Bonkers and Roger Rabbit

[Mavericker]

Was Bonkers supposed to be Roger Rabbit the animated series? Or was it something seperate?

[Brandon Pierce]

I don't know the exact details, but there was supposed to be a Roger Rabbit animated series starring him, and an animated caricature of Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valient.

[Mavericker]

I don't know the exact details, but there was supposed to be a Roger Rabbit animated series starring him, and an animated caricature of Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valient.

How would that have worked? Were they going to feature toon cameos in the show? Would they have to cut through all the legal red tape to use characters owned outside of Disney, or were they all going to be Disney characters?

[John Pannozzi]

According to Greg Weisman, Bonkers originated as "Toon Cop", which was Roger Rabbit-esque, but did not star Roger Rabbit.

[Racattack!Force]

How would that have worked? Were they going to feature toon cameos in the show? Would they have to cut through all the legal red tape to use characters owned outside of Disney, or were they all going to be Disney characters?
They were many problems (getting character rights, trying to get Ablin Entertainment to work with them, etc.). In the end, they just had to redo it all.

[Blackstar]

There's no way that Disney would have been able to secure the rights for all those characters from other studios for a weekday series, so there would have been little to no cameos, except for other Disney characters. And then there also would have been the issue of having Eddie Valiant on the show without paying Bob Hoskins a royalty in order to secure his likeness. These reasons, among others, are most likely why Disney scrapped the RR series and opted to use original characters for this idea, which became Bonkers.

[Knightmare]

There's no way that Disney would have been able to secure the rights for all those characters from other studios for a weekday series, so there would have been little to no cameos, except for other Disney characters. And then there also would have been the issue of having Eddie Valiant on the show without paying Bob Hoskins a royalty in order to secure his likeness. These reasons, among others, are most likely why Disney scrapped the RR series and opted to use original characters for this idea, which became Bonkers.


Well they did a Roger Rabbit comicbook why not just base the cartoon series on that, and it had Eddie Valiant in it but he looked nothing like Hoskins.

[Blackstar]

Well they did a Roger Rabbit comicbook why not just base the cartoon series on that, and it had Eddie Valiant in it but he looked nothing like Hoskins.

I guess Disney had their own reasons why they chose not to do that. Anyway, it's kind of a moot point, since Bonkers has since come and gone.

[Knightmare]

I guess Disney had their own reasons why they chose not to do that. Anyway, it's kind of a moot point, since Bonkers has since come and gone.


A very good point, my friend.

[AlgeaX]

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Bonkers was supposed to take place in the same continuity as Rodger Rabbit.

I have no idea where I read that, so there's a good chance my subconscious made it up.

[Pomegranate]

I don't feel like Bonkers is a true Disney original, because didn't it come from Marsupilami, which Disney acquired rights to a decade ago?

[Mavericker]

I don't feel like Bonkers is a true Disney original, because didn't it come from Marsupilami, which Disney acquired rights to a decade ago?

Wasn't Bonkers also part of Raw Toonage?

[Brandon Pierce]

Wasn't Bonkers also part of Raw Toonage?
Yes, but on that show he had a different design. He had brown spots instead of black, and the infamous, "golf club" ears.

[DarthGonzo]

Yes, but on that show he had a different design. He had brown spots instead of black, and the infamous, "golf club" ears.

Bonkers had the same design in the Miranda episode of the later show. It wasn't until the show was re-tooled that Bonkers' design was altered.

[AlgeaX]

Wasn't Bonkers also part of Raw Toonage?

I think I remember reading on Ask Greg that they developed Bonkers' own show first and then created the Raw Toonage shorts to lead into it.

Ah! Here it is...

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=10134

[Mavericker]

I don't feel like Bonkers is a true Disney original, because didn't it come from Marsupilami, which Disney acquired rights to a decade ago?

He was more a Roger Rabbit riff also.


There's no way that Disney would have been able to secure the rights for all those characters from other studios for a weekday series, so there would have been little to no cameos, except for other Disney characters. And then there also would have been the issue of having Eddie Valiant on the show without paying Bob Hoskins a royalty in order to secure his likeness. These reasons, among others, are most likely why Disney scrapped the RR series and opted to use original characters for this idea, which became Bonkers.

How did they get Roger Rabbit to appear in a Tiny Toons episode? Is it because he's technically a Spielberg character?

[Silverstar]

How did they get Roger Rabbit to appear in a Tiny Toons episode? Is it because he's technically a Spielberg character?

If you mean "Roger"'s brief cameo in "Buster and Babs Go Hawaiian", then yes and no. Roger's technically a Disney-owned character, but he can be safely referenced on a Spielberg-produced show, since the movie was a Disney/Amblin co-production.

