Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog are characters in a series of animated cartoons in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by Chuck Jones .
157-514: Ralph Wolf has virtually the same character design as another Chuck Jones character, Wile E. Coyote —brown fur, wiry body, and huge ears, but with a red nose in place of the Coyote's black one; (usually) white eyes instead of the Coyote's yellow ones; and, occasionally, a fang protruding from his mouth. He also shares the Coyote's appetite and persistent use of Acme Corporation products, but he covets sheep instead of roadrunners and, when he speaks (which
314-549: A Looney Tunes and DC Comics crossovers that reimagined the characters in a darker style. The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote had a crossover with the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo in Lobo/Road Runner Special #1. In this version, the Road Runner, Wile E., and other Looney Tunes characters are reimagined as standard animals who were experimented upon with alien DNA at Acme to transform them into their cartoon forms. In
471-477: A Parkinson's disease diagnosis a year earlier, and died from pneumonia in 2014. Marshall confirmed that the film would be a prequel, similar to earlier drafts, and that the writing was almost complete. During an interview at the premiere of his film Flight , Zemeckis stated that the sequel was still possible, despite Hoskins' absence, and the script for the sequel was sent to Disney for approval from studio executives. In February 2013, Gary K. Wolf, writer of
628-426: A lunch break , which they also conduct amiably. The operation seems to run 24 hours a day or at least into another shift, as when Ralph and Sam "punch out" they may also run into their nighttime replacements, Fred and George, respectively. In some of their earlier appearances, Ralph and Sam are named inconsistently: in particular Sam's shift replacement sometimes addresses him as "Ralph". Sam and Ralph have appeared in
785-476: A bar tended by his girlfriend, Dolores. Jessica tells Eddie that Maroon threatened Roger's career unless she posed for the compromising photos. Meanwhile, Dolores's research uncovers that Cloverleaf Industries recently bought the city's Pacific Electric railway system and will purchase Toontown at midnight unless Acme's will is found. Doom and the Toon Patrol find Roger, but he and Eddie escape with help from Benny,
942-459: A boulder or anvil actually make contact with him. In almost all WB animated features, scenes where a character's face was burnt and black, some thought resembling blackface , were removed, as were animated characters smoking cigarettes . Some cigar-smoking scenes were left in. The unedited versions of these shorts (with the exception of ones with blackface) were not seen again until Cartoon Network , and later Boomerang , began showing them again in
1099-651: A cameo as the true identity of an alien hunter (a parody of Predator ) in the Duck Dodgers episode "K-9 Quarry", voiced by Dee Bradley Baker . In that episode, he was hunting Martian Commander X-2 and K-9. He is also temporary as a member of Agent Roboto's Legion of Duck Doom from the previous season in another episode. In Loonatics Unleashed , Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner's 28th century descendants are Tech E. Coyote (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson ) and Rev Runner (voiced by Rob Paulsen ). Tech E. Coyote
1256-492: A changing shift for both the sheepdog and wolf character clocking out with their replacement clocking in, the violence continuing wherever the predecessors had left off, setting in motion the fully realized version of the joke of both predator and protector just doing their jobs over the course of a day. The cartoons proved a success, prompting Jones to repeat the formula four more times between 1955 and 1962. In 1963, ex-Jones animators Phil Monroe and Richard Thompson also starred
1413-399: A cliff, Wile E. Coyote's adult self tells him to move over and leave falling to people who know how to do it and then he falls, followed by Elmer. In the 1980s, ABC began showing many Warner Bros. shorts, but in highly edited form. Many scenes integral to the stories were taken out, including scenes in which Wile E. Coyote landed at the bottom of the canyon after falling from a cliff, or had
1570-958: A considerable amount of time in the Siskel & Ebert episode in which they reviewed the film analyzing its painstaking filmmaking. In evaluating their top ten films of the year, Siskel ranked it number two while Ebert ranked it as number eight. Janet Maslin of The New York Times commented that this is "a film whose best moments are so novel, so deliriously funny and so crazily unexpected that they truly must be seen to be believed." Desson Thomson of The Washington Post considered Roger Rabbit to be "a definitive collaboration of pure talent. Zemeckis had Walt Disney Pictures' enthusiastic backing, producer Steven Spielberg's pull, Warner Bros.'s blessing, Canadian animator Richard Williams' ink and paint, Mel Blanc 's voice; Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman 's witty, frenetic screenplay; George Lucas ' Industrial Light and Magic, and Bob Hoskins' comical performance as
1727-651: A depressed alcoholic following Teddy's murder by an unknown toon five years earlier. Maroon Cartoon Studios owner R.K. Maroon, upset about the recent poor performance of his toon star Roger Rabbit , hires Eddie to investigate rumors that Roger's glamorous toon wife, Jessica , is having an affair with Marvin Acme, owner of both the Acme Corporation and Toontown, the animated metropolis in which toons reside. After watching Jessica perform at The Ink and Paint Club, Eddie secretly photographs her and Acme playing patty-cake . He shows
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#17328697929891884-405: A diaper and holding a small knife and fork) runs right in front of Bugs, chasing a gold-colored, mostly unhatched (except for the tail, which is sticking out) Road Runner egg, which is running rapidly while some high-pitched "Beep, beep" noises can be heard. This was followed by the full-fledged Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote short Soup or Sonic . Earlier in that story, while kid Elmer was falling from
2041-442: A federal investigation regarding the film's initial cancellation and tax-write off plan, stemming from possible violations of antitrust guidelines. On December 8, it was reported that the film had been screened to Paramount Pictures , Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and Sony Pictures . So far, two of these studios, Netflix and Paramount, have made bids for the rights to the film, with the latter planning to release it theatrically. Amazon
2198-403: A flock being guarded by the eternally vigilant Sam Sheepdog. As with the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote series, Ralph Wolf uses all sorts of wild inventions and schemes to steal the sheep, but he is continually foiled by the sheepdog . In a move seen by many as a self-referential gag, Ralph Wolf continually tries to steal the sheep not because he is a fanatic (as Wile E. Coyote was), but because it
2355-638: A handful of Warner Bros. projects since the closing of the studio's animation department in 1964. Sam made a cameo in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit during the final scene (Ralph does not appear, however), and they occasionally feature in the Looney Tunes comic books published by DC Comics . On the episode " Donut Run " of the television program Veronica Mars , Veronica greets rival private detective Vinnie Van Lowe with "Mornin' Sam," and he replies, in kind, "Mornin' Ralph." Chris Rock mentions Ralph and Sam in his book Rock This! . According to
2512-455: A license with Warner Bros. to produce cartoons for the big studio to distribute. The first DePatie–Freleng cartoon to feature the Road Runner was The Wild Chase , directed by Freleng in 1965. The premise was a race between the bird and "the fastest mouse in all México", Speedy Gonzales , with the Coyote and Sylvester the Cat each trying to make a meal out of their respective usual targets. Much of
2669-459: A lighter voice. Ralph has even attempted to dress as Fred to sneak in, but failed to fool Sam and was hit on the head; revealing Ralph's head under the costume. Inspired by the Friz Freleng cartoon The Sheepish Wolf of a decade earlier (October 17, 1942), Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese (who had written the earlier Freleng cartoon) created Ralph and Sam for a series of shorts. The first of these
