after Alan Horn got the big chair at the Mouse House. He also says he’s feeling sad about Bob Hoskins’ retirement, but he still believes the sequel project it’s on the go despite the loss of “Eddie Valiant”.

Are you as optimistic as Robert Zemeckis? Do you think a sequel without Bob Hoskins could work? Would they resurrect Rick Flint, the detective from Roger Rabbit’s comic magazines? Are we there yet, actually?

P-p-p-p-please share your opinions, I’ll be eager to discuss them! =D

Another cute Roger Rabbit custom doll

Jarrod from ImNotBad.com sent me several weeks ago this pic featuring a cute, one-of-a-kind Roger Rabbit doll sewn by a very talented person who used to work for Disney some time ago. She won’t be sewing another one, but you can get some inspiration from this cute doll and sew/cobble/commission your own.

It would be awesome if she decides to sew Jessica, Baby Herman or Benny the Car, but even if she doesn’t this incredible Roger doll is enough proof of her abilities and love for Roger =3

Thanks for the awesome find, Jarrod! =)

Roger Rabbit Book & movie comparison.

Posting a review I found on youtube that compares the book and movie and shows the differences and similarities between them. Enjoy!

Want more Roger Rabbit stuff? YOU GOT IT!

Well, well it's been a lifetime since we posted something here. But now, thanks to a helpful fan we got something interesting to blog about again.

Check out this link

At the above link you will find a treasure chest of Roger Rabbit stuff. Storyboards, production sketches, animation cells, character designs, model sheets and lots of other behind the scenes art that even the most hardcore Roger fan like myself have never seen before.

A big thanks to Jeffery Cook for telling me about this.

Bob Hoskins says goodbye to acting – Farewell, Eddie Valiant

Well, I…

I didn’t see this coming.

Bob Hoskins, our Eddie Valiant in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” is retiring from acting duties. Sadly he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease last autumn, and as time passes and his disease keeps developing, he won’t be able to deliver any more of his quality performances on movies, TV or theater.

Parkinson’s Disease has also gotten other well-known celebrities like Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali. Hoskins will spend more time with his family, out of the spotlights, in a more private and less-demanding lifestyle.

Frankly I don’t have enough words to tell you how devastated I feel for these news. We were expecting him to reprise his role in the in-works sequel of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, but sadly this won’t be happening. But I fully understand why he took this painful decision, and I really wish him the best. In fact, I’m very thankful for all the great moments I’ve had with every one of his roles on movies (as Smee in “Hook”, the villainous Bart in “Unleashed”, Mr. Fezziwig in “A Christmas’ Carol” and even as Mario in the infamous “Super Mario Bros.”,  among others).

Farewell Eddie Valiant, our grumpy old friend. Toontown will never be the same without you. You’ll live forever in our hearts.

News source: comingsoon.net

Toontown Antics EXCLUSIVE! – A funny interview with Roger Rabbit

How’re you, fellas? If you’re still here, that means you’re hardcore fans of Roger Rabbit, his movie or his friends/foes. Maybe the last couple of years have been all slow with news related with the zany bunny or the much-rumored sequel/prequel/whatever they’re giving us, but today that’s gonna change for good!

We’ve got a very special exclusive for all of you! Don’t ask us how (since we still don’t know how it happened), but we’ve managed to get a very funny interview with the honey bunny, the long-eared buffoon, the A-list toon comedian, the… Well, you know who’re we talking about: the one and only Roger Rabbit! =D

Roger gave us the chance to ask him 10 questions about his personal life, upcoming projects and any other things we were curious about; since his time was a little limited (you know, being a rabbit celebrity ain’t easy) we couldn’t ask enough questions; besides at some point he started tickling us heavily and we had to surrender to him XD

Well, what are we waiting for? Here’s the…

SUPER DUPER FUNNY JEEPER-LICIOUS ROGER RABBIT INTERVIEW WITH TOONTOWN ANTICS! ™
(now with more gags and laughter, batteries not included)

Interviewer: Juan Carlos Estrada (Bunnyfriend)

 

Greetings, Roger!
Know I've been delaying this interview a lot, but I wasn't sure about the kind of questions I should ask you... Then, I realized I can ask you anything, since you're Roger Rabbit!
Well, let's get things started, shall we? I'll leave you all these questions, and I'll await for your replies. Take your time, no hurries here. Okay, here we go!

1) You are a well-known, very respected character in the animation industry... Did you ever imagine you would achieve this kind of success and the fame and stardom they bring with it?