Although technically, Roger didn't actually 'appear' in that episode; we just heard his voice from inside a limo (provided by Mr. Spielberg himself rather than Charles Fleischer). ;)

[J. B. Warner]

Although technically, Roger didn't actually 'appear' in that episode; we just heard his voice from inside a limo (provided by Mr. Spielberg himself rather than Charles Fleischer). ;)

Call me a pessimist, but I still can't help but doubt the legitimacy of that credit...

[dth1971]

Both WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT and BONKERS were set in Toontown!

[Mavericker]

If you mean "Roger"'s brief cameo in "Buster and Babs Go Hawaiian", then yes and no. Roger's technically a Disney-owned character, but he can be safely referenced on a Spielberg-produced show, since the movie was a Disney/Amblin co-production.

Although technically, Roger didn't actually 'appear' in that episode; we just heard his voice from inside a limo (provided by Mr. Spielberg himself rather than Charles Fleischer). ;)

We see Roger's yellow glove in that episode.

[DarthGonzo]

Both WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT and BONKERS were set in Toontown!

Aside from the reference in the theme song I don't think any character mentioned Toon Town in Bonkers. In fact I believe the toons in Bonkers lived amongst the humans as opposed to be segregated somewhere off the beaten path. The closest Bonkers ever got to "Toon Town" was that Wackyland-type world in "Imagine That". And technically both shows were set in Hollywood.

[Mavericker]

Aside from the reference in the theme song I don't think any character mentioned Toon Town in Bonkers. In fact I believe the toons in Bonkers lived amongst the humans as opposed to be segregated somewhere off the beaten path. The closest Bonkers ever got to "Toon Town" was that Wackyland-type world in "Imagine That". And technically both shows were set in Hollywood.

Bonkers made constant references to Disney characters but most didn't appear-I think Donald Duck was the only one.

[Silverstar]

Mickey made a quasi-appearance in one episode; he spent the whole story trapped in a box so the audience never saw him and he was only referred to as "The Mouse" or "The Famous Mouse", but we all knew it was him.

[Mavericker]

Mickey made a quasi-appearance in one episode; he spent the whole story trapped in a box so the audience never saw him and he was only referred to as "The Mouse" or "The Famous Mouse", but we all knew it was him.

Goofy's voice was heard in another episode.

[Mad Monkey 7]

Bonkers made constant references to Disney characters but most didn't appear-I think Donald Duck was the only one.

The Mad Hatter and March Hair were featured alot in some episodes and also there was a Toon night club. P.S. Don't forget the Dumbo's missing feather case and Darkwing's cameo in Bonker's daydream.

[AlgeaX]

Goofy's voice was heard in another episode.

Wasn't Bonkers a Disney toon? Why all the lawyer friendly* cameos?










*http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LawyerFriendlyCameo

[Mavericker]

Wasn't Bonkers a Disney toon? Why all the lawyer friendly* cameos?

Yes but they probably could get in trouble for using the big-name characters.










*http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LawyerFriendlyCameo[/quote]

[Blackstar]

Yes but they probably could get in trouble for using the big-name characters.










*http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LawyerFriendlyCameo[/quote]

Yes, we know about that, but that rule only applies to using characters from outside studios. How could Disney get into trouble for using characters from their own studio? As was stated above by AlegaX, Bonkers was Disney, so while characters from other studios were off-limits, they were free to use any Disney characters that they wanted. Case in point: Disney's House of Mouse.

[DarthGonzo]

My guess is that Disney felt a character like Mickey was a little too "high class" to appear in a show like Bonkers. I personally thought it was clever how they did the episode without actually showing Mickey, as if he was such a big star that people could just call him "The Mouse"

[Pomegranate]

Wasn't Bonkers also part of Raw Toonage?

He was more a Roger Rabbit riff also.

The creation of Raw Toonage was also a result of Disney's acquisition of Marsupilami way back in the 90s, wasn't it?

[Mavericker]

My guess is that Disney felt a character like Mickey was a little too "high class" to appear in a show like Bonkers. I personally thought it was clever how they did the episode without actually showing Mickey, as if he was such a big star that people could just call him "The Mouse"

Wasn't another reason cause at the time he was just an official corporate mascot?

How come Roger Rabbit never appeared in House of Mouse?

[J. B. Warner]

How come Roger Rabbit never appeared in House of Mouse?