2826-399: A new script for the project, and the animated characters would be in traditional two-dimensional, while the rest would be in motion capture . In 2010, Bob Hoskins had agreed to sign on for a sequel, but expressed scepticism about the use of "performance capture" in the film. Zemeckis said that the sequel would remain hand-drawn animated and live-action sequences will be filmed, just like in
2983-606: A pair of royal guards—a typical Pegasus and a bat-winged variant—while the second set are a pair of identical Storm Guards, minions of the primary antagonist of My Little Pony: The Movie . During a scene in the Tomb Raider video game Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Porvenir Oil Fields), two members of the Trinity organization can be overheard greeting one another with an "Evening Ralph, Evening Sam" exchange. Wile E. Coyote and
3140-546: A perfect opportunity to produce a blockbuster . Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman were hired to write the script, penning two drafts. Robert Zemeckis offered his services as director in 1982, but Disney declined as his two previous films ( I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Used Cars ) had been box-office bombs . Between 1981 and 1983 Disney developed test footage with Darrell Van Citters as animation director, Paul Reubens voicing Roger Rabbit, Peter Renaday as Eddie Valiant, and Russi Taylor as Jessica Rabbit. The project
3297-423: A proper score, as heard with The Wild Chase , Rushing Roulette , and Run Run, Sweet Road Runner (the third being the only one of the "Larriva Eleven" to have a proper score). These 11 shorts have been considered inferior to the other Golden Age shorts, garnering mixed to poor reviews from critics. In Of Mice and Magic , Leonard Maltin calls the series "witless in every sense of the word". In addition, except for
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#17328697929893454-635: A rabbit during the test, so the camera would go down the fire escape and the boxes would fall when a wire was pulled. The actor who played the voice of Roger, Charles Fleischer, insisted on wearing a Roger Rabbit costume while on the set, to get into character. Filming began on November 2, 1986, and lasted for seven and a half months at Elstree Studios, with an additional month in Los Angeles and at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) for blue screen effects of Toontown. The Dimco Buildings in London were dressed as
3611-486: A sequel, arguing that public tastes had changed since the 1990s with the rise of computer animation. "There was something very special about that time when animation was not as much in the forefront as it is now." In December 2007, Marshall stated that he was still "open" to the idea, and in April 2009, Zemeckis revealed he was still interested. According to a 2009 MTV News story, Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman were writing
3768-435: A significant drop in the number of frames used per second in animation, the "Larriva Eleven" were somewhat cheap-looking and jerky. The music was also of poorer quality than the older features; this was a by-product of music director Bill Lava (who had replaced the recently deceased Milt Franklyn three years prior) being relegated to the use of pre-composed music cues - due to the previously mentioned budget cuts - rather than
3925-464: A similar vein to his previous pairings with Bugs Bunny. He appears as Bugs' annoying know-it-all neighbor who always uses his inventions to compete with Bugs. The Road Runner began making appearances when the series was renamed New Looney Tunes in 2017. Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner both appear in their own cartoon shorts in the HBO Max streaming series Looney Tunes Cartoons . Wile E. Coyote and
4082-506: A stunt goes wrong and the cartoon 'baby' stalks off the set and lights a cigar and tells the human director to go to hell, we know we're in a new and special universe." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune praised the film's "dazzling, jaw-dropping opening four-minute sequence"; he noted that the sequence alone took nearly nine months to animate. Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four. Ebert and his colleague Siskel spent
4239-418: A toon taxi cab. Sheltering in a local movie theater , Eddie sees a newsreel of Maroon selling his studio to Cloverleaf. While Eddie goes to the studio to interrogate Maroon, Jessica abducts Roger. Maroon denies involvement in Acme's murder, admitting he intended to blackmail Acme into selling his company as otherwise Cloverleaf would not buy the studio. Maroon is assassinated and Eddie spots Jessica fleeing
4396-530: A writer for Time , said, "The opening scene upstages the movie that emerges from it". Corliss was mainly annoyed by the homages to the Golden Age of American animation . Chuck Jones made a rather scathing attack on the film in his book Chuck Jones Conversations . Among his complaints, Jones accused Zemeckis of robbing Richard Williams of any creative input and ruining the piano duel that both Williams and he storyboarded. The critical and commercial success of
4553-472: Is the sole shareholder of Cloverleaf and plans to erase Toontown with a Dip-spraying machine so he can build a freeway in its place, and decommission the railway system to force people to use it. When Roger unsuccessfully attempts to save Jessica, the couple is tied onto a hook in front of the machine's sprayer. Eddie distracts the weasels by performing a comedic vaudeville act full of pratfalls, causing them to die of laughter before he kicks their leader into
4710-483: Is also able to talk, though extremely rapidly, and can fly without the use of jet packs , which are used by other members of the Loonatics. He also has sonic speed, also a take-off of the Road Runner. The pair get on rather well, despite the number of gadgets Tech designs in order to stop Rev from talking, also they have their moments where they do not get along. When friendship is shown it is often only from Rev to Tech, not
4867-511: Is an innovative and entertaining film that features a groundbreaking mix of live action and animation, with a touching and original story to boot." Aggregator Metacritic has calculated a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Who Framed Roger Rabbit was placed on 43 critics' top ten lists, third to only The Thin Blue Line and Bull Durham in 1988. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave
Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog - Misplaced Pages Continue
5024-543: Is based on the deserts of the Southwestern United States . Wile E. Coyote often obtains various complex and ludicrous devices from a mail-order company, the fictitious Acme Corporation , which he hopes will help him catch the Road Runner. The devices invariably fail in improbable and spectacular fashion. In August, September and October 1982, the National Lampoon published a three-part series chronicling
5181-456: Is currently wending its way through Disney. In November 2016, while promoting his film Allied in England, Zemeckis stated that the sequel "moves the story of Roger and Jessica Rabbit into the next few years of period film, moving on from film noir to the world of the 1950s". He also stated that the sequel would feature a "digital Bob Hoskins", as Eddie Valiant would return in "ghost form". While
5338-539: Is finally reunited with his mother and father, Bugs Bunny . Mauldin later retitled his script Who Discovered Roger Rabbit . Spielberg left the project when deciding he could not satirize Nazis after directing Schindler's List . Eisner commissioned a rewrite in 1997 with Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver . Although they kept Roger's search for his mother, Stoner and Oliver replaced the WWII subplot with Roger's inadvertent rise to stardom on Broadway and Hollywood. Disney
5495-649: Is generally silent in the Wile E. Coyote – Road Runner shorts, he speaks with a refined accent in these solo outings (except for Hare-Breadth Hurry ), beginning with 1952's Operation: Rabbit , introducing himself as "Wile E. Coyote, (Super) Genius", voiced by Mel Blanc . Wile E. Coyote additionally speaks in the 1965 short Zip Zip Hooray! , where he explains his desire to eat the Road Runner. The Road Runner vocalizes only with his signature " beep, beep " sound, recorded by Paul Julian and an accompanying "popping-cork" tongue sound. By 2014, 49 cartoons had been made featuring
5652-451: Is heard pronouncing it with a diphthong ( / k aɪ ˈ oʊ t eɪ / ky- OH -tay ). Early model sheets for the character prior to his initial appearance (in Fast and Furry-ous ) identified him as "Don Coyote", a pun on Don Quixote . The Road Runner's "beep, beep" sound was inspired by background artist Paul Julian 's imitation of a car horn . Julian voiced the various recordings of
