List of Who Framed Roger Rabbit characters

The following is a list of characters who appeared in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit and its related works.

Eddie Valiant

Eddie Valiant
First appearance Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
Created by Gary K. Wolf
Portrayed by Bob Hoskins
Information
Species Human
Gender Male
Family Theodore "Teddy" Valiant (twin brother)
Significant other(s) Dolores

Eddie Valiant is the protagonist of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

In the original novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, Eddie Valiant is a fictional modern day California private detective hired by comic book star Roger Rabbit to investigate the workings of Roger's corrupt employers, the DeGreasy Brothers. When Roger is found dead, and his final words having been censored out, Valiant is soon sent on the case of tracking Roger's murderers. This original incarnation of Eddie is a heavy smoker and has a beard.

The 1988 film gives insight into the character, as portrayed by Bob Hoskins. Pictures and newspaper clippings in his office reveal that he and his brother Theodore ("Teddy" for short) were sons of a circus clown; they joined the police force in 1925 and started their own private investigation service in 1938. The brothers quickly established a reputation for helping Toons in trouble, such as solving the kidnapping of Donald Duck's nephews and clearing Goofy of espionage charges. In 1942, while they were investigating a robbery in Toontown, an unknown assailant (later revealed as Judge Doom) dropped a piano on them. Eddie survived with a broken arm, but Teddy was killed. The incident soured him on the idea of working for Toons, his business suffered greatly, and he became an alcoholic. Eddie began living in the office he and Teddy had shared and left Teddy's desk as a memorial to him, refusing to dust it or let anyone sit in its chair.

In 1947, R.K. Maroon, head of the Maroon Cartoons studio, hires Valiant to photograph Jessica Rabbit, Roger's wife; she is literally "playing pattycake" with Marvin Acme, owner of Toontown and founder of the Acme Corporation. When Acme is murdered and Roger becomes the prime suspect, Valiant teams up with Roger to find the culprit. Maroon is subsequently killed, and Valiant discovers that Doom is responsible for not only these two deaths, but Teddy's as well. He defeats Doom at Acme's warehouse, finds Acme's lost will that bequeaths Toontown to the Toons, and abandons his prejudice against them.

In the graphic novel of the film published in 1989 by Marvel Comics, Valiant is the narrator of the story, telling the film through his eyes and in the style of a detective story.

According to Roger Rabbit: The Resurrection of Doom, Valiant tends to consume jellybeans quite a bit as he gave up drinking.

In the novel Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?, Valiant has once again vowed to no longer take any Toon cases, but is forced to do so when Baby Herman is found dead.

Roger Rabbit

"Roger Rabbit" redirects here. For other uses, see Roger Rabbit (disambiguation).
Roger Rabbit
First appearance Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
Created by Gary K. Wolf
Richard Williams
Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Voiced by Charles Fleischer
Information
Species Toon Anthropomorphic Rabbit
Gender Male
Family Thumper (uncle)
Spouse(s) Jessica Rabbit

Roger Rabbit is an anthropomorphic Toon rabbit. He was described as a frantic over-anxious type who often stutters (even while he's screaming). The character first appeared in the book, Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf. Mixing both live action and animation to create a "toon" universe for the film, the Walt Disney Animation Studios set up an animation studio in Camden Town, London, while the live action was shot at Elstree film studios. Both the animation and live action were then composited by ILM fx studios in LA. In the book, Roger is a sidekick in a popular comic strip called "Baby Herman", his murder is being investigated by a detective named Eddie Valiant and a slowly evaporating stunt doppelganger of himself that he created hours before being shot. In the film version, he is re-envisioned as a 1940s character in animated cartoons and a resident of the fictional Los Angeles enclave Toontown. He is framed for a murder and seeks out Valiant to help clear his name. In the film, the voice of Roger is performed by comedian Charles Fleischer, who was known for electing to wear an actual rabbit costume on the set to get into the role.

