When Disney-MGM Studios opened in May of 1989, one character in particular was a natural fit for the idealized Hollywood setting that Imagineers had created for the park. Roger Rabbit was at the peak of his popularity, just a mere two years after his film debut, and Disney made his presence felt strongly at their then newest theme park.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit hit theaters in 1988, and was at the forefront of an animation resurgence. Disney wasted no time, and a costumed Roger soon began appearing at both east and west coast parks, and at Tokyo Disneyland as well. In spring of 1989, Tummy Trouble, the first of three Roger Rabbit cartoon shorts was released in theaters with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, setting the stage for the hare´s soon to be near center-stage status at the new movie-themed park.

When the Studios opened their gates on May 1, 1989, while there was no specific Roger Rabbit attractions, the Maroon Studios personality and his various costars were featured prominently throughout. The colorful Maroon Cartoons billboard was one of the more distinct visual elements when approaching the Chinese Theater from the park´s entrance, and featured Roger, Jessica and Baby Herman. Nearby, a more subtle detail that still survives, can be found above the entrance to the Hollywood and Vine Cafeteria. There you will see a sign on a window for the offices of Eddie Valiant, Private Investigator, complete with cartoon outline of where Roger made a likely panicked escape.

One component of the Studio´s original and extended Backstage Studio Tour was the encounter with the infamous Dipmobile, taken from the movie´s climactic final battle with Judge Doom. Tram riders were threatened by the huge machine on wheels and toons on board the tram were warned to be careful. Red Car trolleys, a major plot device from the film, were also featured on the backlot.

As the Backstage Studio Tour was originally presented, the Looney Bin was part of the backlot area that served as an intermission point between the tram and walking portions of the attraction. The Looney Bin was a combination interactive "fun Zone" and gift shop, patterned loosely after the Acme gag factory from the movie. There were photo spots involving Jessica, a brick wall sporting a Roger-shaped hole and the steamroller that ultimately flattened Judge Doom and revealed his true nature. Sights gags were featured throughout, the most famous being the "ton of bricks" suspended high above the mostly unsuspecting guests. Sound effects crates provided interactive fun for kids and adults as well.

Roger was also featured as part of an interactive activity at the SoundWorks post-show area of the Monster Sound Show. Dubbing Roger´s voice was one of the offerings of the Movie Mimics component.

Roger, Jessica and Baby Herman ultimately, and somewhat indirectly, became part of The Magic of Disney Animation. The second Roger Rabbit Cartoon, Roller Coaster Rabbit, was the first film made entirely and exclusively at Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida. Guests to the attraction through the early part of 1990 had the privilege of seeing the animators working on the short. In fact, one of the early promotional materials for the park and specifically the Animation Tour, featured Roger prominently jumping to life out of an animator´s drawing. The studio went on to produce the third and final Roger Rabbit cartoon, Trail Mix-Up, which was released in 1993.

Perhaps the saddest, and likely final chapter in Roger Rabbit´s association with Disney-MGM Studios were the plans for an entire Roger Rabbit-themed area that went unrealized. Alternately called Cartoon Hollywood and Roger Rabbit´s Hollywood, it was to have been located on Sunset Boulevard and was projected to have opened in the mid-1990s. Among the attractions considered:

Toontown Trolley: A madcap adventure using flight simulators surrounded by animated screens that take guests on a wild trolley ride through the zany world of Toontown.

Baby Herman´s Runaway Baby Buggy Ride: Guests aboard oversize buggies would have careened through the sets of Toontown Hospital in a ride inspired by the Roger Rabbit cartoon Tummy Trouble. One internal Disney publication at the time alternately suggested a similar ride based on Roller Coaster Rabbit.

Benny the Cab: A dark ride concept that ultimately found a home at Toontown in Disneyland.

The projected group of attractions would have been centered around the Toontown Depot and would have included unique shops and the Terminal Bar and Grill.

Cartoon Hollywood was just one of a number of concepts announced in the early 1990s as part of the "Disney Decade" that never came to fruition. It appears that contention between Disney and Steven Spielberg´s Amblin Entertainment, who both jointly owned the Roger Rabbit franchise, ultimately caused the demise of all these projects and brought about the subsequent fading of the once popular toon´s superstar status.

Roger had survived frame-ups, pratfalls and the nefarious plots of Judge Doom, but was unable to survive Hollywood politics. A sad fate for a character who was once considered evergreen by Disney fans and company management alike.