5809-417: Is his job. In every cartoon, he and Sam Sheepdog punch a timeclock and exchange pleasantries, go to work, stop what they are doing to take a lunch break, go back to work and pick up right where they left off, and clock out to go home for the day and exchange pleasantries again, all according to a factory-like blowing whistle. The most obvious difference between the coyote and the wolf , aside from their locales,
5966-467: Is only in some cartoons, and even then usually only at the start and end of the cartoon), does not have the upper-class accent or the egotistical bearing of the Coyote. Another crucial difference is that of personality: Ralph does not have the fanatical drive of the Coyote in pursuing his prey; instead catching the sheep is only his weekday job as indicated by the time clock both he and Sam the Sheepdog punch at
6123-536: Is said to be based on The New Yorker short story "Coyote v. Acme" by author Ian Frazier . Published in 1990, the piece imagined a lawsuit brought about by Wile E. Coyote against the Acme Company who provided him with various devices and tools to aid in his pursuit of the Road Runner. The devices frequently malfunctioned, leading to the humorous failures, injuries, and sight gags the Road Runner cartoons are known for. Jon and Josh Silberman were originally set to write
6280-427: Is still considering about making a formal bid, while Sony and Apple have declined the offer to bid. On December 31, Eric Bauza unveiled an official screenshot of the film on social media, depicting Wile E. Coyote and his lawyer seated in the courtroom, all while the film continued to search for a new distributor. The voice artist Paul Julian originated the character's voice. Before and after his death, his voice
6437-463: Is that Wile E. has a black nose and Ralph has a red nose. Wile E. Coyote was called Kelsey Coyote in his comic book debut, a Henery Hawk story in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies #91 (May 1949). He only made a couple of other appearances at this time and did not have his official name yet, as it was not used until 1952 (in Operation: Rabbit , his second appearance). The first appearance of
Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog - Misplaced Pages Continue
6594-522: The film rights for the story in 1981. Price and Seaman wrote two drafts of the script before Disney brought in executive producer Steven Spielberg and his production company, Amblin Entertainment . Zemeckis was brought on to direct, and Canadian animator Richard Williams was hired to supervise the animation sequences. Production was moved from Los Angeles to Elstree Studios in England to accommodate Williams and his group of animators. While filming,
6751-630: The film score , performed by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) under the direction of Silvestri. Zemeckis joked that "the British [musicians] could not keep up with Silvestri's jazz tempo". The performances of the music themes written for Jessica Rabbit were entirely improvised by a jazz combo performing with the LSO. The work of American composer Carl Stalling heavily influenced Silvestri's work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit . The film's soundtrack
6908-522: The second-highest-grossing film of 1988 , behind Rain Man . It brought a renewed interest in the golden age of American animation , spearheading modern American animation and the Disney Renaissance . It won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing , Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for Williams' animation direction. In 2016,
7065-490: The "Dip", a chemical concoction of acetone , benzene , and turpentine which is capable of destroying the otherwise invulnerable toons. Roger's toon co-star, Baby Herman, suggests to Eddie that Acme's missing will —which supposedly bequeaths Toontown to the toons—may have been the killer's true motive. Eddie returns to his office and finds Roger waiting. Roger insists he has been framed and Eddie reluctantly agrees to help after finding evidence of Acme's will; he hides Roger in
7222-511: The "Vista Series" line in a two-disc collection with many extra features including a documentary, Behind the Ears: The True Story of Roger Rabbit ; a deleted scene in which a pig's head is "tooned" onto Eddie's; the three Roger Rabbit shorts, Tummy Trouble , Roller Coaster Rabbit , and Trail Mix-Up ; as well as a booklet and interactive games. The only short on the 2003 VHS release was Tummy Trouble . The 2003 DVD release presents
7379-543: The 1970s. During this period, Wile E.'s middle name was revealed to be "Ethelbert" in the story "The Greatest of E's" in issue #53 (cover-dated September 1975) of Gold Key Comics ' licensed comic book Beep Beep the Road Runner . The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote also make appearances in the DC Comics Looney Tunes title. Wile E. was able to speak in some of his appearances in the DC comics. In 2017, DC Comics featured
7536-501: The 1990s and early 2000s. Since the release of the WB library of cartoons on DVD , the cartoons gradually disappeared from television, presumably to increase sales of the DVDs. However, Cartoon Network began to air them again in 2011, coinciding with the premiere of The Looney Tunes Show (2011), and the shorts were afterward moved to Boomerang, where they have remained to this day. Wile E. Coyote and
7693-481: The 30th anniversary of Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Zemeckis reiterated in an interview with Yahoo! Movies that though the sequel's script is "wonderful", Disney is still unlikely to ever produce it, and he does not see the possibility of producing it as an original film for the streaming service Disney+ , as he feels that it does not make any sense as there is no " Princess " in it. In November 2024, while promoting his latest film Here , Zemeckis again said that one of
7850-497: The 60th anniversary of Mickey Mouse . In 1991, Walt Disney Imagineering began to develop Mickey's Toontown for Disneyland , based on the Toontown that appeared in the film. The attraction also features a ride called Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin . Three theatrical animated shorts were also produced: Tummy Trouble was shown before Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ; Roller Coaster Rabbit
8007-526: The Cab was first conceived to be a Volkswagen Beetle before being changed to a taxi cab. Ideas originally conceived for the story also included a sequence set at Marvin Acme's funeral, whose attendees included Eddie, Foghorn Leghorn , Mickey Mouse , Minnie Mouse , Tom and Jerry , Heckle and Jeckle , Chip n' Dale , Felix the Cat , Herman and Katnip , Yakky Doodle , Mighty Mouse , Superman , Popeye , Olive Oyl , Bluto , Clarabelle Cow , Horace Horsecollar ,
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#17328697929898164-522: The Cab, Psycho, and Greasy. Lou Hirsch, who voiced Baby Herman, was the original choice for Benny the Cab but was replaced by Fleischer. Price and Seaman were brought aboard to continue writing the script once Spielberg and Zemeckis were hired. For inspiration, the two writers studied the work of Walt Disney and Warner Bros. Cartoons from the Golden Age of American animation, especially Tex Avery and Bob Clampett cartoons. The Cloverleaf streetcar subplot
8321-476: The Cat Productions , Turner Entertainment , and Universal Pictures / Walter Lantz Productions to "lend" their characters to appear in the film with (in some cases) stipulations on how those characters were portrayed; for example, Disney's Donald Duck and Warner Bros.' Daffy Duck appear as equally talented dueling pianists, and Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny also share a scene. Apart from the agreement, and some of
8478-450: The Dip. Doom is flattened by a steamroller while fighting with Eddie, but he survives, revealing he is actually a disguised toon and Teddy's murderer. Struggling against Doom's toon abilities, Eddie empties the machine's Dip supply, spraying and dissolving Doom to death. The machine crashes through the wall into Toontown, where it is destroyed by a passenger train . As police and toons gather at
8635-488: The Grapes as inspiration due to its use of blackout gags . Jones modelled the coyote's appearance on fellow animator Ken Harris . The coyote's name of Wile E. is a pun of the word "wily". The "E" stands for "Ethelbert" in one issue of a Looney Tunes comic book. The coyote's surname is routinely pronounced with a long "e" ( / k aɪ ˈ oʊ t iː / ky- OH -tee ), but in one cartoon short, To Hare Is Human , Wile E.
