Zanandi Botes
Now to us, that may all seem like one hell of a hoot on set, what with a bunch of grown-ups collectively pretending to see and interact with a couple of cheeky cartoons. And they do it so well! Maybe a little too well, it turns out, because Bob Hoskins said he had a rough time trying to unsee those toons after the cameras stopped rolling.
"I think I went a bit mad while working on that. Lost my mind. The voice of the rabbit was there just behind the camera all the time, you just had to know where the rabbit would be at all times, and Jessica Rabbit and all these weasels. The trouble was, I had learnt how to hallucinate. If you do that for eight months it becomes hard to get rid of.”
Oh, boy. Well, he probably kept on seeing these toons in, like, his kitchen making toast or whatever. Nothing publicly embarrassing … right?
"I went to this one do (event) where I got talking to a very country lady with a big hat and there was this weasel in her hat."
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Right. On the upside, we guess he never felt alone. So that’s nice. To prepare for his role, Hoskins hung out with his young daughter who, at the time, had an imaginary friend. According to him he observed the “two” of them, and in doing so taught himself how to “hallucinate” and actually see the toons in the scenes with him. You have to remember that, back then, there were no green screens and tennis balls hanging from the ends of broomsticks and whatnot to show the actors where the CG characters will eventually go. It was all done old school, baby. You had to pretend there was an adorable little talking shoe making terrifying sounds while it melts into a bubbling acid vat.
Unfortunately for Hoskins, he did not quite bank on those talking shoes sticking around afterwards. Luckily he got some medical help, and a bit of good rest. Word is he only ever once heard a whimpering voice saying “Patty-cake” after that.