Roger has been known to become very loud when he drinks alcoholic beverages, as he usually has a bad reaction to consuming them – steadily building up, initially from simple visual "eye-popping" into increasingly intensifying paroxysms, and culminating in making a nearly explosive, ear-piercing steam-whistle noise that is loud enough to shatter any nearby objects that are made of glass or ceramic of any sort. He also jumps uncontrollably. Afterward, his mood swings violently. The reason he does that is that he is allergic to alcohol.

Roger also starred in a comic book series from April 1990 to September 1991 and a spin-off series called Roger Rabbit's Toontown, published from June to October 1991, which featured Roger in the first story and supporting characters like Jessica Rabbit (Roger's voluptuous humanoid wife), Baby Herman (his co-star in Maroon Cartoons), Benny the Cab (Roger's taxicab friend), and the Toon Patrol (Roger's enemies).

Legacy

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, a dark ride featuring Roger, opened at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. Roger has also appeared at other Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a meetable character.

Roger makes an appearance in the 1988 TV special Mickey's 60th Birthday. He makes two cameos voiced by Steven Spielberg in Tiny Toon Adventures, once with Jessica Rabbit. Andy Ape from the animated series Darkwing Duck is a parody of Roger.[1]

Roger was the inspiration for a popular dance move in the early 1990s, called "the Roger Rabbit" due to the floppy movements of the character.

Roger (and even the concept behind Who Framed Roger Rabbit) may or may not have been the inspiration for Disney's subsequent animated series, Bonkers.

Jessica Rabbit

Main article: Jessica Rabbit

Judge Doom

Judge Doom
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Portrayed by Christopher Lloyd
Information
Species Toon (in Human guise)

Judge Doom (also known in his Toon form as Baron von Rotten) is the much-feared judge of Toontown and the main antagonist in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Despite presiding over a city of Toons, Doom is totally without mirth and passes capital punishment on Toons who break the law, placing them in a vat of mixed chemicals consisting of turpentine, acetone, and benzene (paint thinner) which he calls "The Dip". This concoction will dissolve Toons, permanently killing them when submerged. Judge Doom employs the Toon Patrol to assist him in hunting down Roger for the murder of Marvin Acme.

Doom wears a black ensemble which includes a trenchcoat, a fedora, gloves, and rimless yellow-tinted safety glasses. He also carries a pocket watch and a swordstick that also serves as a walking stick.

When the film first introduces Judge Doom, Lt. Santino confides to Eddie that Judge Doom bought the election. Later at the Terminal Bar, Judge Doom uses the "Shave and a Haircut" trick to lure Roger out, then prepares to execute him. After a brief scuffle inside the bar, Judge Doom orders the weasels to capture Roger and Eddie. Roger realizes he's in trouble with Doom after him, and begs Eddie to hide him. When Eddie learns that studio head R.K. Maroon is connected to the plot to frame Roger, Eddie interrogates him, but Maroon pleads that he's "a dead man" if he confesses. Just as Maroon is about to spill everything, he's killed by an unseen gunman who nearly shoots Eddie as well.

Upon chasing the killer to Toontown, Eddie catches Jessica Rabbit thinking she's the murderer, but Jessica reveals that Judge Doom was the one who killed Acme and Maroon. At the film's climax, Judge Doom traps Eddie, Jessica, and Roger in the Acme Factory to explain his scheme: Literally erase Toontown from the map using a giant mobile vat of Dip linked to a high-pressure water cannon, and then build a freeway over it. Judge Doom then plans to retire from being a judge and control all the profits from the new road system. Judge Doom also reveals that he is the sole stockholder of Cloverleaf Industries and explains that he bought the "red car" (a variant on the name of the Pacific Electric Railway) for the sole purpose of putting it out of commission. He then orders Jessica and Roger to be tied up and raised into the air via skyhook to be sprayed by the Dip cannon.