8792-544: The Road Runner Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons , first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical short Fast and Furry-ous . In each episode, the cunning, devious and constantly hungry coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and eat the roadrunner , but is humorously unsuccessful. Instead of using animal instinct,
8949-507: The Road Runner by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises These cartoons were each shown with a feature-length film. Chariots of Fur was shown with Richie Rich , Coyote Falls was shown with Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore , Fur of Flying was shown with Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole , and Rabid Rider was shown with Yogi Bear . Flash in the Pain
9106-463: The Road Runner appeared in several episodes of Tiny Toon Adventures . In this series, Wile E. (voiced in the Jim Reardon episode "Piece of Mind" by Joe Alaskey ) was the dean of Acme Looniversity and the mentor of Calamity Coyote . The Road Runner's protégé in this series was Little Beeper . In the episode "Piece of Mind", Wile E. narrates the life story of Calamity while Calamity is falling from
9263-457: The Road Runner gets another taste of humiliation when he is out-run by Slappy's car, and holds up a sign saying "I quit" — immediately afterward, Buttons , who was launched into the air during a previous gag, lands squarely on top of him. Wile E. appears without the bird in a The Wizard of Oz parody , dressed in his batsuit from one short, in a twister (tornado) funnel in "Buttons in Ows" Also, in
9420-516: The Road Runner in a comic book was in Bugs Bunny Vacation Funnies #8 (August 1958) published by Dell Comics . The feature is titled "Beep Beep the Road Runner" and the story "Desert Dessert". It presents itself as the first meeting between Beep Beep and Wile E. (whose mailbox reads "Wile E. Coyote, Inventor and Genius"), and introduces the Road Runner's wife, Matilda, and their three newly hatched sons (though Matilda soon disappeared from
9577-526: The Road Runner keeps constantly distracting him. Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner appear in the Tiny Toon Adventures reboot, Tiny Toons Looniversity , as well as their protégés from the original series Calamity Coyote and Little Beeper. In this series Wile E. is the science professor at Acme Looniversity rather than the dean. In the episode "General Hogspital", Wile E. develops a potion that makes toons lose their looney DNA to try and finally catch
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#17328697929899734-467: The Road Runner make occasional appearances in the preschool educational series Bugs Bunny Builders . Wile E. (voiced by Keith Ferguson ) has a minor supporting role in the series in which he often helps the Looney Builders out with their plans, often using some of his inventions. In the episode "Looney Science", Wile E. has the Looney Builders build him a science museum to show off his inventions, but
9891-490: The Road Runner, only for it to backfire and pollute the campus water supply. Wile E. Coyote was also in an episode of Night Court (Season 7, Episode 22: Sill Another Day in the Life ) in which Judge Harold T. Stone ( Harry Anderson ) found him guilty of harassment and told him to leave the poor bird alone. The characters appeared in seven 3-D shorts attached to Warner Bros. features. Three have been screened with features, while
10048-556: The Seven Dwarfs (1937). Originally seven weasels were to mimic the dwarfs complement, but eventually two of them, Slimey and Sleazy, were written out of the script. Further references included The Ink and Paint Club resembling the Harlem Cotton Club , while Zemeckis compared Judge Doom's invention of the Dip to eliminate all the toons to Hitler 's Final Solution . Doom was originally the hunter who killed Bambi 's mother. Benny
10205-468: The Seven Dwarfs, Baby Huey , and Casper the Friendly Ghost in cameo appearances . This scene was cut for pacing reasons at the storyboard stage. Before finally agreeing on Who Framed Roger Rabbit as the film's title, working titles included Murder in Toontown , Toons , Dead Toons Don't Pay Bills , The Toontown Trial , Trouble in Toontown , and Eddie Goes to Toontown . Williams admitted he
10362-575: The Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner shorts. The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote feature in 3D computer-animated cartoons or cartoon animation in the Cartoon Network TV series The Looney Tunes Show . The CGI shorts were only included in Season 1, but Wile E. and the Road Runner still appeared throughout the series in 2D animation. Wile E. Coyote also appears in the TV series Wabbit , voiced by J. P. Karliak , in
10519-474: The actors where to look when acting with "open air and imaginative cartoon characters". Many of the live-action props held by cartoon characters were shot on set with the props either held by robotic arms or manipulated with strings, similar to a marionette . For example, a test was shot at ILM where an actor playing the detective would climb down a fire escape and the rabbit is supposed to follow and he knocks down some stacked boxes. Naturally, there would not be
10676-405: The animation was done using cels and optical compositing . First, the animators and layout artists were given black-and-white printouts of the live-action scenes (known as "photostats"), and they placed their animation paper on top of them. The artists then drew the animated characters in relationship to the live-action footage. Due to Zemeckis' dynamic camera moves, the animators had to confront
10833-494: The back-up story, done in more traditional cartoon style, Lobo tries to hunt down the Road Runner, but is limited by Bugs to be more kid-friendly in his language and approach. The Road Runner and the Coyote appeared on Saturday mornings as the stars of their own TV series, The Road Runner Show , from September 1966 to September 1968, on CBS . At this time it was merged with The Bugs Bunny Show to become The Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Show , running from 1968 to 1985. The show
10990-399: The beginning of one episode, an artist is seen drawing the Road Runner. The Road Runner appears in an episode of the 1991 series Taz-Mania , in which Taz grabs him by the leg and gets ready to eat him, until the two gators are ready to capture Taz, so he lets the Road Runner go. In another episode of Taz-Mania , the Road Runner cartoons are parodied, with Taz dressed as the Road Runner and
11147-457: The bird. The original Chuck Jones productions ended in 1963 after Jack L. Warner closed the Warner Bros. animation studio. War and Pieces , the last Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner short directed by Jones, was released on June 6, 1964. By that time, David H. DePatie and director Friz Freleng had formed DePatie–Freleng Enterprises , moved into the facility just emptied by Warner, and signed
11304-428: The budget escalating to over $ 50 million, Disney moved forward on production because they were enthusiastic to work with Spielberg. VistaVision cameras installed with motion-control technology were used for the photography of the live-action scenes, which would be composited with animation. Rubber mannequins of Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman, and the Toon Patrol portrayed the animated characters during rehearsals to teach
11461-491: The burliest, shaggiest private eye." Gene Shalit on the Today Show also praised the film, calling it "one of the most extraordinary movies ever made". Filmsite.org called it "a technically-marvelous film" and a "landmark" that resulted from "unprecedented cooperation" between Warner Bros. and Disney. On CNN 's 2019 miniseries The Movies , Tom Hanks called it the "most complicated movie ever made." Richard Corliss ,
11618-405: The cartoons. Who Framed Roger Rabbit Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman . It is loosely based on the 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf . The film stars Bob Hoskins , Christopher Lloyd , Stubby Kaye , and Joanna Cassidy , along with
11775-464: The case for further proceedings. In a March 2005 hearing, Wolf estimated he was owed $ 7 million. Disney's attorneys not only disputed the claim but also said Wolf owed Disney $ 500,000–$ 1 million because of an accounting error discovered in preparing for the lawsuit. Wolf won the decision in 2005, receiving between $ 180,000 and $ 400,000 in damages. Spielberg discussed a sequel in 1989 with J. J. Abrams as writer and Zemeckis as producer. Abrams' outline
11932-406: The challenge of ensuring the characters were not "slipping and slipping all over the place." Ensuring this did not happen and that the characters looked real, Zemeckis and Spielberg met for about an hour and a half and came up with an idea: "If the rabbit sits down in an old chair, dust comes up. He should always be touching something real." After the rough animation was complete, it was run through
