I’ve loved Who Framed Roger Rabbit since I was a kid. It’s one of those movies-about-movies that got me started on the path to where I am today. Heck, I even wrote a pilot for Imagine that was in part inspired by WFRR. But I certainly did not get all of these jokes the first time I saw it—
YouTube made me mess with the audio a little, so I wouldn’t get another copyright notice on my channel. Also, there are some clips that are just… too spicy for YouTube. There’s even stuff that was cut from the movie entirely after the theatrical release, but is still available online. So, I made a longer version for my paid subscribers—
Meaning of “Toon”
Roger Rabbit is a kids movie, and I wouldn’t want to overanalyze, but the film is clearly meant to be taken allegorically. Still, I didn’t notice how similar “toon” sounded to a certain real-life slur.
What do you think? How many of these jokes did you get the first time?
First Cut
Originally, I had cut in clips from other movies and shows to comment on the racial allegory, like I did with The Pun King—
But that didn’t work so well this time. I think because Lion King is entirely animated, so cutaways to live-action was clearly commentary. In the case of Roger Rabbit, I couldn’t cut to real people or cartoons, without confusing the viewer.
Still, I’m disappointed I couldn’t use this Key and Peele sketch—