Editing Who Framed Roger Rabbit (section)

===Development===
[[Walt Disney Pictures|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 a perfect opportunity to produce a [[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]].<ref name="War">Stewart, p.72</ref> [[Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman]] were hired to write the script, penning two drafts. [[Robert Zemeckis]] offered his services as director in 1982,<ref name="Norman">{{cite book | author = Norman Kagan | title = The Cinema of Robert Zemeckis |date = May 2003| publisher = [[Rowman & Littlefield]] | location = Lanham, Maryland | chapter = Who Framed Roger Rabbit | pages = 93–117 | isbn = 0-87833-293-6}}</ref> but Disney declined as his two previous films (''[[I Wanna Hold Your Hand (film)|I Wanna Hold Your Hand]]'' and ''[[Used Cars]]'') had been [[box-office bomb]]s.<ref name="comment">Robert Zemeckis, Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, Ken Ralston, [[Frank Marshall (film producer)|Frank Marshall]], Steve Starkey, DVD audio commentary, 2003, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|author=TheThiefArchive|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME4yxyGZNS4|title=Early unmade version of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" [Paul Reubens, Darrell Van Citters, Disney 1983]|publisher=YouTube|date=September 5, 2014|access-date=September 5, 2014|archive-date=September 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906193905/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME4yxyGZNS4&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> The project was revamped in 1985 by [[Michael Eisner]], the then-new CEO of Disney. [[Amblin Entertainment]], which consisted of [[Steven Spielberg]], [[Frank Marshall (filmmaker)|Frank Marshall]] and [[Kathleen Kennedy (producer)|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.<ref name="Williams">{{cite book | author = [[James B. Stewart]] | title = [[DisneyWar]] | publisher = [[Simon & Schuster]] | year = 2005 | location = New York City | page = [https://archive.org/details/disneywar00jame_0/page/86 86] | isbn = 0-684-80993-1 }}</ref>

The film was finally [[Green-light|green-lit]] when the budget decreased to $30 million, which at the time would have still made it the most expensive animated film ever produced.<ref name="Williams" /> [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studios]] chairman [[Jeffrey Katzenberg]] argued that the hybrid of live-action and animation would "save" [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|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.<ref name="Williams" /> Spielberg convinced [[Warner Bros.]], [[Fleischer Studios]], [[Harvey Comics]], [[King Features Syndicate]], [[Felix the Cat|Felix 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 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 the final film. The producers were unable to acquire the rights to use [[Popeye]], [[Tom and Jerry]], [[Little Lulu]], [[Casper the Friendly Ghost|Casper]], or the [[Terrytoons]] characters for appearances from their respective owners (King Features, Turner, [[Western Publishing]], Harvey Comics, and [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]]).<ref name="Norman" /><ref name="comment" />

[[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.")<ref>{{cite news | author = Ian Nathan | title = Dreams: Terry Gilliam's Unresolved Projects | work = [[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |date = May 1996| pages = 37–40}}</ref> Robert Zemeckis 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.<ref name="Williams" /> [[Richard Williams (animator)|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."<ref name="WakingSB">[[Don Hahn]], [[Peter Schneider (film executive)|Peter Schneider]], ''Waking Sleeping Beauty'' DVD commentary, 2010, [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment]]</ref>