Well, "House of Mouse" was made after the big snafu in 1993 that essentially killed Roger's career. Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Steven Spielberg all had a big falling out - Katzenberg left Disney, and the deal regarding new Roger Rabbit material required that both Katzenberg and Spielberg had to be involved, but neither of them could do so anymore. That's why the theatrical shorts stopped after 1993's "Trail Mix-Up" - there was a fourth one in development, but it had to be abandoned.

[judyindisguise]

Well, "House of Mouse" was made after the big snafu in 1993 that essentially killed Roger's career. Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Steven Spielberg all had a big falling out - Katzenberg left Disney, and the deal regarding new Roger Rabbit material required that both Katzenberg and Spielberg had to be involved, but neither of them could do so anymore. That's why the theatrical shorts stopped after 1993's "Trail Mix-Up" - there was a fourth one in development, but it had to be abandoned.

You know, speaking of the KatzBerg spat...I think I remember seeing the first Bonkers somewhere. And at one point, this bad guy was trying to turn Bonkers into a statue, or something. And when the bad guy was unmasked...my memory is very sketchy, but I think the bad guy looked like Spielberg! :eek:

[John Pannozzi]

How come Roger Rabbit never appeared in House of Mouse?
Benny the Cab was in House of Mouse, though.

[TheVileOne]

Now that Eisner is gone, I wish everyone would put aside their petty squabbles to bring Roger back.

It's sad to me that future generations are being deprived of a classic character like Roger Rabbit because of legal mumbo jumbo.

Randy Couture had the sense to realize he didn't want to end his career in the courts. He went back to the UFC. He made the right choice.

I know Spielberg kind of likes to stay on his rather holier than thou attitude, but he should go to Disney/Pixar and Katzenberg to figure something out. Katzenberg's probably too busy producing mediocre Shrek sequels that have become the very thing they were riffing in 2001. Shrek is now a soulless shell of a franchise.

[Brandon Pierce]

I think another reason for there being no more Roger Rabbit is because a few years ago Gary Wolf (author of the original source material) sued Disney for not paying him the right amount of royalties since the release of the movie.

If there is going to be another Roger Rabbit film or short, there needs to be consent from Eisner, Spielberg, Katzenberg, AND Gary Wolf. Four different people, who all have four different sticks up their wazoos.

[John Pannozzi]

If there is going to be another Roger Rabbit film or short, there needs to be consent from Eisner, Spielberg, Katzenberg, AND Gary Wolf. Four different people, who all have four different sticks up their wazoos.
Eisner is no longer at Disney. (though I believe he may still own Disney stock, but I don't think that matters).

[All Star Blitz]

The creation of Raw Toonage was also a result of Disney's acquisition of Marsupilami way back in the 90s, wasn't it?

I remember Raw Toonage. That was the only exposure I ever got to Disney toons until ca. 2001 when my cable network FINALLY put Disney on the basic package. Oh, the shows I missed.

I do remember Bonkers and Marsupilami, whose name still irks me. Decent show, though; I snagged three tapes at a grocery store of all places.

[Zen Man]

You know one of the main things people remember about this show is the whole Miranda fiasco. I remember when the show made its debut on The Disney Channel and they showed The Miranda Episodes first. Its been said that the Disney higher ups were none to pleased with these episodes and I think only half of them made it to the air while the rest were either shoved in the vault or destroyed.

Can't remember the whole story.

[DarthGonzo]

You know one of the main things people remember about this show is the whole Miranda fiasco. I remember when the show made its debut on The Disney Channel and they showed The Miranda Episodes first. Its been said that the Disney higher ups were none to pleased with these episodes and I think only half of them made it to the air while the rest were either shoved in the vault or destroyed.

Can't remember the whole story.

I think whatever Miranda episodes survive are the only ones that were actually finished. I didn't know those episodes aired on the Disney Channel before the show premiered on the Disney Afternoon though. You learn something new every day.

[Zen Man]

I think whatever Miranda episodes survive are the only ones that were actually finished. I didn't know those episodes aired on the Disney Channel before the show premiered on the Disney Afternoon though. You learn something new every day.

Yup.

Also Rescue Rangers,Talespin and Darkwing Duck were first shown on The Disney Channel before moving over to the syndicated Disney Afternoon block.

Good times back then. *Sigh*

[Blackstar]

I remember Raw Toonage. That was the only exposure I ever got to Disney toons until ca. 2001 when my cable network FINALLY put Disney on the basic package. Oh, the shows I missed.

Raw Toonage originally ran on CBS from 1992 to 1993.

[SpaceCowboy]

Raw Toonage originally ran on CBS from 1992 to 1993.Yeah, I remember it used to be on Saturday mornings on CBS too. Was the only Disney cartoon I can remember from back then where the episode started before the opening theme ran.