The 2 most iconic animated characters ever appeared on screen together for the first and last time 36 years ago

It would be hard to find two animated characters more iconic and with greater legacies than Mickey Mouse And Bugs BunnyAnd although they are owned by different studios, both anthropomorphized animals appeared in the same project – but only once. As well as both having equally recognizable designs, Mickey and Bugs both have iconic cartoon character voices. Although some of Bugs Bunny’s funniest cartoons through the decades revolved solely around him, he was lucky enough to team up with another legendary character in 1988 for an inter-studio event for the ages.

Mickey Mouse is Walt Disney’s most recognizable character And is something of a mascot for the whole brand. Similarly, Bugs Bunny fills a similar role when it comes to Warner Bros. animations. The rivalry between the two studios would suggest that a crossover would be impossible. However, both parties came to an incredibly rare agreement in 1988, which led to a seminal moment in cinema history. The difficulty in coordinating the collaboration is clearly reflected by the simple fact that it has not happened again since.

Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny were both in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Warner Bros. allowed their animated mascot to appear in a movie produced by Disney

Gary Wolff’s 1981 Who Censored Roger Rabbit The novel served as the basis for the 1988 movie with a similar name. The source material is used as a loose jumping-off point for the adaptation, although the basic premise of the story remains the same in both versions. While Wolff’s book has no licensed characters from established studiosIt still has the intermingling of cartoon and human characters. Disney took this concept one step further by using recognizable animated characters to populate the movie world. Included in the figures are Mickey Mouse, and Warner Bros’ Bugs Bunny.

Disney’s use of Bugs Bunny in Roger Rabbit It did not come easily, and it was not free. Because Warner Bros. owns the character, Disney was required to pay a fee to borrow the character from the studio’s competitor. Because Neither Mickey nor Bugs are integral to the film’s narrativeThey did not meet often and for very long. However, their most famous moment was a 30-second sequence with Bob Hoskins’ Eddie Valiant. Overall, the presence of both characters acted mostly as window dressing, adding bells and whistles to the movie’s meta world building. Regardless, the fact that they appear together at all is very cool.

Warner Bros. had 1 condition for allowing Disney to use Bugs Bunny in the movie

Disney’s mascot is not allowed to overshadow Bugs Bunny

As well as requiring payment for the use of Bugs Bunny, Warner Bros. had another rule they wanted to impose on the production Before an agreement was finalized. In short, if Mickey Mouse was on the screen, Bugs Bunny had to be there at the same time. Without this context, it is difficult to find anything unusual about the coming together of these two characters – despite the fact that this is a one-off event. However, watching the movie with this piece of information makes it easy to see the amount of effort that went into the two characters being matched.

Mickey and Bugs aren’t the only Disney/Warner Bros. characters to undergo similar restrictions. During Eddie Valiant’s visit to the Ink and Paint Club, the entertainment is provided by two famous animated ducks in the throes of a piano battle. Because Warner Bros. deemed their Daffy Duck character to be Donald Duck’s inter-studio counterpartWarner Bros. Put forward the condition of them sharing the same amount of screen time. This is what happened. Interestingly, although there is no clear winner in this musical showdown, Donald Duck landed the final blow, which may have been an intentionally sneaky move by Disney.

Bugs Bunny isn’t the only Warner Bros. animated character to appear in Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Bugs had a company from his home studio in the 1988 live action/animation hybrid

Because Disney was one of two production companies behind Roger Rabbit – The other is Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment – Disney characters have the most cameos of any studio involved in the collaboration. However, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck aren’t the only Warner Bros. characters to appear in the groundbreaking project. Some have only a line or two, and others are relegated to background characters. Interestingly, some things, like the portable holes and the huge magnet, are also from Warner Bros cartoons. in short, Roger Rabbit Includes famous and unknown Warner Bros – Some of that can be found below.

• Elmer Pod

• Porky Pig

• Sylvester

• Foghorn Leghorn

• Willie Coyote

• Road Runner

• Yosemite Sam

• Tweety Bird

It would be reasonable to assume that Disney had to obtain express permission for the use of each individual Warner BrosAnd their presence in the movie may even have come with specific instructions. What is unlikely is that the instructions would have been quite as strict as they were for the much bigger Warner Bros. Characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. The nature of the movie and the sheer number of cameos would have made it impossible to spend too much time with each character, regardless of which studio they ultimately belonged to.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit Did not only rely on established characters. In fact, the title character of the movie is taken directly from the pages of the 1981 book on which the adaptation is based. Roger Rabbit has the biggest role of all the animated characters in the movie. Other famous animated characters who made their screen debut in Who Framed Roger Rabbit Include Jessica Rabbit, Benny the Cub, and the Four Weasels in the Toon Patrol.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the most impressive inter-studio collaboration to date

There will probably never be another team-up as extensive as Who Framed Roger Rabbit

The Disney/Warner Bros. collaboration is a landmark occasion on its own, however Who Framed Roger Rabbit Also includes animated characters from other studios. MGM Cartoons, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures make up an incomplete list of studios that allowed their characters to be used in the massive crossover event. This means that other animated superstars like Woody Woodpecker, Betty Boop and Droopy Dog all have cameos to varying degrees in the 1988 movie. Many more characters other than those appearing had cameos planned, but legal rights and production limitations ultimately meant they had to be omitted.

Of course, many crossovers have happened since 1988, and some have involved unaffiliated studios. What makes many of them relatively unremarkable is the lack of legal boundaries to stop the crossover from happening. In other words, the properties that collide are often owned by the same studio, and it’s incredibly rare for more than two franchises to come together. therefore, A production like Who Framed Roger Rabbit is unlikely to ever happen againDue to the difficulty and coordination it took to make the original movie possible. At least Mickey Mouse And Bugs Bunny Has at least one run-in.