MORRISON MONDAYS!
By BILL MORRISON
If you saw Warren Beatty’s colorful Dick Tracy movie on the big screen when it was in theaters 26 years ago, you also saw Roger Rabbit’s second animated short, “Rollercoaster Rabbit,” which preceded it (that is, if you weren’t still in line for popcorn). Both films premiered together on June 15, 1990.
Taken while I was working on the poster (or maybe shortly thereafter).
I was already a huge fan of the rabbit and his voluptuous girlfriend, Jessica, when the assignment to draw and paint his latest poster fell to me, and my geek-o-meter was off the charts.
Disney had a lot of simoleons invested in Dick Tracy, and they weren’t exactly skimping on the advertising budget for Roger’s latest flick either. I did two full illustrations for “Rollercoaster Rabbit,” though I don’t recall why the first one was rejected after the tight pencil drawing was approved to go to final paint. But I will concede that my drawing is much better on the final poster. By the way, the second painting also included the rollercoaster tracks disappearing down into the clouds, but the art director decided to put the focus on Roger, Jessica, and Baby Herman with a vignette.
“Rollercoaster Rabbit” is a cartoon thrill ride that you’re not likely to see up on the silver screen again any time soon, but you can watch it on YouTube or if you have the 25th anniversary Blu-ray edition of the original 1988 feature film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit that was issued last year. It’s included in the extras, along with the other two shorts starring Roger and Baby Herman, “Tummy Trouble,” and “Trail Mix-Up.”
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MORE
— THE MANY MOODS OF DONALD — Just in Time for DONALD DUCK DAY. Click here.
— THE SIMPSONS’ YELLOW ALBUM: When I Ripped Off THE BEATLES — Then Got Ripped Off to the Tune of $14.8 MILLION. Click here.
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Eisner winner BILL MORRISON has been working in comics and publishing since 1993 when he co-founded Bongo Entertainment with Matt Groening, Cindy Vance and Steve Vance. At Bongo, and later as Executive Editor of Mad Magazine, he parodied the comics images he loved as a kid every chance he got. Not much has changed.
Bill is on Instagram (@atomicbattery) and Facebook (Bill Morrison/Atomic Battery Studios), and regularly takes commissions and sells published art through 4C Comics.