Roger: Jeepers, I nevah thought I would get dis much suppoaht. I just thought da movie was gonna be a minor success, and ta my shock, it made ovah a billion dollahs worldwide! Den I was put in da pahk wit' my costars Mickey and my hero Donald Duck! It was an honor ta get my own section a da pahk and da ride Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. I thought people stopped caring aftah all dis time, but den I found you'ah blog!

2) Was there any moment in which you thought: "Jeepers, I'm actually not made for this... Maybe Id' be happier selling boxed cereal or Easter supplies"?

Roger: Nevah. I always wanted ta woik in Cahtoons! No mattah what, I wanted ta woik alongside my fathah, Bugs Bunny!

3) We know you and Jessica are one of the weirdest couples in entertainment industry, but somehow it works... She says "because he (you) makes me laugh", but there must be any other secret to keep your loving relationship so tightly tied. Would you mind to keep that secret with us, or is actually some kind of "top-secret"?
Roger: If ya knew how many times I have been asked dis question....... but I'll answah it da way I always do. Jessica and I ahe da most interesting Toon couple because a one fact. I was weak, and a rabbit, and a just general crazy Toon, and Jessica was strong willed and just generally beautiful. One thing ya didn't know is dat I got her ta be da way ya know her now. Ovah da time until I asked her ta marry me, she ended up becomin' less like da secretary she was befoah we met, and moah like she is now. Den, when we got married, she became da way she is as da fans know her.

4) Since your movie and theatrical shorts were released, we haven't see much of you or your friends lately. Are still there working in the industry? Would they be available if some given day the directors decide it's time to "toon in" again?
Roger: Oh, ta tell ya da truth, I have no idea how ta answer dis one. All I can say is dat if somebody wants me and my friends in Toontown ta do anothah thing togethah, then we will do da best we can ta make it da way we learned how ta do it in da 30's and 40's. Da way everybody loves us ta do it.

5) And that leads me to the following question: we know there are several failed attempts to bring you back from your semi-retirement. Do you think we could see you again in the silver screen in a near future?
Roger: I have been hearin' about a sequal fah yeahs. It nevah happened. But I have been hearin' somethin' about me comin' back ta da Disney pahks, but I doubt it.

6) Do toons age? If yes, why? If not, why?
Roger: We only age if people stop laughin'. Think about dis, Mickey is in his 80's yet he don't look a day oldah den he did in da 40's. Bugs is also in his 80's, yet he looks da same. I wish I could say da same about Slappy Squirrel.

7) I've heard you and Jessica are expecting a baby boy or girl... How would you name him/her? Do you think it will look entirely like you, like Jessica, or a mix between both of us? And how's Jessica taking this charming gift of love? (by the way Roger: GOOD JOB!)
Roger: Oh, we've decided fah a boy Roger JR., and for a girl Loretta Ortensia. Da girl's middle name is aftah my hero Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's wife.

8) What do you think about Bugs Bunny almost being your dad in one of the failed "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" prequels? Have you asked uncle Thumper if Bugs is actually related to you?
Roger: Yes. Bugs is my fathah, Thumpah is my uncle, but one thing dat wasn't mentioned is ALL Toon rabbits are related, by eithah marriage or blood. Buster and Babs recently got married, and Buster is my cousin.

9) How's your life right now? What are you doing for a living?
Roger: My life is goin' really well actually. I woik fah Disney. I am da assistant ta Mickey Mouse himself.

10) Finally, is there something you wanna say to your fans around the world?
Roger: Thanks fah supportin' me and my wife and all my friends fah yeahs! I love ya all!

*He gives Bunnyfriend a big cartoony kiss*

Well, there are all the questions. Hope I'm not bothering you too much, Rog. You know I love you dude, but I'm not the only one: several other people also love you and your crazy antics. Never change Roger!
Greetings from Mexico!!

+++++

And there it is! Did you like it? Do you want to ask Roger some more questions? Then go ahead and ask him anything you want! You’ll get tons of laugh and fun there! =D

I’ll swallow my words – Blu-ray release is official

http://www.gamezone.com/news/roger-rabbit-hitting-blu-ray-like-a-ton-of-bricks
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/07/04/trailer-who-framed-roger-rabbit-25th-anniversary-blu-ray/
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=34464

Okay, seems that video from my last entry wasn’t a fakie after all. Anyone could pass me the salt shaker, a toast and some butter? My words taste a little funny…

Don’t get too carried away by this video (RE-UPDATED)

It came to my attention some sites were featuring this video as a legit trailer for a Blu-ray release of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in 2013:

Let’s see: this is a rather well-done trailer, with the requisite green rating screen from MPAA, appropiate lettering in the text bullets and a very nice edition.

