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Jessica Rabbit Is Getting An Empowered Makeover At Disneyland—And Here Comes The Outrage
Disney is known for being a family friendly, kid centric cartoon producing, well-oiled machine. Their brand has been well known since its inception in 1923.
Jessica Rabbit is an iconic character known only for her over-the-top sexy looks—quite the opposite of the typical leading lady in the Disney Universe.
The Jessica Rabbit Wiki Fandom page describes her as:
"A statuesque tall, terribly voluptuous and gorgeous woman with a curvy and slender hourglass figure with a narrow waist and large, broad hips."
Her red sequin dress and long purple gloves are attached to her archetypal femme fatale look, but her looks are deceiving.
Jessica Rabbit repeatedly proves herself to be a loyal, devoted and caring person. She even says in the movie how devoted to her husband, Rodger Rabbit, she truly is and then proves it by putting herself in danger to save him.
Disneyland's theme park is giving the iconic character a new look on the Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin ride by putting her in a more empowered and far less scantily clad design.
Since the ride's 1994 opening in Mickey's Toontown at the flagship Anaheim, California, Jessica Rabbit appeared tied up in the trunk of a car.
Jessica Rabbit Removed from first scene in Roger Rabbit\u2019s Car Toon Spin #disneylandpic.twitter.com/4vrvEwNkvZ— \ud83d\udd25 FIVE FIRES \ud83d\udd25 (@\ud83d\udd25 FIVE FIRES \ud83d\udd25) 1631745668
The Orange County Register reports there will be a "more relevant" reboot featuring Jessica Rabbit in a lead role. She now will become a lead investigator after aiding Eddie Valiant in the efforts to free Roger Rabbit of his bad name.
A poster was released about the updates that read:
"Citing the recent return of the Toon Patrol Weasels as the main driver behind the recent sharp rise in crime statistics throughout Mickey's Toontown, Jessica Rabbit has determined it is past time for her to throw her fedora into the ring by starting her own private investigations service."
"While taking inspiration from longtime friend and legendary Toon Detective Eddie Valiant, Jessica shows that she certainly means business."
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. \n\nSome background: https://www.ocregister.com/2021/09/14/disneyland-makes-toontown-ride-more-relevant-with-jessica-rabbit-as-central-character/\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/bzNrM3Cb5c— Scott Gustin (@Scott Gustin) 1631731793
But some fans on the Mouse House fan website were not pleased about taking Jessica Rabbit out of the car trunk and putting her in a detective's office..
One person wrote:
"This is an outrage, the worst Disney decision since they closed Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Disney World in 1998."
"But maybe I take these things seriously, unlike managers at Disney."
Another commented:
"They are risking spoiling a good thing."
And of course, Disney fans on Twitter had something to say.
Disney does not understand the concept of Jessica Rabbit...pic.twitter.com/shD7aO6zge— TrueUnderDawg (@TrueUnderDawg) 1631897634
That she is an intentional subversion of the femme fatale trope. Characters like her in Noir films are always villains in disguise, while Jessica was the exception. Disney is working on a new story where she is a bland detective. Instead of letting her stay true to her design— TrueUnderDawg (@TrueUnderDawg) 1631978873
What's the cultural sensitivity issue here? Jessica is sexy and we don't want that?— Martin MJ (@Martin MJ) 1631741907
Some people are excited for her to take the lead but there's still question of moving away from her sensual side.
I always thought she was a strong character, and it was a nice change! Even in the movie she shows stronger traits and only really shows a more distressed side when she discovers the Dip at the end. And who wouldn't while being faced with a thing that can burn and dissolve you?— Marleaf\u2600\ufe0f\ud83d\udc1d (@Marleaf\u2600\ufe0f\ud83d\udc1d) 1631738851
No Disney is not removing Jessica Rabbit, they're just replacing an animatronic in a ride\n\nAlso imagine being mad at a potential sexy milf in a trenchcoat (yes I said it )pic.twitter.com/l9Izr6JjME— \ud83c\udf83LoZza\ud83c\udf83 (@\ud83c\udf83LoZza\ud83c\udf83) 1631740953
HA HA HA HA This reminds me of when a blogger went viral because she said women wearing yoga pants make men think improper thoughts and my husband said \u201ctoo bad, we are thinking those thoughts no matter what you wear.\u201d— Mindy Joy+ (@Mindy Joy+) 1631768684
From what I see, they took a "bound and tied female" !!!!! out of the trunk of a car. And you think that is ruining this character? Traffic much? SMDH— Alison Madden (@Alison Madden) 1632241649
It's all about "girl power" now in entertainment, and while I do enjoy a badass female character, I also enjoy the damsel type. \n\nWould be a shame if one is just erased for not being progressive enough in some regards.\n\nThat's implying that there's only one type of personality.— Yogensha (@Yogensha) 1631729343
The change comes as no surprise if you're following the multitude of changes Disney has made to its parks.
During the shutdown in 2020, Disney vowed to update their Jungle Cruise ride to remove the "negative depictions" of native people. The ride that openned in 1955 has been criticized as having racist overtones.
In an interview, executive with Walt Disney Imagineering Chris Beatty said:
"This is not a re-envisioning of the entire attraction."
"It's the Jungle Cruise you know and love, with the skippers still leading the way, and at the same time, we're addressing the negative depictions of 'natives.'"
The popular ride Splash Mountain is also getting a facelift.
Instead of taking inspiration from the 1946 film Song of the Souththe ride will now feature Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, Disney's first Black princess.
In an announcement, Disney stated:
"Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman, who pursues her dreams and never loses sight of what's really important."
"It's a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou."
The pressure to change this ride came from several petitions that urged the company to distance itself further from the blatantly racist film the Disney company buried in their vaults years ago.
Disney will most likely continue these updates to keep young people and their parents coming back for more.