The filmmaker believes that the character of Jessica Rabbit could not appear in a Disney production today.
Who wants Roger Rabbit's skin? could he be entitled to a sequel? Robert Zemeckis, director of this 1988 hit, has revealed that the script for a second part exists. But he is very skeptical about the likelihood of it ever being brought to the screen.
This cult detective comedy from Touchstone (a Disney subsidiary) amazed audiences at the time by integrating animated characters into live shots. It followed a private detective (Robert Hoskins) hired by Roger Rabbit, an animated movie star rabbit accused of murder, in order to exonerate him. The film won no less than four Oscars the following year.
“They can't make a movie with Jessica in it”
Guest on the podcast Happy Sad ConfusedRobert Zemeckis returned to the success of the film and declared that the script for a sequel had been written. But he believes that Jessica Rabbit, the voluptuous animated femme fatale character – and wife of Roger Rabbit – is too sexy for today's decision-makers at Disney.
“Today's Disney would never make 'Roger Rabbit' today,” said the director of “Forrest Gump” and “Back to the Future.”
“They can’t make a movie with Jessica in it,” he elaborated. “The sequel script will never see the light of day, no matter how good it is. Just look at what they did to it at the theme park (Disneyland, in Anaheim, California, Editor’s note). They covered her with a trench coat!”
Variety confirms that the Disneyland attraction dedicated to Roger Rabbit, “Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin”, has been modified in 2021 and that the character of Jessica Rabbit has changed her outfit, swapping her low-cut dress for a beige coat.
Robert Zemeckis' next film, Here – the most beautiful years of our lifehits theaters on November 6. The director found Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, the stars of Forrest Gump.