Eddie escapes and defeats the weasels, then tries to rescue Roger and Jessica when he's interrupted by Judge Doom. The two men then square off, dueling with various ACME props. During the fight, Judge Doom is run over and "flattened" by a steamroller. He survives where it is revealed that he is actually a Toon with bulging red eyes and a high-pitched shrieking voice as well as the same Toon that killed Eddie's brother as revenge. Judge Doom taunts Eddie and exhibits his hidden Toon powers like leaping after Eddie with springs in his shoes, changing his right hand firstly into a massive anvil, and then a circular saw. After Eddie breaks open a vat of Dip with a boxing glove-loaded hammer, Judge Doom is doused in his own Dip. He dissolves to his death, shrieking the familiar "melting" lines of the Wicked Witch of the West. Following Judge Doom's death, his scheme is finally exposed and all charges against Roger are dropped.

Wizard Magazine rated him the 60th Greatest Villain of All Time.

Graphic novel version

In the graphic novel Roger Rabbit: The Resurrection of Doom, it is explained that Doom was originally a Toon named Baron von Rotten who took up the role of playing the villain in animated movies until a filming accident in which he suffered a concussion and awakens believing he is a real villain. Baron von Rotten thus begins his crime career, robbing the First National Bank of Toontown, then killing Teddy Valiant by dropping a piano on his head from 15 stories, and spreading the stolen money all over the town in order to buy the election for Judge of Toontown, assuming the new name of Judge Doom. He was revived by another gang of weasels who (using an old cell and a multiplane camera) were able to revive him proving it is possible to revive a toon (it is later revealed that the other group are the brothers of the weasels that were killed in the film). Judge Doom disguises himself as a director forcing Roger to purposely tone down his acting, in hopes to ruin his career, and has other designs in mind for his revenge.

Baby Herman

Baby Herman
First appearance Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
Created by Gary K. Wolf
Richard Williams
Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Portrayed by April Winchell (baby voice)
Lou Hirsch (adult voice)
Jim Cummings (adult voice, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin)
Information
Species Toon Infant

Baby Herman is Roger's major co-star in the animated shorts in which they appear. He is Roger's best friend. Baby Herman's "mother", Mrs. Herman (voiced by April Winchell) makes an appearance at the beginning of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and its spin-off short films, but she is only shown from the waist down.

Baby Herman and Roger Rabbit comprised an Abbott and Costello-like comedy team for the fictitious Maroon Cartoons studio in the 1940s. A typical Roger/Baby Herman cartoon consists of Roger being given responsibility for Baby Herman's well-being; Herman immediately begins crawling through a number of dangerous situations from which Roger must rescue him. In the process, Roger suffers extravagant injuries and humiliations reminiscent of those in classic Tex Avery cartoons while Baby Herman remains unscathed. For both book adaptations, Baby Herman was murdered, leaving behind a doppelganger for Eddie Valiant to help solve the crime.

In the film, Baby Herman's role was downplayed. In one scene, he tells Eddie that that Roger didn't murder Marvin Acme, and tips off that Acme had a will that promised to leave Toontown to the Toons, which is the reason why Acme was killed. Baby Herman later appears at the end of the film, expressing his annoyance that Acme didn't leave his will where it could easily be found.

Despite his name and appearance, "Baby Herman" is actually a middle-aged, cigar-smoking Toon who looks like an infant. While filming "in character", he speaks baby talk in a typical baby boy's voice provided by April Winchell; off-camera, he has a loud, gravelly voice provided by Lou Hirsch. Animation director Richard Williams loved the character of "adult" Baby Herman so much that he personally animated all of the scenes of the character in the film. When he loses his cigar and finds himself unable to reach it, he starts crying like a baby (albeit with his voice still sounding like a middle-aged man).

In the novel Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?, Valiant takes up the Toon case again when Baby Herman is found dead.