BUT…

There’s not Touchstone or Disney logo at the beginning, there aren’t any credits or disclaimers at the end of the trailer, and it was uploaded to a regular YouTube account, instead of being promoted on Disney or Touchstone’s YouTube channels.

ALSO…

It mentions the Blu-ray will include remastered versions of the three theatrical animated shorts, which doesn’t make sense if they aren’t  remastering the whole original movie, the big enchilada, the hot tamale as well. In fact, actual footage from the movie looks like straight from the DVD releases, in all its grainy low-res glory. Obviously, theatrical shorts are the best looking of all the bunch since they’re fully animated (except for the 1 minute or so ending on each one) and they were released after WFRR proved to be a huge success.

SO…

Keep your hopes low, buddies. As I can see, this is a well-done fan trailer, but nothing else. Don’t believe everything you see on Internet, and do a little more research before getting carried away, as a couple of websites I’ve caught red-handed.

If you have a little more info about this particular video, or if you think this is an actual proof we will be getting an official Blu-ray release of WFRR, you can leave a comment and we will discuss about this.

UPDATE! 

I got some feedback from Matt (who manages Open Vault Disney) and he clarifies about the source of the vid and some of its features:

Juan Carlos Estrada, the trailer was included on the recent Blu-ray releases of 'Phenomenon' and 'Step-Up'. Also, there is no mention of restored trailers but rather the three theatrically released shorts. The reason it's from a personal account is due to it being ripped from the actual blu-ray. Disney is also notorious for using old transfers for new releases (case and point, 'Alice in Wonderland 60th Anniversary Edition', which used the Masterpiece Edition transfer for it's trailer,as well as countless other Disney releases over the last decade). I assure you that Open Vault Disney does check on it's news stories, and that as a former Newspaper writer I'm well aware of the process. Once Disney does do a press release, which we expect will come sometime in the second quarter, we'll be sure to include it.~Matt

As I don’t own those Blu-ray releases, and I’m still skeptical about the theatrical shorts being restored instead of the main movie, I can’t confirm or deny his statement. Also, how could Disney release a trailer about an upcoming release without giving it a proper press coverage? I’m still open to a friendly discussion about this matter.

UPDATE 2!

As more and more sites pick this video for their articles, it seems the news about the Blu-ray release of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” are legit! You gotta understand I was quite doubtful of those claims since, as a hardcore Roger Rabbit fan, I’ve been deceived a lot of times with empty promises and fake news. This time news are apparently real, so let’s wait for the newest release of Roger’s movie! =3

I absolutely love when…

Online media and blogs get crazy about a Roger Rabbit early pencil test we posted BACK IN 2009. We went there first, Screen Crush, GeekTyrant and io9 ;)

Coolest Roger Rabbit plushie ever

Usually at eBay you can find the most common Roger Rabbit collectibles, and once in a while there appears some of the rarest items related to the zany rabbit.

But I’ve never seen nothing as cute and awesome as this:

According to the description of this plushie, his height is about 15 inches and it’s fully poseable (arms, legs, ears and hands). It’s an item from Tokyo Disneyland and it looks like new, and if you ask me is the most faithful rendition of Roger Rabbit in a plushie I’ve ever seen =)

You can bid on this one clicking on the next link:

Disney Tokyo Disneyland Toontown Roger Rabbit Poseable Plush

(US bidders only; sadly the seller doesn’t ship internationally)

Some Not-So-Much seen Roger Rabbit art

Jarrod from ImNotBad.com sent us some weeks ago those neat pictures, depicting rare RR artwork that was probably used in promotional material for Disneyland’s and WDW events. At least the first one was actually used for Roger’s first Christmas celebration at Disneyland, and the second one appears on a brochure about WDW’s 20th anniversary (this illustration was placed over a picture of Epcot’s Spaceship Earth). All pieces were sold back in 2003 on Disney Auctions. So here they are:

My personal favorites are #2 and #3, but all of them are quite cool =)

Roger Rabbit’s (brief) comeback to Disneyland

Recently at Disneyland was celebrated the 20th. Anniversary of Fantasmic, in an event exclusive to annual passholders. As you might know, Fantasmic is a very innovative water, music and fireworks show which is conducted by Mickey Mouse. It’s one of Disney Parks’ favorite shows and it has evolved thru all those years. It features several well-known characters from the Disney universe and at some point Roger Rabbit was featured among the cast, but as his popularity waned away he was pulled out from the cast.

So, it was truly a surprise to the attendants of this particular event when in the Grand Finale a Roger Rabbit costumed character appeared among his Disney buddies again!!

