It’s not online yet and you can’t order tickets till March 4th, but here’s the heads up on a major LA animation event. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be holding A Toontown Reunion on Thursday April 4th at 7:30pm.
The Academy will be screening a digital restoration of the feature, followed by a star-studded panel Q&A that will include director Robert Zemeckis, animator Andreas Deja, actors Joanna Cassidy and Charles Fleischer, writer Peter S. Seaman and producers Don Hahn and Steve Starkey. Moderator and further guests are still being lined up and will be announced later.
Tickets will go on sale Monday March 4th online, by mail and in person at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre box office on Wilshire Blvd. Admission to this event is $5.00 for the general public, $3. for students with valid ID. More information will be posted soon at Oscars.org.
Jerry Beck is a writer, animation producer, college professor and author of more than 15 books on animation history. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He has curated cartoons for DVD and blu-ray compilations and has lent his expertise to dozens of bonus documentaries and audio commentaries on such. Beck is currently on the faculty of Cal Arts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [
I’ve pre-ordered the new restoration of the film on what I think is the blu-ray/DVD combo, although I wonder what striking extras will be devised–perhaps genuine uncut restorations of the individual ROGER RABBIT cartoons? Some might recall the controversy over a background image that was on camera for mere miliseconds, and the last expansion on this film merely clouded the images so that, even if you froze the frame, the actual image would be blurry. The only other idea I thought of for a strikingly collectable extra would be a cartoon each from the big famous guests from animation’s vast history that show up in this film. Wow! Now, that would be a collectable item. As for this show, well, it should be a major event…for those in L.A.
25 Years already?!? Holy crap. A quarter century. This was the one that re-ignited the entire animated film genre. And it was in such a dump that multiple studios let their precious characters actually mingle amongst each other. (Except for a couple odd exceptions.) No followup. Nothing. Maybe there were a couple shorts and then it petered out forever. Charles Fleischer disappeared back to where such an eccentric, near genius character like him springs from. Such an important film.
Any word on whether or not the minor alterations that were made to the feature in its previous DVD incarnation have been restored on the new blu-ray?
I worked on the trailer – got to see the film in all its various stages of completion. Utterly amazing to me the contraptions they devised to demonstrate the characters on the stage. One I’ll never forget – to indicate Roger sitting down, they had the seat cushion actually deflate, as if he was sitting on it. In the completed shot, you’d never even see that, even if you were looking for it.
Please ask about a possible sequel or prequel. I am unable to attend but I would very thankful if someone asked this,
A bunch of friends and I tried to get tickets on the 4th. it was sold out. any chance we can convince them to do 2 screening?