Roger Rabbit 2 (found production material of cancelled prequels to live-action/animated film; late 1989-1990s)

Roger Rabbit in an animated pitch test from 1998, for the intended prequel/sequel.

Status: Found

Date found: 24 Sep 2013 (Toon Platoon) / 22 Jan 2021 (Who Discovered Roger Rabbit?)

Found by: Unknown (Toon Platoon) and KiraHead, YoshiKiller2S (Who Discovered Roger Rabbit?)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit has had several prequel projects planned, all of which would have been direct-to-video. The idea of a prequel was thought of by the production team as early as the late 1980s, after the original movie's release, but for various reasons, none of them have been fully created.

Roger Rabbit 2: The Toon Platoon

The first idea for a prequel was Roger Rabbit 2: The Toon Platoon.

Set during World War II, the story would have involved a young Roger Rabbit rescuing Jessica Rabbit from the Nazis and ended with the revelation that Roger’s father is Bugs Bunny.

However, Steven Spielberg decided to cancel the project after working on Schindler's List, feeling that humorous portrayals of the Nazis would be disrespectful to the victims of the Holocaust.

Who Discovered Roger Rabbit?

In the late 1990s, the idea of a Roger Rabbit prequel was brought back to life, with Steven Spielberg heading it again.

No longer involving the Nazis, this new prequel idea would have been called Who Discovered Roger Rabbit?, and the story now revolved around Roger's rise to stardom on Broadway and in Hollywood. This new project would have had CGI along with the expected live-action mixed with traditional animation. The animation would have been developed by Jim Pentecost, who produced Pocahontas.

Due to a projected budget that was simply too high and "then-current studio politics", this project was also discontinued.

Aftermath

A 10-second animation "pitch test" from 1998, marked Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2, was leaked online. The short simply featured a prancing Roger Rabbit. It was revealed to have been directed by veteran animator Eric Goldberg, who confirmed the cancellation of the project and specified that the new 3D-animation technique he developed for this test was then later used for the Magic Lamp Theater, a 3D attraction at the Japan-based Tokyo DisneySea amusement park. Any other material that could have been produced for either project is unknown.

In 2008, the song "This Only Happens In The Movies" was released on the debut album of Kerry Butler, a Broadway actress. The song has been credited to Alan Menken, and is one of five songs he wrote for "Who Discovered Roger Rabbit." The other four songs have not been found.

Additionally, in 2009, there were rumors that a Roger Rabbit sequel was being worked on by Robert Zemeckis, but these rumors haven't been confirmed and nothing has come from them either way. It is suspected the sequel was underway at ImageMovers Digital, which fell through after the commercial failure of Mars Needs Moms in 2011.

Status

On September 24th, 2013 The full script for Roger Rabbit 2: The Toon Platoon was found and uploaded online by an unknown user.

Then on January 22nd, 2021, the script for Who Discovered Roger Rabbit? was found by Lost Media Wiki user YoshiKiller2S after getting it from a script collector.

Gallery

Roger Rabbit CGI test from 1998.

"This Only Happens In The Movies" as it appears on Kerry Butler's album.

"This Only Happens In The Movies" as performed by Alan Menken at Destination Disney.

Scribbles to Screen's video on the subject.

External Links

• Cartoonbrew article about the animation test, and Eric Goldberg's reply to it.