Here are some pictures taken by Flickr user jaysquivel, who gave us permission to use them:

There’s also a neat video featuring stills from the event and the Grand Finale, from YouTube user TheCrushinDarkness:

Although it was for some brief moments, it’s great to see Roger again at Disneyland =D

Darkwing Duck does the Roger Rabbit too!

I don’t quite understand why took me too long to spot THIS:

If you look into the picture, among the load of alternate versions of Darkwing Duck (in what seems to be a parody of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”) you can spot a Roger Rabbit-looking Darkwing Duck wielding nothing less than the singing sword! Then, you can catch some other references to various movies, cartoons or comics which are enough to keep you busy for a while.

I found this interesting vignette on Captain Comics’ forum, specifically on this discussion. Even you can find another extract from the same comic issue, in which you can spot several more parodies of well-known characters. Worth the read!

Roger Rabbit goes to Springfield

If you head over to Tebeos de los Simpsons you'll find a parody of The Simpsons from Cracked Magazine where Roger has a cameo. It's a amusing story with lots of in-jokes and fun art.

This is, probably and undeniably, the most complete WFRR collection EVER!

Some years ago I’ve found some old videos about a certain Montreal collector who seems to own almost every single piece of merchandising related to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, which includes some rare foreign items, lots of magazines and related articles in them, and of course some exclusive collectibles and household items which I didn’t know that existed.

The last thing I knew was that he was trying to sell his entire collection (not parts of it: the whole enchilada or nothing), and it seems he’s going serious about it again. Just look at all those items in the video above --of course, if you can: it is a very quick sneak peek of this guy’s awesome collection and if you blink you can miss some interesting stuff.

Maybe we can’t be able to buy all that Roger-Rabbitness, but watching it doesn’t hurt either ;)

A story from behind the scenes

Andreas Deja, a animator who worked on Who Framed Roger Rabbit posted some drawings of a scene he animated and talks about how the experience was.
Check it out.

New Roger Rabbit review

Bunnyfriend wanted me to post this new review by the Nostalgia Critic.


And don't worry, it is a positive one.

Roger Rabbit on Ice

Jarrod (webmaster of ImNotBad.com) was kind enough to let me share with you those amazing scans from the book of “Disney on Ice”, an ice-skating show that toured America around 1990 in which Roger Rabbit and the characters from “Duck Tales”, “Rescue Rangers” and other Disney cartoons were featured.

You’ll find that some of the official art from the movie was recycled, but there are also some neat drawings and pictures that give you a slight glimpse of the costumed characters and sets from the wandering show.

Click in each thumbnail to open the full-sized images:

Sure being a kid in the late 80’s / early 90’s was totally radical! =D

Vinylmation Roger Rabbit figure gonna knock your socks off!

Disney revealed in their Vinylmation Official Facebook page a glimpse of an upcoming Roger Rabbit figure. Yes, you’re reading right fellas: Roger Rabbit is back –at least, in the form of a cute Vinylmation figure!!

Here it is, in all his mouse-shaped glory:

Obviously his ears look quite small (ain’t gonna fit those huge ears in that mousey ears), his facial expression is somewhat awkward and somehow he ended with 4 toes in each foot when he only had three… But hey! He looks adorable and I want one RITE NAO.

What do you think of this one? Maybe this could be the beginning of better things to come! We Roger Rabbit fans deserve some attention too! ;)

Say NO to SOPA / PIPA

Get more info an learn how to stop Internet censorship on http://americancensorship.org/

Don't you wanna see this blog dissapear, right?
Do the right thing, DON'T BE A WEASEL!

No, we didn’t forget about our…

Yup, we’ve just had our 3rd. Anniversary last friday!
I’m a little late, but better late than never, huh-huh!!

Every anniversary I write some words thanking for your support in good times and also through bad times, but this time I won’t write an incredibly long, boring and redundant textwall. It’s time to celebrate!!

Thanks for bringing us a smile every single day, Roger Rabbit!

P.S. I still love you <3

New old news

Old news, but it's first time I have heard of this so I figure I might as well post it to fill in those who haven't heard of it.
Earlier last year, in October actress Paula Patton reported on her site that she was going to play a character named "Witch Boom" in Roger Rabbit 2. Possibly a relative of or character similar to Judge Doom judging from the name.
This was before it was reported the sequel was getting stalled so I'm not sure if it's still happening.
Thanks to commenter Philip for letting us know.

It’s official: Roger Rabbit 2 is being “dipped” again

There aren’t any surprises here, after tons of promises about getting a sequel from our favorite movie and being dissapointed again and again.