12089-493: The character Willy Wombat dressed as Wile E. Coyote. Willy tries to catch Taz with Acme Roller Skates but fails, and Taz even says "Beep, beep." Wile E. and the Road Runner appeared in their toddler versions in Baby Looney Tunes , but only in songs. However, they both had made a cameo in the episode "Are We There Yet?", where the Road Runner was seen out the window of Floyd's car with Wile E. chasing him. Wile E. Coyote had
12246-533: The characters (including the four CGI shorts), the majority by creator Chuck Jones . Jones based the coyote on Mark Twain 's book Roughing It , in which Twain described the coyote as "a long, slim, sick and sorry-looking skeleton" that is "a living, breathing allegory of Want. He is always hungry." Jones said he created the Wile E. Coyote-Road Runner cartoons as a parody of traditional " cat and mouse " cartoons such as MGM 's Tom and Jerry . He also cites Frank Tashlin 's 1941 adaptation of The Fox and
12403-527: The clock." Journalist Mark Leibovich mentions Ralph and Sam in an October 2016 New York Times Magazine profile of Hillary Clinton 's presidential campaign, as a metaphor for candidates during previous, more predictable presidential campaigns. The names of Ralph and Sam have been applied to two sets of characters in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic book series , who engage in similar dialogue to Ralph and Sam. The first set are
12560-430: The comics). This story established the convention that the Road Runner family talked in rhyme, a convention that also appeared in early children's book adaptations of the cartoons. Dell initially published a dedicated "Beep Beep the Road Runner" comic as part of Four Color Comics #918, 1008, and 1046 before launching a separate series for the character numbered #4–14 (1960–1962), with the three try-out issues counted as
12717-579: The coyote deploys absurdly complex contraptions ( à la Rube Goldberg machines ) to try to catch his prey. They comically backfire, with the coyote often getting injured in slapstick fashion. Many of the items for these contrivances are mail-ordered from a variety of companies implied to be part of the Acme Corporation . TV Guide included Wile E. Coyote in its 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time". The characters were created for Warner Bros in 1948 by animation director Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese , with Maltese also setting
12874-448: The day. However, four days later, the decision was reversed. Later that day, it was reported that Warner Bros would instead allow the crew behind Coyote vs. Acme to shop out the film to other possible distributors, with Apple TV+ , Netflix , and Amazon MGM Studios being among its potential buyers. Due to the company's handling of the matter, U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro called for
13031-458: The director went on to state that the script is "terrific" and the film would still use hand-drawn animation, Zemeckis thinks that the chances of Disney green-lighting the sequel are "slim". As he explained more in detail, "The current corporate Disney culture has no interest in Roger, and they certainly don't like Jessica at all". In December 2018, while promoting his film Welcome to Marwen and given
13188-403: The duo in their cartoon Woolen Under Where . The series is built around the satiric idea that both Ralph and Sam are blue collar workers who are just doing their jobs. Most of the cartoons begin at the beginning of the workday, in which they both arrive with lunch pails at a sheep-grazing meadow, exchange pleasant chitchat, and punch into the same time clock . Work having officially begun with
13345-548: The episode "Blood in the Water" of the USA Network legal drama Suits , Louis Litt compares his relationship with Harvey Specter to "Sam and Ralph" in a conversation with Mike Ross. He explains that for years, Harvey and he would butt heads during office hours, but at the end of the day they would still be on friendly terms. Litt finishes the analogy by saying that recently Specter had changed and that it now feels like Harvey's "always on
13502-463: The fall is delayed until he realizes that there is nothing below him. The rest of the scene, shot from a bird's-eye view , shows him falling into a canyon so deep that his figure is eventually lost to sight, with only a small puff of dust indicating his impact. The coyote is notably a brilliant artist, capable of quickly painting incredibly lifelike renderings of such things as tunnels and roadside scenes, in further (and equally futile) attempts to deceive
13659-490: The fictional Acme Factory . The entrance of Desilu Studios in Los Angeles served as the fictional Maroon Cartoon Studio lot. Post-production lasted for 14 months. ILM had already used CGI and digital compositing in a few movies, such as the stained glass knight scene in Young Sherlock Holmes , but the computers were still not powerful enough to make a complicated movie like Who Framed Roger Rabbit , so all
13816-501: The film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four, calling it "sheer, enchanted entertainment from the first frame to the last-- a joyous, giddy, goofy celebration of the kind of fun you can have with a movie camera." He writes that the opening cartoon is "a masterpiece; I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at an animated short. But then when
13973-484: The film in Full Screen (1.33:1) on Disc 1 and Widescreen (1.85:1) on Disc 2. On March 12, 2013, Disney released the film on Blu-ray and DVD combo pack special edition for the film's 25th anniversary. The film was also digitally restored for the release; frame-by-frame digital restoration was done by Prasad Studios removing dirt, tears, scratches, and other defects. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released
14130-418: The film on Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 7, 2021. Who Framed Roger Rabbit received near-universal acclaim from critics, making Business Insider ' s "best comedy movies of all time, according to critics" list. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 96% based on 76 reviews, and an average rating of 8.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, " Who Framed Roger Rabbit
14287-481: The film rekindled an interest in the Golden Age of American animation, and in addition to sparking the Silver Age of American animation and the Disney Renaissance , it has also gained a cult following. In November 1988, a few months after the film's release, Roger Rabbit made his guest appearance in the live-action and animated television special broadcast on NBC called Mickey's 60th Birthday in which to celebrate
14444-571: The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 1947 Los Angeles, animated cartoon characters, or " toons ", co-exist with humans, often employing their skills to entertain as film stars. Private detective Eddie Valiant , once a staunch ally of the toons alongside his brother and co-worker Teddy, has become
14601-415: The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Roger Rabbit served as inspiration for various live-action/animation films in the following decades including Cool World , Space Jam , Tom & Jerry , Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers , and Once Upon a Studio . With
14758-423: The film was too risqué with adult themes and sexual references. Eisner and Zemeckis disagreed over various elements of it but since Zemeckis had final cut privilege , he refused to make alterations. Roy E. Disney, head of Walt Disney Feature Animation along with studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg , felt it was appropriate to release the film under the studio's adult-orientated Touchstone Pictures banner instead of
14915-524: The film's LaserDisc release, Variety first reported in March 1994 that observers uncovered several scenes of antics from the animators that supposedly featured brief nudity of Jessica Rabbit. While undetectable when played at the usual rate of 24 film frames per second, the LaserDisc player allowed the viewer to advance frame-by-frame to uncover these visuals. Whether or not they were actually intended to depict
15072-495: The film, they would help distribute his unfinished film The Thief and the Cobbler . Supervising animators included Van Citters, Dale Baer , Michael Peraza , Joe Ranft , Tom Sito , James Baxter , David Bowers , Andreas Deja , Mike Gabriel , Chris Jenkins , Phil Nibbelink , Nik Ranieri , Simon Wells , and Bruce W. Smith ; Williams and associate producer Don Hahn spearheaded the animation production. The animation production
15229-537: The final film. The producers were unable to acquire the rights to use Popeye , Tom and Jerry , Little Lulu , Casper , or the Terrytoons characters for appearances from their respective owners (King Features, Turner, Western Publishing , Harvey Comics, and Viacom ). Terry Gilliam was offered the chance to direct, but he found the project too technically challenging. ("Pure laziness on my part," he later admitted, "I completely regret that decision.") Robert Zemeckis
