Q : One of my favorite movies of all time is Who Framed Roger Rabbit because it’s the only movie to feature cartoon characters from Disney, Warner Brothers, Tex Avery, and other cartoon companies. How did The Walt Disney Company acquire the rights to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Avi, Irvine, California
A: Disney purchased the film rights to Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, the book title, from the author, Gary K. Wolf, in 1981 shortly after its publication. There were several versions of the script before the final one was selected; filming began in 1986, and the movie was released in 1988.
Q : Do you know if the World Premiere of Fantasia in 1940 was an invitation-only premiere or whether the average Joe could buy tickets for the screening?
Will, Pacifica, California
A: I do not have a definitive answer, but the November 13, 1940, premiere at the Broadway Theater included many celebrities in formal attire, including Walt and Lillian Disney, and Leopold Stokowski. The film began its regular run on that date, and continued to play for 49 weeks at the theater, a record for the time.
Q : I have a tradition that I watch all of the Disney animated films on the day they came out in theaters. I am a little confused about what day to see Fantasia/2000. I can’t decide whether to see it on the day it premiered on December 17, the day it came out in IMAX theaters on January 1, or on the day it came out in general theaters on June 16. So please tell me which one of those dates should I see Fantasia/2000 for my tradition?
Daniel, Bergenfield, New Jersey
A: The December 1999 screenings were preliminary screenings (the premiere was actually at Carnegie Hall in New York City on December 15); I would go with July 1, 2000, when the general public could first pay to see the film.
Q : My earliest movie-going memory is Bedknobs and Broomsticks. On the beautiful remastered DVD of the film, notation is made of the missing “Step In The Right Direction” scene. I believe they said that was only seen in the premiere of the film, and then it was cut. Although I was quite young, I have a rather clear memory of seeing that song performed in the film here in my Illinois hometown. Could that at all be possible, and lastly, have they had any success in finding that scene subsequent to the DVD release?
Scott, Springfield, Illinois
A: The song was cut from the film before release. It was in an early print I saw at the Disney Studio Theater in a screening for distribution executives when the decision was made that the film was too long. Unfortunately when cuts are made in a musical, songs are the first things to go. The song was on the soundtrack record album, so people often think they remember seeing it in the film when actually they only heard it on the record. The film of the missing song has never been found.
Q : I’ve always loved the character Ranger Woodlore, but I don’t know who, specifically, created him. Was it just one man, or were several involved, and what were their names, if you know?
Joseph, Nevada City, California
A: The creation of a Disney character can only rarely be attributed to a single person. Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore first appeared in the cartoon, Grin and Bear It (1954). The character would have come out of meetings held with the director, Jack Hannah, and the writers, David Detiege and Al Bertino. The artist who animated the Ranger’s scenes in that cartoon was Bill Justice.
Q : What was the last film the multiplane camera was used on? Is it still in use?
Kimberly, Hamilton, New Jersey
A: The last multiplane shots on the Disney Studio’s multiplane cameras were for Oliver & Company. The three multiplane cameras are no longer used and are currently on display outside the Walt Disney Archives at the Disney Studio in Burbank, at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, and in the Art of Disney Animation attraction at Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris.