Description

Roger Rabbit is an cartoon anthropomorphic rabbit. The character first appeared in author Gary K. Wolf’s 1981 novel, Who Censored Roger Rabbit? In the book, Roger is second banana in a popular comic strip, “Baby Herman”. Roger hires private detective Eddie Valiant to investigate why his employers, the DeGreasy Brothers, have reneged on their promise to give Roger his own strip. When Roger is found murdered in his home, Valiant sets out to look for the killer, with the help of Roger’s “doppel” (in the book, comic characters can construct physical copies of themselves using their minds that last for only a few days).

The book and character were later re-envisioned in Disney’s hit 1988 live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In the film version, Roger is a cartoon character in Hollywood during the Golden age of American animation. The various toons live in a Los Angeles enclave known as “Toontown”, and act out animated shorts in the same way human actors act out feature films. Roger is framed for the murder of a famous Hollywood producer of cartoon props and gags and owner of Toontown, Marvin Acme, and he seeks out Valiant to help clear his name. In the film, the voice of Roger is performed by comedian Charles Fleischer, who was known for electing to wear an actual rabbit costume on the set to get into the role over the entirety of production.