15386-631: The first three numbers. After a hiatus, Gold Key Comics took over the character with issues #1–88 (1966–1984). During the 1960s, the artwork was done by Pete Alvarado and Phil DeLara , from 1966 to 1969, the Gold Key issues consisted of Dell reprints. Afterward, new stories began to appear, initially drawn by Alvarado and De Lara before Jack Manning became the main artist for the title. New and reprinted Beep Beep stories also appeared in Golden Comics Digest and Gold Key's revival of Looney Tunes in
15543-536: The flagship Walt Disney Pictures banner. The film opened in the United States on June 22, 1988, grossing $ 11,226,239 in 1,045 theaters during its opening weekend; it was in first place at the US box office. It was Disney's biggest opening weekend ever at the time of its release. It went on to gross $ 154,112,492 in the United States and Canada and $ 197,387,508 internationally, coming to a worldwide total of $ 351,500,000. At
15700-476: The illusion of them affected by the set lighting. Finally, the lighting effects were optically composited on to the cartoon characters, who were, in turn, composited into the live-action footage. One of the most difficult effects in the film was Jessica's dress in the nightclub scene because it had to flash sequins , an effect accomplished by filtering light through a plastic bag scratched with steel wool . Regular Zemeckis collaborator Alan Silvestri composed
15857-571: The lawsuit Wile E. filed against the Acme Corporation over the faulty items they sold him in his pursuit of the Road Runner. Even though the Road Runner appeared as a witness for the plaintiff, the coyote still lost the suit. In his book Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist , Chuck Jones claimed that he and the artists behind the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons adhered to some simple but strict rules: These rules were not always followed, and in an interview years after
16014-480: The material was animation rotoscoped from earlier Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales shorts, with the other characters added in. In total, DePatie-Freleng produced 14 Road Runner cartoons, two of which were directed by Robert McKimson ( Rushing Roulette (1965) and Sugar and Spies (1966)). Eleven of these shorts, directed by Rudy Larriva (often referred to as the "Larriva Eleven"), were subcontracted to Format Films and suffered from severe budget cuts; due to
16171-537: The morning whistle at 8:00 AM, Ralph repeatedly tries very hard to abduct the helpless sheep and invariably fails, either through his own ineptitude or the minimal but well-planned efforts of Sam (he is frequently seen sleeping ), who always brutally punishes Ralph for the attempt. In many instances, there are also multiple copies of Ralph and particularly Sam. At the end-of-the-day whistle at 5:00 PM (or sometimes 6:00 PM) Ralph and Sam punch out their time cards , again chat amiably, and leave, presumably only to come back
16328-459: The next day and do it all over again, or sometimes continue where they left off at the day previous. Or another sheepdog and wolf arrive for work to continue where the other two left off at, as they clock out and head home. They are even occasionally shown to be good friends outside of work. Both Ralph and Sam are performed by voice actor Mel Blanc . In A Sheep in the Deep , the workday is interrupted by
16485-404: The normal process of traditional animation until the cels were shot on the rostrum camera with no background. Williams came up with the idea of making the cartoon characters “2.5-dimensional”, and the animated footage was sent to ILM for compositing, where technicians animated three lighting layers (shadows, highlights, and tone mattes) separately, to give the characters a sense of depth and create
16642-433: The nudity of the character remains unknown. Many retailers said that within minutes of the LaserDisc debut, their entire inventory was sold out. The run was fueled by media reports about the controversy, including stories on CNN and various newspapers. Another frequently debated scene includes one in which Baby Herman extends his middle finger as he passes under a woman's dress and re-emerges with drool on his lip. In
16799-409: The original 1988 album on vinyl on September 17, 2021. The film features performances of " Hungarian Rhapsody " ( Tony Anselmo and Mel Blanc ), " Why Don't You Do Right? " ( Amy Irving ), " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down " ( Charles Fleischer ), and " Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! " (Toon Chorus). Michael Eisner , then- CEO , and Roy E. Disney , who was the vice chairman of The Walt Disney Company , felt
16956-468: The original film, but the lighting effects on the cartoon characters and some of the props that the toons handle will be done digitally. Also in 2010, Hahn, who was the film's original associate producer, confirmed the sequel's development in an interview with Empire . He stated, "Yeah, I couldn't possibly comment. I deny completely, but yeah... if you're a fan, pretty soon you're going to be very, very, very happy." Hoskins retired from acting in 2012 after
17113-400: The original novel, said Erik Von Wodtke and he were working on a development proposal for an animated Disney buddy comedy starring Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit called The Stooge , based on the 1952 film of the same name . The proposed film is set in a prequel, taking place five years before Who Framed Roger Rabbit and part of the story is about how Roger met Jessica. Wolf has stated the film
17270-484: The original voice artists reprising their roles, Warner Bros. and the various other companies were not involved in the production of Roger Rabbit . Executives at Warner Bros. were displeased by animators using the Daffy design by Bob Clampett and demanded they use the design by Chuck Jones ; in response Zemeckis had separate artists animate Daffy using Jones' design to satisfy Warner Bros., in order to have Clampett's design in
17427-410: The other way around, this could, however, be attributed to the fact that Tech has only the barest minimum of social skills. They are both portrayed as smart, but Tech is the better inventor and at times Rev is shown doing stupid things. References to their ancestors' past are seen in the episode "Family Business" where the other Road Runners are wary of Tech and Tech relives the famous falling gags done in
17584-480: The part. The role was eventually given to Charles Fleischer . Before filming, Fleischer was asked to come up with a speech impediment for Roger. He gave Roger a lisp and the stammering catchphrase "P-p-p-please!" as a tribute to all the other famous cartoon characters with speech impediments, which was inspired by Huntz Hall 's Sach Jones in The Bowery Boys . He had invented the "cheek flutter" while performing
17741-417: The phrase used throughout the Road Runner cartoons, although on-screen he was uncredited for his work. According to animation historian Michael Barrier , Julian's preferred spelling of the sound effect was either "hmeep hmeep" or "mweep, mweep." The series consists of: Re-edited from Adventures of the Road Runner by Chuck Jones and with new music direction from Bill Lava Re-edited from Adventures of
17898-406: The pictures to Roger, who becomes distraught and flees, refusing to believe Jessica was unfaithful. The next morning, Acme is found murdered and evidence at the scene implicates Roger as a suspect. Eddie meets Judge Doom , the sinister human judge of Toontown—having bribed the electorate to gain their votes—and his five weasel minions, the Toon Patrol. Doom confirms he plans to execute Roger using
18055-546: The planet Earth scene at the tail end of "Highway Runnery", there was only one clip of the Coyote's fall to the ground, used over and over again. Jones' previously described "laws" for the characters were not followed with any significant fidelity, nor were Latin phrases used when introducing the characters. In another series of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons, Chuck Jones used the character design (model sheets and personality) of Wile E. Coyote as " Ralph Wolf ". In this series, Ralph continually attempts to steal sheep from
18212-473: The process meeting Jessica Krupnick (his future wife), a struggling Hollywood actress. While Roger and Ritchie are enlisting in the Army, Jessica is kidnapped and forced to make pro- Nazi German broadcasts. Roger and Ritchie must save her by going into Nazi-occupied Europe accompanied by several other Toons in their Army platoon. After their triumph, Roger and Ritchie are given a Hollywood Boulevard parade, and Roger
18369-409: The production budget rapidly expanded, and the shooting schedule ran longer than expected. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released through Disney's Touchstone Pictures banner in the United States on June 22, 1988. The film received critical acclaim for its visuals, humor, writing, performances, and groundbreaking combination of live-action and animation. It grossed over $ 351 million worldwide, becoming