Benny the Cab

Benny the Cab
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Voiced by Charles Fleischer
Maurice LaMarche (Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin)
Information
Species Toon Taxicab
Gender Male

Benny the Cab is a taxicab that services the Los Angeles area in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He is voiced in all appearances by Charles Fleischer. His license plate reads Looney. In the original story, Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, Benny was a thug and had a minor role as a trader in second-hand items.

The Walt Disney Company and Amblin Entertainment expanded on Benny's character for the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In the movie, Benny is an anthropomorphized colorful yellow Volkswagen Beetle-style taxi cab that takes Roger where he needs to go. Unlike most of the prominent supporting characters in the movie, Benny does not appear in the cartoon shorts. However, he does appear in the Roger Rabbit comic book and had his own feature once in the second issue of Roger Rabbit's Toontown.

Benny also made an appearance as a guest on House of Mouse in the episodes "Max's New Car" and "Mickey vs. Shelby".

Benny makes an appearance in the Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin attraction located at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland, and guests ride in spinning cabs named Lenny (who is said to be Benny's cousin).

Toon Patrol

Toon Patrol
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Richard Williams
Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Voices by David Lander (Smart Ass voice)
Charles Fleischer (Greasy, Psycho voice)
Jeff Bergman (Greasy voice, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin)
Jim Cummings (Psycho voice, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin)
June Foray (Wheezy voice)
Fred Newman (Stupid voice)
Information
Species Toon (Anthropomorphic Weasels)
Gender Male (All weasels)

The Toon Patrol is a group of five anthropomorphic animated tailless weasels who serve as henchmen to Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. They serve as the secondary antagonists of the film.

In the film, the Toon Patrol are the "police officers" of Toontown, but they behave less like law enforcers and more like gangsters and crooks. Judge Doom hires them to capture Roger Rabbit for the murder of Marvin Acme. The Toon Patrol drive around in a black Dodge Humpback paddy wagon labeled with the Los Angeles city seal like with cruisers of the LAPD.

The weasels enjoy laughing at the misery of others, including each other. Like all the other Toons in the movie, they are invincible to physical body harm except for The Dip. However, prolonged laughter is also shown to be lethal to them. Eddie Valiant jokes around in front of them during the climax of the movie, causing all but Smartass to "die" from laughing at him, after which their toon souls rise to heaven in angel forms. According to Judge Doom, they once had hyena cousins who died in the same manner.

While being designed, the weasels and their fondness of weapons were modeled after the weasels in the 1949 Disney cartoon The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. The weasels make an appearance in the Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin attraction located at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland.

Dolores

Dolores
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Portrayed by Joanna Cassidy
Information
Species Human

Dolores (Joanna Cassidy) is Eddie Valiant's girlfriend who works as a waitress in a bar. She is involved in helping Eddie solve the case against Judge Doom.

R.K. Maroon

R.K. Maroon
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Portrayed by Alan Tilvern
Information
Species Human

R.K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern) is the owner of Maroon Cartoons. He paid Eddie $100 to photograph Jessica and Marvin Acme, which eventually led to Acme's murder. Maroon later admitted that he was trying to blackmail Acme into selling Toontown to Cloverleaf Industries so that he could sell his studio as well, since Cloverleaf wanted to buy both properties at once. Before he could reveal who was behind the plot, he was shot and killed by Judge Doom.

Marvin Acme

Marvin Acme
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Portrayed by Stubby Kaye
Information
Species Human

Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye) is the owner of Acme Products and Toontown. He is known around Hollywood as "the gag king" for the prank items he makes his living selling. Among his top sellers are Disappearing/Reappearing Ink and a hand buzzer. In a blackmail scheme by R.K. Maroon, he has an "affair" with Toon Jessica Rabbit which Eddie Valiant (who briefly meets Acme) photographs. Acme is murdered later that night by Judge Doom, who drops a safe on his head and frames Jessica's husband, Roger.

