Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat

Acme Warehouse

April 7, 2018 April 1, 2018 London Calling

A former powerhouse/factory was set dressed to act as the Acme Warehouse. It is located in the White City/Shepherd’s Bush area of central London, near the White City underground station on the Central line and the Wood Lane underground station on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. The building …

Book cover

April 6, 2018 April 6, 2018 Uncategorized

My earliest jottings in planning for a book on Roger Rabbit were made in January 2009. Along the way, I interviewed over 140 people who were associated with some aspect of the Roger Rabbit universe – the early Disney development period, the Disney/Amblin development period, the production of live-action and …

Chef-in-a-Box meals at The Forum

April 5, 2018 April 1, 2018 Animation - The Forum

People love to share a wonderful dining experience, but nothing really brings people together like complaining about food – whether it be food in a school cafeteria, hospital food, or food at the workplace. Early in the production in Camden Town, the crew would go out for a pub lunch or …

Gag drawings – chronicling life at The Forum

April 3, 2018 April 1, 2018 Animation - The Forum

Gag drawings are an outlet for frustration, a tip of the hat to colleagues, and a chronicling of life during the production of any animated film. Who framed Roger Rabbit was no different – and on its crew was the master of the gag drawing, Tom Sito.

SFX Crew at The Forum

April 1, 2018 April 1, 2018 Animation - The Forum / Effects Magicians

The Effects crew at The Forum in Camden Town had a wonderful respect and affection for its Department Supervisor, Chris Knott. These caricatures of the crew were drawn by Lily Dell as part of a birthday card for Knott.

Puppeteering at Elstree Studio in London

March 30, 2018 April 30, 2018 London Calling

Principal live-action filming was done at Elstree Studio in Borehamwood, near London. It was a 20-minute trip by rail from St. Pancras Station. The producers initially budgeted for one puppeteer to be on set for several days. Instead, a core crew of seven puppeteers were on set for the whole …

‘Who framed Roger Rabbit’ vehicle props at Walt Disney World

March 28, 2018 March 26, 2018 At the Parks

The Disney-MGM Studio theme park at Walt Disney World opened on May 1, 1989. Who framed Roger Rabbit had been released the previous summer and it was a bona fide hit. Disney/Amblin was following up with a theatrical short, Tummy Trouble, to build the Roger Rabbit brand. The Roger Rabbit …

‘Trail Mix-Up’ – Mount Rushmore scene

March 26, 2018 April 30, 2018 Commercials, Television, Shorts, and Sequels / Effects Magicians

At the conclusion of Trail Mix-Up, the third Roger Rabbit short, the Old Predictable Geyser blasts a giant boulder towards Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore is animated in a wild Tex Avery-style ‘take’ immediately before being hit by the boulder. The film cuts to a large sculpture of the wild take. …

‘The Spirit’ – Brad Bird and Jerry Rees

March 24, 2018 March 24, 2018 Early Days at Disney

The Disney Animation Department in the late 1970s and early 1980s was moribund in the opinion of Brad Bird, and he was quite vocal in his opinion. It ultimately got him fired. He worked on ‘The Plague Dogs’, which was produced in the San Francisco Bay area. ‘The Plague Dogs’ …

Edinboro Castle – a Roger Rabbit crew watering-hole

March 24, 2018 March 17, 2018 Animation - The Forum / The Story Continues

Pubs were a part of the London culture and the Roger Rabbit crew had several favorite pubs in Camden Town. The Edinboro Castle is located on Mornington Terrace, about a ten-minute walk from The Forum. It was the location of a Roger Rabbit crew reunion held on September 25, 2015.