18526-455: The project alongside Chris DeFaria . It was later announced that the film was scheduled to be released on July 21, 2023. In February 2022, it was announced that professional wrestler John Cena would star in the film. In March 2022, Will Forte and Lana Condor were added to the cast. On April 26, 2022, it was taken off the release schedule with Barbie taking over its original release date. Despite its completion by November 9, 2023, it
18683-680: The reference in reverse. Bill McNeal and Jimmy James pass each other while stepping through Dave's window. Jimmy (the station owner) says, "Mornin' Sam," Bill (the office troublemaker) replies, "Mornin' Ralph," and Jimmy comments, "I love that joke." A deleted scene for the Family Guy episode " Tales of a Third Grade Nothing " featured Peter Griffin as Sam Sheepdog at the time clock with Ralph Wolf. A resemblance of Ralph Wolf and Big Bad Wolf appears in Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures comics issued by IDW Publishing issue #7. In
18840-501: The rest serve as segments in season 1 of The Looney Tunes Show . A short called Flash in the Pain was shown on the web in 2014, but was not shown in theaters until 2016, when the movie Storks premiered. In late 2018, it was announced that Warner Bros. Pictures were developing a live-action animated film centered on Wile E. Coyote titled Coyote vs. Acme , produced by Warner Animation Group , with The Lego Batman Movie director Chris McKay on board to produce. The film
18997-577: The role. Christopher Lloyd was cast because he previously worked with Zemeckis and Spielberg on Back to the Future . He compared his part as Doom to his previous role as the Klingon commander Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , both overly evil characters which he considered "fun to play". He avoided blinking his eyes while on camera to portray the character. Fleischer also voiced Benny
19154-438: The role. Ultimately, Bob Hoskins was chosen by Spielberg because of his acting skill and because Spielberg believed he had a hopeful demeanor and he looked like he belonged in that era. Paul Reubens originally auditioned for the role of Roger Rabbit and even provided his voice in an early 1983 screen test, but lost out. Eddie Deezen , who had worked with Zemeckis previously, also auditioned to play Roger, but did not get
19311-427: The scene where Daffy Duck and Donald Duck are dueling on pianos, some heard Donald call Daffy a "goddamn stupid nigger", rather than the scripted and recorded line "doggone stubborn little". Gary K. Wolf, author of the novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? , filed a lawsuit in 2001 against The Walt Disney Company. He claimed he was owed royalties based on the value of "gross receipts" and merchandising sales. In 2002,
19468-465: The scene, Eddie realizes that Acme's will was written on the blank paper in temporarily invisible ink , confirming the toons inherit Toontown. Having regained his sense of humor, Eddie happily enters Toontown alongside Dolores, Roger, Jessica, and the toons. Walt Disney Productions purchased the film rights to Gary K. Wolf 's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? shortly after its publication in 1981. Ron W. Miller , then president of Disney, saw it as
19625-466: The scene. Assuming she is the assailant, he reluctantly follows her into Toontown, choosing to discard the last of his alcohol. After saving Eddie from being shot by Doom, Jessica reveals her actions were to ensure Roger's safety and it was Doom who killed Acme and Maroon. Acme gave his will to Jessica for safety but, when she examined it, the paper was blank. Doom and the Toon Patrol capture Jessica and Eddie, bringing them to Acme's factory. Doom reveals he
19782-512: The screenplay. On December 18, 2019, it was reported that Dave Green would direct the project. It was also reported that the project was looking for a new writer, with Jon and Josh Silberman instead co-producing the film alongside McKay, however, by December 2020, McKay departed the project while Jon and Josh Silberman left their roles as producers and resumed their screenwriting roles, with Samy Burch, Jeremy Slater , and James Gunn scheduled to write its screenplay. Gunn would've also co-produced
19939-439: The series was made, principal writer of the original 16 episodes Michael Maltese stated he had never heard of these or any "rules" and dismissed them as "post production observation". One running gag involves the coyote trying, in vain, to shield himself with a little parasol against a great falling boulder that is about to crush him. Another involves him falling from high cliffs, after momentarily being suspended in midair, as if
20096-465: The start and end of the workday. Sam Sheepdog, by contrast, is a large, burly Berger de Brie ( Briard ) with white or tan fur and a mop of red hair that usually covers his eyes. He very rarely runs and tends to be sedentary in his movements. He does, however, possess sufficient strength to incapacitate Ralph with a single punch once he catches him. Sam has a coworker named Fred that he occasionally changes shifts with. They are similar looking, but Fred has
20253-555: The template for their adventures. The characters star in a long-running series of theatrical cartoon shorts (the first 16 of which were written by Maltese) and occasional made-for-television cartoons. Originally meant to parody chase-cartoon characters such as Tom and Jerry , they became popular in their own right. The coyote appears separately as an occasional antagonist of Bugs Bunny in five shorts from 1952 to 1963: Operation: Rabbit , To Hare Is Human , Rabbit's Feat , Compressed Hare , and Hare-Breadth Hurry . While he
20410-408: The text, a white classmate of Rock's who racially harassed him in high school not only resurfaced years later as his chauffeur , but also attempted to be amicable and suggested that they get together for coffee. Rock employs the "time clock" concept to racial tensions in schools by asserting that his tormentor was simply playing the role that he was dealt. The NewsRadio episode "Twins" played with
20567-464: The time of release, it was the 20th-highest-grossing film of all time. It was also the second-highest-grossing film of 1988, behind only Rain Man . In the United Kingdom, the film also set a record opening for a Disney film. The film was first released on VHS on October 12, 1989, and on DVD on September 28, 1999. On March 25, 2003, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released it as a part of
20724-501: The time would have still made it the most expensive animated film ever produced. Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg argued that the hybrid of live-action and animation would "save" Walt Disney Feature Animation . Spielberg's contract included an extensive amount of creative control and a large percentage of the box-office profits. Disney kept all merchandising rights. Spielberg convinced Warner Bros. , Fleischer Studios , Harvey Comics , King Features Syndicate , Felix
20881-408: The toons were comic-strip characters rather than movie stars. During the writing process, Price and Seaman were unsure of whom to include as the villain in the plot. They wrote scripts that had either Jessica Rabbit or Baby Herman as the villain, but they made their final decision with the newly created character Judge Doom. Doom was supposed to have an animated vulture sit on his shoulder, but this
21038-457: The top of a tall skyscraper . In the direct-to-video film Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation , the Road Runner finally gets a taste of humiliation by getting run over by a mail truck that "brakes for coyotes". The two were also seen in cameos in Animaniacs . They were together in two Slappy Squirrel cartoons: "Bumbie's Mom" and "Little Old Slappy from Pasadena ". In the latter,
21195-500: The trial court in the case ruled that these only referred to actual cash receipts Disney collected and denied Wolf's claim. In its January 2004 ruling, the California Court of Appeal disagreed, finding that expert testimony introduced by Wolf regarding the customary use of "gross receipts" in the entertainment business could support a broader reading of the term. The ruling vacated the trial court's order in favor of Disney and remanded
21352-450: The uncredited voice of Jessica Rabbit , Roger Rabbit's wife. Tim Curry auditioned for the role of Judge Doom, but was rejected because the producers found him too terrifying. Christopher Lee was also considered for the role, but turned it down. John Cleese also expressed interest for the role, but was deemed not scary enough. Peter O'Toole , F. Murray Abraham , Roddy McDowall , Eddie Deezen , and Sting were also considered for
21509-551: The voice of B.B. in Deadly Friend . His portrayal of Roger was also inspired by Screwy Squirrel . To facilitate Hoskins' performance, Fleischer dressed in a Roger Rabbit costume and "stood in" behind camera for most scenes. Williams explained Roger was a combination of " Tex Avery 's cashew nut-shaped head, the swatch of red hair... like Droopy 's, Goofy 's overalls, Porky Pig 's bow tie, Mickey Mouse 's gloves, and Bugs Bunny -like cheeks and ears." Kathleen Turner provided
