Question: In the bar how does Judge Doom know Roger is there by sniffing the record?
Question: In the scene where Jessica Rabbit performs, when she's interacting with different objects in the room, such as the cloth napkin on Mr. Acme's table (to polish his bald head) and Eddie Valliant's tie and coat, how did they accomplish that if Jessica was drawn on the film later (so I've been led to believe is the process with cartoon/reality movies). Did they actually have a stand-in/actress that they drew over?
Answer: According to the Disney Wiki (http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Who_Framed_Roger_Rabbit) : "During production, one of the biggest challenges faced by the makers of the film was how to get the cartoon characters to realistically interact with real on-set props. This was ultimately accomplished in two different ways. Certain props (such as Baby Herman's cigar or the plates Roger smashes over his head) were moved on-set via motion control machines hooked up to operator who would move the objects in exactly the desired manner. Then, in post, the character was simply drawn 'over' the machine. The other way of doing it was by using puppeteers. This is most seen in the scene in the Ink & Paint club. The glasses held by the octopus bartender were in fact being controlled by puppeteers from above, whilst the trays carried by the penguin waiters were on sticks being controlled from below - both the wires and the sticks were simply removed in post and the cartoons added in." While Jessica's performance model is credited as Betsy Brantley, it appears she was the basis for the animation, rather than actually being present on-set.
Question: After the weasels who work for Judge Doom leave Eddie's office having failed to find Roger, Roger remarks that Eddie saved his life. It is mentioned in the movie that The Dip is supposedly the only way to kill a Toon, so how would Roger have been killed if the weasels did find him, especially since they were holding guns?
Answer: As you mention, the weasels work for Judge Doom, who is in possession of the dipping machine. Had they found Roger, they would have simply delivered him to Doom, who could then put Roger into the Dip.
Question: Why is Betty Boop a black & white "Toon"? She makes the remark to Eddie that things have been tough since everything went to colour, but it was the development of coloured film that was different. Wouldn't "Toons" always have been coloured, but only filmed with the black & white film of the day? So shouldn't Betty Boop have also been a coloured "Toon", just like Mickey Mouse, who was also a black & white cartoon when he first appeared on film in "Steamboat Willy" in 1928, but is seen as a coloured "Toon" at the end of the film. Also if black & white "Toons" can become colourized, then why didn't Betty have this process done?
Answer: Toons are made of ink. There would have been no reason for them to be made of colored ink before there were colored films. The black and white and colored characters would have been played by different toons. Steamboat Willy doesn't look much like modern Mickey Mouse so it must be a different "actor" playing the role. Modern soap operas do this all the time - a brunette character goes away for a while and comes back as a blonde a foot taller.
Question: This movie wouldn't be anything special at all in these days; now they put everything into the computers and voilà. So, could anybody tell me (with direct examples) how did they make the interaction between Toons and humans without any CGI?
Answer: They used a lot of practical trickery. In the bar scene where Roger is smashing plates on his head, they had a robot arm with a suction cup that would grab a plate and smash it on a metal rod where the head would be. The Weasels' guns were suspended by wires (watch the guns as they carry them. The movement is more characteristic of being hung than held). They had a robot arm that they could place a drink in to make it look like Roger was drinking a shot of whisky. This was used in Maroon's office (while Roger is sitting on the chair), and in the bar (when Eddy pulls the whole "You don't"/"I do" trick). Watch the scene where Roger takes the drink in the bar. Right after taking the drink and before the cut, his arm very conspicuously stays in a somewhat unusually rigid angle. They had to keep the arm there to cover up the robotic arm. They also had a little buggy for Bob Hoskins to ride around in when he was in Benny. The wheel that Hoskins holds was useless on the buggy and the vehicle was controlled by someone else.
Answer: There was also a giant sized doll of Roger Rabbit, Bob Hoskins would use it as a reference point or as stunt doll when he had to grab Roger. Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger Rabbit, would stand off camera in costume saying his lines.
Question: Towards the end, Eddie resorts to assorted cartoon antics in order to make the Weasels "die laughing." But Eddie is not in Toontown, he's performing with real objects inside the Acme factory, and subject to normal physics again. So, how is it he managed to survive multiple bowling-bowl blows to the head, being electrocuted, etc?
Answer: The movie establishes, pretty quickly, that it doesn't necessarily follow real-world logic and physics, and plays fast and loose with them. After all, it's a world where humans and cartoons co-exist side-by-side. Lots of things happen by pure dumb luck, etc. It would stand to reason that Eddie could survive silly things like being hit in the head with a bowling ball, etc. You could also make the argument that the Acme factory could follow cartoon logic, especially as it seems to be literally right next to Toon Town (they even cut a hole in the wall directly to Toon Town) and was run by a man who loved the Toons.
Question: Why are there peeping holes in the bar?
Answer: During Prohibition, which lasted throughout the 20's and early 30's, alcoholic beverages were effectively entirely banned in the US. Illicit, illegal places (often referred to as a "speakeasy" or "rotgut room") were created where people could drink alcohol on the down low. They were often secret establishments or hidden areas within another business. The secret room in the bar is one such room. The reason there are peepholes in the room is so they could keep an eye out for unwanted company (aka, the police or other authorities) while people illegally drank. If they saw the police coming, they could hide the booze and try to find a way to sneak out.
Question: When Eddie is around the human characters, there are quite a few of them who make fun of his brother's death. Even some of the cops think it's funny too. The only one that seems sympathetic and to be concerned about is his girlfriend. Why do they think it's funny that a human died from a falling piano?
Answer: When did a human, let alone a cop, make fun of his brother's death? They made fun of Eddie for becoming a drunk, but not for losing his brother.
Answer: The record is the song, "Merry Go-Round Broke Down, " known to most of us as the "Looney Toons" theme. That was Judge Doom's first clue that Roger could be around. We don't see who started the record playing, but it was probably the eponymous rabbit, himself. If so, he would have left his scent on the record, which the supremely evil Judge Doom could have picked up by sniffing the vinyl.
Michael Albert