Witless Protection

What's up with the title? Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Hey, we know it's rude to answer a question with a question. But this question drives the movie, although it is a teeny bit of a spoiler. Roger isn't framed until about fifteen minutes into the movie, when Marvin Acme, who was caught patty-caking with Roger's wife, Jessica, is killed.

And once Acme's offed, Roger's the prime suspect.

But Eddie feels guilty. If Eddie hadn't taken the sketchy job of spying on Jessica and exposing her alleged infidelity, none of this would have happened. To absolve his own guilt, Eddie attempts to figure out who framed Roger Rabbit. He ends up saving Toontown and soothing his own conscience in the process.

One working title was Eddie Goes to Toontown, which is a terrible title. Not as bad as Lucky Number Slevin or Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones… but still awful. The reason why it's so bad, is because Eddie going to Toontown is only about five minutes of the movie. It's a great five minutes, but it's only a small part of the plot. Figuring out who framed Roger drives the entire movie.

And no offense to Eddie, but a furry cartoon bunny is a much more marketable character than a furry alcoholic detective.