Roger Rabbit Director Says A Sequel Never Happened Because Of Jessica Rabbit
Hey, she's not bad; she's just drawn that way...
Without question, my favorite movie of the Disney oeuvre is 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit (and, yes, I'm aware that it's technically a Touchstone movie).
It's a brilliant concept, funny, and cutting-edge, which begs the question: how — in an era in which Hollywood is obsessed with cranking out sequels — did Roger Rabbit not get that kind of love? Especially since it is regarded as a classic and did well at the box office.
Well, the film's director, Robert Zemeckis, has a theory, and it centers on Roger Rabbit's red-headed wife, Jessica Rabbit.
*AWWHOOOOOOOOOOGAAAAAA!*
*Cartoon eyes pop out of sockets*
According to the director, the Kathleen Turner-voiced character is just a bit too sexy for the modern version of The Walt Disney Company.
"There's a good script sitting at Disney, but here's what you have to know, the current Disney would never make Roger Rabbit today," Zemeckis said during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, per Daily Mail.
<i>Who Framed Roger Rabbit</i> director Robert Zemeckis said in a recent interview that Disney wouldn't do a sequel to the film because of Jessica Rabbit.
The acclaimed director — who also directed the Back to the Future trilogy — said that he thinks this is because of the Jessica Rabbit character, known for her signature curvaceousness and revealing red dress.
"They can't make a movie with Jessica in it. So the [Peter] Seaman and [Jeffrey] Price sequel script isn't ever going to see the light of day, as good as it is," Zemeckis said.
As strange as it sounds, given that they already made the first movie, Zemeckis had an example. He noted the way Jessica Rabbit was dressed when featured in Disney theme parks.
"Look what they did to Jessica at the theme park, they trussed her in a trench coat," he said.
However, if the opportunity to make a long-awaited sequel to the original, Zemeckis says he wouldn't budge on this front and would instead follow in the footsteps of the late Walt Disney (who I bet would probably be all about Jessica Rabbit, but that's speculation).
"I'm making [a sequel to] Roger Rabbit the way I believe Walt Disney would have made it," he said. "Walt Disney never made any of his movies for children. He always made them for adults. And that's what I decided to do with Roger Rabbit."
He raises a good point. Maybe it's best that a sequel never happened.
If they did it today, they'd probably find a way to ruin it.