As ImNotBad.com reports, “Roger Rabbit 2” got stalled since the script from the proposed sequel is taking too long to be settled, and producers Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg aren’t willing to get into Robert Zemeckis’ project by the moment. Put into Kathleen Kennedy’s words:

“We’ve attempted a script, but it’s not really moving forward right now,” said Kennedy. “That’s not to say it won’t in the future, but there’s no spotlight on it now.”

Yup: no Roger Rabbit 2. We saw this coming.

You can read the full note on ImNotBad.com or /Film.

Roger on auction

I don't think we ever posted this video here, at least not according to the blog search function.
Here is a interview from British television with Richard Williams and Charles Fleischer regarding an auction where animation cells from the film were sold.

Roger Rabbit model sheet revisited

Not much to report nowadays since Zemeckis is still quiet as the grave regarding the sequel. But luckily I found something else to blog about.
A while back I uploaded a modelsheet I traced from a low resolution picture. Well, I recently got hold of some more Roger Rabbit comics and one of them has a official, in-depth model sheet.

A very special Roger Rabbit day

In an earlier post I wrote about the lack of updates on Toontown Antics, mainly because there aren’t a lot of news and info about Roger Rabbit out there. I apologized because I want to keep this blog up and running, but without info, images or valuable bits of trivia is almost impossible.

Then, thanks to Roger himself I suddenly remembered why I created this blog a couple of years ago.

Out of nowhere, I found a very clean, mint talking Roger Rabbit doll: so mint it looks like new! (and still talks great)

I was so thrilled about this find, that I remembered how I felt the same way when I got my first Roger Rabbit doll, almost 5 years ago. It was the same emotion, the same happiness, the same “oh-my-gosh-i-can’t-believe-i-got-it” feeling I got in that time… When I actually needed a reason to smile.

Then, I got another find: a new copy of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” since mine is a little worn-out (you know: I watched that movie dozens of times, and I can’t get tired of it).

Finally, at home, my friend Alex surprised me with a “new” Roger Rabbit illustration which I shared with all of you fellas.

And after all those neat finds, I remembered why I created Toontown Antics: because I wanted to share those neat emotions with all Roger Rabbit fans. Because I needed to share all my knowledge and points of view about Roger and his friends (and foes). Because I had hopes this blog would become a common place for fans of the movie and its characters, or fans of traditional animation as well. And of course: because I love Roger Rabbit <3

Today was my very special Roger Rabbit day. And thanks to that, Toontown Antics gets another chance =3

More Roger Rabbit unknown art coming out!

Well, in first place let me apologize for the lack of updates on this blog. I never abandoned Toontown Antics, but I’ve had a hard time gathering new info, images or tidbits of trivia related to our favorite and beloved wacky rabbit. Sooooo…

Let’s say I’ve had a very special day today (guess I’ll gonna talk about it in another blog entry) and my old friend and co-admin Alex topped it with a nice surprise that I want to share with all my fellas:

While wandering around the intertubes, Alex found the personal blog of Pete Emslie, who’s a cartoonist and illustrator that worked for Walt Disney World’s marketing department between 1990 and 1994. As many of you remember, Walt Disney World celebrated its 20th. Anniversary back in 1991 and it was a HUGE celebration which involved Roger Rabbit in a very prominent role, since he was the big star of Disney at the time (even bigger than Mickey Mouse, you know). So he was displayed everywhere and even got a huge inflatable figure roaming around the place (recycled from Disneyland’s 35th. Anniversary). It was natural for Pete to use him for a series of promotional prints regarding the theme park’s anniversary, so he pulled out a very neat illustration which you can see here:

Surprising, isn’t it?

If you want to get the full illustration and also read some of the background story related to it, then you can go to The Cartoon Cave (Pete Emslie’s personal blog) or click on the above image, and get all the details =)

Thanks, Alex!

Nostalgia Critic made my rabbits famous!

Do you see the embedded video above? What appears to be a regular “Nostalgia Critic” review about “The Tommyknockers”, turned into the way to stardom for some of my Roger Rabbit dolls.

How?

Well… Press play on the video and skip to minute 3:39 and meet some of my rabbits! (They’ll be displayed behind Nostalgia Critic).

Of course, none of my dolls can talk… But it’s funny how Doug Walker picked my favorite rabbit of the bunch (in fact, the first RR doll I’ve got) and made him “talk” XD

In fact, I’m wondering where did he get that picture with all my rabbits…

Disclaimer: I must insist: he actually doesn’t talk… Or at least, I think so  o_0

Thanks to Alex for the heads-up!! =3