21666-434: The voices of Charles Fleischer and an uncredited Kathleen Turner . Combining live-action and animation , the film is set in an alternate history Hollywood in 1947, where humans and cartoon characters (referred to as "toons") co-exist. Its plot follows Eddie Valiant , a private investigator with a grudge against toons, who must help exonerate Roger Rabbit , a toon framed for murder . Walt Disney Pictures purchased
21823-462: Was Don't Give Up the Sheep , released on January 3, 1953(although an onscreen copyright line gives the year 1951). In this first entry of the characters, only the sheepdogs are seen clocking in and out in this cartoon, except for "Ralph" attempting to clock out while disguised as "Sam's" replacement before being unmasked and pummeled. The next cartoon "Sheep Ahoy" (1954, with a 1953 copyright line) ended with
21980-572: Was "openly disdainful of the Disney bureaucracy " and refused to work in Los Angeles. Accommodating Williams and his animators, production moved to England where a studio, Walt Disney Animation UK (subsuming Richard Williams Animation), was created for this purpose; located at The Forum, 74–80 Camden Street, in Camden Town, London , while the live-action production was based at Elstree Studios . Disney and Spielberg also told Williams that in return for doing
22137-673: Was Spielberg's original choice to play Eddie Valiant, but his price was too high. Chevy Chase was the second choice, but he was not interested. Bill Murray was also considered for the role, but due to his idiosyncratic method of receiving offers for roles, Murray missed out on it. Eddie Murphy reportedly turned down the role as he misunderstood the concept of toons and humans co-existing; he later regretted this decision. Robin Williams , Robert Redford , Jack Nicholson , Sylvester Stallone , Edward James Olmos , Wallace Shawn , Ed Harris , Charles Grodin and Don Lane were also considered for
22294-418: Was announced that its theatrical and public release would be cancelled, with the company taking an approximately US$ 30 million tax write-off for the film. Consistent with its long-term production issues and delays, Green later expressed his views on the decision: I am beyond proud of the final product, and beyond devastated by WB's decision. But in the spirit of Wile E. Coyote, resilience and persistence win
22451-573: Was appearing in various media through archive recordings, for example, in TV series, shorts, and video games, such as 2014's Looney Tunes Dash . In addition, other voice actors have replaced him. These voice actors are: Many Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner-themed video games have been produced: There are two scenes in Stanley Kubrick 's 1980 adaptation of The Shining where Danny Torrance and his mother, Wendy Torrance , are watching
22608-545: Was deleted due to the technical challenges this posed. Doom would also have a suitcase of 12 small, animated kangaroos that act as a jury , by having their joeys pop out of their pouches, each with letters, when put together would spell YOU ARE GUILTY. This was also cut for budget and technical reasons. The Toon Patrol (Stupid, Smart Ass, Greasy, Wheezy, and Psycho) satirizes the Seven Dwarfs (Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey), who appeared in Snow White and
22765-430: Was eventually abandoned. Nat Mauldin was hired to write a prequel titled Roger Rabbit: The Toon Platoon , set in 1941 to 1943. Similar to the previous film, Toon Platoon featured many cameo appearances by characters from The Golden Age of American Animation . It began with Roger Rabbit's early years, living on a farm in the midwestern United States. With human Ritchie Davenport, Roger travels west to seek his mother, in
22922-501: Was hired to direct in 1985, based on the success of Romancing the Stone and Back to the Future . Disney executives were continuing to suggest Darrell Van Citters direct the animation, but Spielberg and Zemeckis decided against it. Richard Williams was eventually hired to direct the animation. Zemeckis wanted the film to exhibit "Disney's high quality of animation, Warner Bros.' characterization, and Tex Avery humor." Harrison Ford
23079-588: Was impressed and Alan Menken was hired to write five songs for the film and offered his services as executive producer. One of the songs, "This Only Happens in the Movies", was recorded in 2008 on the debut album of Broadway actress Kerry Butler . Eric Goldberg was set to be the new animation director, and began to redesign Roger's new character appearance. Spielberg became busy establishing DreamWorks , while Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy decided to remain as producers. Test footage for Who Discovered Roger Rabbit
23236-603: Was inspired by Chinatown . Price and Seaman said that "the Red Car plot, suburb expansion, urban and political corruption really did happen," Price stated. "In Los Angeles, during the 1940s, car and tire companies teamed up against the Pacific Electric Railway system and bought them out of business. Where the freeway runs in Los Angeles is where the Red Car used to be." In Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? ,
23393-412: Was later seen on ABC until 2000, and on Global until 2001. In the 1970s, Chuck Jones directed some Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner short films for the educational children's TV series The Electric Company . These short cartoons used the Coyote and the Road Runner to display words for children to read. In 1979, Freeze Frame , in which Jones moved the chase from the desert to snow-covered mountains,
23550-426: Was originally released by Buena Vista Records on June 22, 1988, and reissued on CD on April 16, 2002. On January 23, 2018, Intrada Records released a three-CD set with the complete score, alternates, and a remastered version of the original 1988 album, plus music from three Roger Rabbit short films , composed and conducted by Bruce Broughton and James Horner . Mondo Records and Walt Disney Records reissued
23707-418: Was revamped in 1985 by Michael Eisner , the then-new CEO of Disney. Amblin Entertainment , which consisted of Steven Spielberg , Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy , were approached to produce Who Framed Roger Rabbit alongside Disney. The original budget was projected at $ 50 million, which Disney felt was too expensive. The film was finally green-lit when the budget decreased to $ 30 million, which at
23864-462: Was seen as part of Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales . At the end of Bugs Bunny's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny (the initial sequence of Chuck Jones ' TV special Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over ), Bugs mentions to the audience that he and Elmer Fudd may have been the first pair of characters to have chase scenes in these cartoons, but then a pint-sized baby Wile E. Coyote (wearing
24021-475: Was shot sometime in 1998 at the Disney animation unit in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; the results were a mix of CGI, traditional animation, and live-action that did not please Disney. A second test had the toons completely converted to CGI , but this was dropped as the film's projected budget would escalate past $ 100 million. Eisner felt it was best to cancel the film. In March 2003, producer Don Hahn doubted
24178-484: Was shown at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 10, 2014. The desert scenery in the first three Road Runner cartoons, Fast and Furry-ous (1949), Beep, Beep (1952), and Going! Going! Gosh! (also 1952), was designed by Robert Gribbroek and was quite realistic. In most later cartoons, the scenery was designed by Maurice Noble and was far more abstract . It
24335-595: Was shown before Dick Tracy ; and Trail Mix-Up was shown before A Far Off Place . The film also inspired a short-lived comic book and video game spin-offs , including two PC games , the Japanese version of The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle (which features Roger instead of Bugs), a 1989 game released on the Nintendo Entertainment System , and a 1991 game released on the Game Boy . In December 2016,
24492-431: Was split between Walt Disney Animation UK and a specialized unit in Los Angeles, set up by Walt Disney Feature Animation and supervised by Baer. The production budget continued to escalate, while the shooting schedule ran longer than expected. When the budget reached $ 40 million, Disney CEO Michael Eisner seriously considered shutting down production, but studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg talked him out of it. Despite
24649-436: Was the tech expert of the Loonatics (influenced by the past cartoons with many of the machines ordered by Wile E. from Acme ), and has magnetic hands and the ability to molecularly regenerate himself (influenced by the many times in which Wile E. painfully failed to capture the Road Runner and then was shown to have miraculously recovered). Tech E. Coyote speaks, but does not have a British accent as Wile E. Coyote did. Rev Runner
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