[ZIA]

Roger Rabbit 2: Two-Dimensional Toons & CGI Humans? Don’t act like you’re surprised. You knew this announcement was coming from the moment we first heard that director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) was making a sequel to his 1988 smash hit, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? It was just a matter of time, really. With three Mocap (that’s the new slang for “motion-capture”, FYI) films already under his belt – Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol – it was a natural leap of thought to assume Zemeckis would use his favorite new toy in a Roger Rabbit sequel.

However, it appears that the Toon characters (Roger, Jessica, Benny the Cab) will not be the ones making the leap into the 21st century. According to his interview with MTV, Zemeckis doesn’t plan on using Mocap for those characters, just the human ones (as if that makes it any better). Read what he had to say below:

“I wouldn’t use it for the cartoon characters, because I think they should stay two-dimensional because that’s what — I wouldn’t dimensonalize Roger. And I couldn’t dimensonalize Jessica even if I wanted to because she doesn’t have a nose. We wouldn’t want to give her a nose.”

Why would Zemeckis feel it’s necessary to remove the only true human element from his movie? It was that interaction between the humans and the Toons that made Who Framed Roger Rabbit? so enjoyable in the first place. I hope he reconsiders and uses real humans in front of a camera, filming on a real set and with real life extras in the background. Although, to be fair, it could be that he is just tired of working in the traditional Hollywood movie setup.

After all, it has been 9 years since he filmed with a mutli-actor cast. The last three films he directed were all CGI Mocap and before that he did Cast Away, which basically only had one main actor. What Lies Beneath was his last multi-actor film in 2000 and then Contact back in 1997.

The good news is that the original writers, Jeffery Price (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) and Peter S. Seaman (Shrek the Third), are returning to pen the Roger Rabbit sequel. At least the story should be entertaining. There have been no announcements regarding the return of Bob Hoskins or any of the original cast members, but since Hoskins has done Mocap for Zemeckis in A Christmas Carol, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think he would reprise his role as gumshoe Eddie Valiant.

My standards for what films I watch are considerably lower than my standard for what films I find enjoyable. So regardless of how Zemeckis ultimately ends up filming Roger Rabbit 2, I’ll end up watching it. I just hope I find it to be as enjoyable as the first.

What do you think of Robert Zemekcis’ plan to use Mocap on the humans and not the Toons for Roger Rabbit 2?

Source: Cinema Blend
November 5, 2009 | by Paul Young

This is really timely because I just watched Roger Rabbit last night. I thought it was a great film back in the day, and although it appeared to be super-outdated cgi-wise, I still really enjoyed watching it.

[LostEmissary]

Originally Posted by ZIA

This is really timely because I just watched Roger Rabbit last night. I thought it was a great film back in the day, and although it appeared to be super-outdated cgi-wise, I still really enjoyed watching it.

There was CGI in it?

I wouldn’t dimensonalize Roger. And I couldn’t dimensonalize Jessica even if I wanted to because she doesn’t have a nose. We wouldn’t want to give her a nose.”

Yikes, MTV, use the spell check.

What do you think of Robert Zemekcis’ plan to use Mocap on the humans and not the Toons for Roger Rabbit 2?

Yeah, I don't know about that. I don't recall ever really seeing CGI characters along side traditional animation characters, so I'm not sure how that would look. The gritty, raw look of WFRR? was what made the juxtaposition of that world against the toons and toontown so interesting, imo. I'm just having a hard time picturing exactly how that would look.

Zemeckis is really big on CGI lately. I'd like to see a new classic Zemeckis film like Back to the Future.