Lt. Santino

Lt. Santino
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Portrayed by Richard LeParmentier
Information
Species Human

Lt. Santino (Richard LeParmentier) is a lieutenant with the LAPD, and friend of Eddie. He accompanies Eddie to the Acme factory, where Marvin Acme has been murdered and everyone suspects Roger. Here they are introduced to Judge Doom who explains the ingredients of the Dip. When Doom demonstrates the Dip on a defenceless Toon shoe, Santino turns away in distress, unable to watch the Toon die. Santino is present with several officers when Eddie discovers that it was Doom who killed Acme along with Maroon and Teddy.

Teddy Valiant

Theodore "Teddy" J. Valiant is the deceased brother of Eddie. Teddy was killed by a piano dropped onto him by a Toon later revealed to be Judge Doom while investigating a robbery in Toontown. Due to his brother's death, Eddie, with whom Teddy had cracked many a case and helped Toons who were in trouble, vowed never to work for a Toon again and wouldn't for many years. To honor his brother, Eddie left Teddy's desk the way it was the day he died and refuses to allow anyone to sit at it. Eddie avenged his brother's death when he destroyed Doom with his own Dip.

Angelo

Angelo
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Portrayed by Richard Ridings
Information
Species Human

Angelo (Richard Ridings) is a client of Dolores's bar. Eddie is not particularly fond of Angelo, as he makes fun of Eddie for his detective work. Eddie regards Angelo as the kind of guy who would sell someone out at the first opportunity, but Angelo helps Roger avoid Judge Doom's search after Roger makes him laugh. When asked by Doom if he has seen a rabbit, Angelo mocks him by gesturing to a patch of empty space and saying, "Say hello, Harvey" - a reference to the 1944 play of that name by Mary Coyle Chase.

Bongo the Gorilla

Bongo the Gorilla
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Portrayed by Morgan Deare
Jeff Bergman (Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin)
Information
Species Toon Gorilla

Bongo (voiced by Morgan Deare, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin voiced by Jeff Bergman) is a cartoon gorilla bouncer of The Ink and Paint Club. The password that Eddie uses to get in was "Walt sent me" and Bongo lets him in. He also tosses Eddie out of the club when he catches Eddie spying on Jessica Rabbit and Marvin P. Acme in Jessica's dressing room. He is seen again in the deleted Pig Head scene where he knocks Eddie out cold for sneaking back into Jessica's dressing room. In those parts of the movie, he was supposedly a henchman of Doom until the final scene where he is seen with the other Toons following Judge Doom's destruction. It is possible after Doom's death that Bongo reformed and is now good.

Lena Hyena

Lena Hyena
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Portrayed by June Foray
Information
Species Toon Hag

Lena Hyena is a Toon Hag that resembles Jessica Rabbit. When Eddie was looking for Jessica Rabbit, he saw what appeared to be her in an apartment building. When Eddie entered the room, he encountered Lena Hyena who developed a crush on Eddie and chased him around parts of Toon Town. Eddie was able to get rid of her by tricking her into running into the wall of a building.

Toon Bullets

Toon Bullets
First appearance Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Created by Jeffrey Price
Peter Seaman
Portrayed by Pat Buttram (Toon Bullet #1)
Jim Cummings (Toon Bullet #2)
Jim Gallant (Toon Bullet #3)
Information
Species Toon Bullets

The Toon Bullets are a group of six bullets with personalities similar to those of characters in Western movies. They were a present from Yosemite Sam, thanking Eddie for "springing him from the hoosegow."

When Eddie Valiant decides to enter Toontown in pursuit of Judge Doom, he discards his pistol in favor of an oversized Toon revolver and loads the bullets into it. He fires at Doom, but the bullets become confused as to where he went and turn in the wrong direction. "Dum-dums," Eddie says sourly.

References

  1. "Film Flam". Darkwing Duck. Season 1 (ABC). Episode 67. September 14, 1991.
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