On June 21st, 1988, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" premiered in New York City! Directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg, the film became an instant classic, successfully merging film noir with classic animation to a degree never before seen. The film is loosely based on the Gary K. Wolf novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" and set in a fictional 1947 Hollywood where "Toons" are a marginalized class of living actors. The production was a monumental technical challenge; animator Richard Williams and his team refused to use then-primitive computer graphics instead hand-drawing over 82,000 frames of animation and using "tone matters" to give characters 3D lighting and shadows. Beyond the technical feats, the film was a legal miracles, marking the first (and only) time that characters from rival studios (Mickey Mouse/Bugs Bunny and Donald Duck/Daffy Duck) appeared on screen together. The film grossed over $350 million in the box office and won three Academy Awards.
