Everybody loves Who Framed Roger Rabbit? If you don't, well, we hate to be the ones to tell you, but it probably means you don't have a soul. A gloriously bonkers whodunnit set in a world where classic cartoon characters, including the entire Disney and Warner Bros stable, co-exist with humans in an approximation of Golden Age Hollywood. It's funny, touching, and at times nightmare-inducing - CHRISTOPHER LLOYD'S EYES - and, to be honest, we can't believe it never got a sequel. Turns out Disney and executive producer Steven Spielberg agreed, and quickly put a follow-up to the first film into development after it proved to be a triumph. Nat Mauldin (best known for, er, nothing) was hired to write a prequel titled Roger Rabbit: The Toon Platoon, set in 1941 and set to feature cameos by characters from the golden Age of American animation. It would also tell the story of Roger's journey from a simple toon to a movie star, which involves a stint in the army, Jessica Rabbit being kidnapped and forced to make pro-Nazi Germany broadcasts, and Roger taking the fight to Germany with his titular Toon Platoon, effectively ending the war single-handedly. Oh and then the film ends with his return to Hollywood with human cohort Richie Davenport, where he is also reunited with his parents - which is when we learn Bugs Bunny is his dad. Later retitled Who Discovered Roger Rabbit?, Spielberg got cold feet when he noticed some uncomfortable similarities between the film and his then-upcoming drama, Schindler's List. Not so happy with touching on the same subjects with two fundamentally different movies, and his departure from Warner Bros to set up his own Dreamworks studio was the final nail in the film's coffin. We would have loved to have seen any further adventures from Roger and company, prequel or otherwise, but following the sad passing of co-star Bob Hoskins this year makes us think it'll never happen.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
