There was a time where Roger Rabbit was an A-list Disney character, as popular as Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald Duck. But as the company has expanded, the slapstick bunny from Robert Zemeckis’ 1988 masterpiece Who Framed Roger Rabbit has been forgotten in favor of Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars. There’s no sequel (this is not a bad thing), no Disney+ series, and not a ton of merchandise, either.
Outside of the movie itself, the biggest high-profile reminder that Roger Rabbit is a Disney character is Disneyland’s Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. There would be a riot if the dark ride was torn down, so instead, Walt Disney Imagineering is giving it a “more relevant” update to focus the story on iconic animated sex symbol Jessica Rabbit. Even in his own ride, Roger takes a back seat (inside Benny the Cab, of course).
“Walt Disney Imagineering is rebooting another Disneyland attraction with a female lead character and revamped backstory to make it ‘more relevant’ as the Anaheim theme park continues to update rides that have become culturally outdated,” the OC Register reports. “Some scenes in Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin featuring Jessica Rabbit are being updated to be more relevant and reflect a new twist in the character’s story.”
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin is the latest Disneyland attraction to undergo a major renovation to remove outdated and problematic scenes — joining Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and Jungle Cruise… The updated Car Toon Spin storyline turns Jessica Rabbit into the newest private eye in Mickey’s Toontown on the lookout for Toon Patrol Weasels responsible for a rise in crime.
Car Toon Spin originally featured Jessica, voiced by Kathleen Turner in the movie, tied up in a trunk, but she’s been removed and replaced with barrels of childhood-scarring “Dip.” Until the renovation is complete, this poster will appear in the ride’s queue:
Here's some more information about the new Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin backstory at Disneyland. This poster will be displayed in the queue.
Some background: https://t.co/ddPkhxX9ZB pic.twitter.com/bzNrM3Cb5c
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) September 15, 2021
Disney’s update is getting a lot of attention, both positive and negative:
on the one hand, Jessica was NEVER portrayed as a damsel in distress, sans when she and Roger were captured together, and always proved herself more than capable in the film multiple times
on the other hand more Jessica on the attraction makes me so happy 😭 https://t.co/Qi2oJ8uyll
— Oscar Winner Barbenheimer 🩷🖤✨ (@thederpyhipster) September 16, 2021
The pure irony of an attempt to make an attraction less problematic by reframing its narrative context around a "rise in crime statistics" in a fictional universe which was established in a film that is widely accepted as a racial allegory. https://t.co/iwge3gbb4G
— Nick Tierce (@nickytea) September 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/tweetsierrfan/status/1438299223246528513
https://twitter.com/FaeryInDisguise/status/1438240135787733000
https://twitter.com/21royalstreet/status/1438259506417258503
I actually really love this so far! It connects the ride to the land more and the story actually makes sense! And, of course, Jessica's detective outfit looks amazing! 😍😍😍 https://t.co/5V2yibvlLT
— Leif (@Chief__Leif) September 16, 2021
Jessica Rabbit as a private eye? Neat. https://t.co/ZbjXKFnatv
— 🍉1995express🚂✨🌈📖🖊️🖌️🎨🎬🌌🌎 (@1995express) September 16, 2021
If you haven’t watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit lately, do it. It’s basically perfect.
(Via the OC Register)
