One of the things that makes
Who Framed Roger Rabbit special is that it had non-Disney-owned cartoon characters appear in a Disney film. How did that happen? Producer Steven Spielberg has some clout and he negotiated deals with Warner Bros., Fleischer Studios, King Features Syndicate, Felix the Cat Productions, Turner Entertainment, and Universal Pictures/Walter Lantz Productions. Sadly, not every famous cartoon character made it into the film. Notably left out of the mix were Popeye characters, Tom and Jerry, and Casper the Friendly Ghost. All of them would've appeared in a sequence set at Marvin Acme's funeral, but it was cut due to pacing concerns. Storyboards for this scene recently surfaced on
EBay. As you can see below, Bluto, Elmer Fudd, Herman the Mouse, Felix the Cat, Goofy, Popeye the Sailor and Yosemite Sam carry Marvin Acme's casket to his final resting stop. For a more in-depth analysis of this deleted scene visit
jimhillmedia.com (click here).
It's 1947 Hollywood and Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), a down-on-his-luck detective is hired to find proof that Marvin Acme, gag factory mogul and owner of Toontown, is playing hanky-panky with femme fatale Jessica Rabbit, wife of Maroon Cartoon superstar, Roger Rabbit. When Acme is found murdered, all fingers point to Roger, who begs the Toon-hating Valiant to find the real evildoer.
Actors: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer & Joanna Cassidy
Director: Robert Zemeckis * Screenwriters: Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman