(NEXSTAR) – Disneyland is giving Jessica Rabbit a new job.
The Anaheim theme park is updating yet another one of its rides, this time making changes to Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, an attraction based on the hit 1988 film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” The changes will specifically concern the character of Jessica Rabbit, who will take on the role of a private eye in an updated storyline, according to a faux newspaper article that will be displayed in the ride’s queue.
The character had previously appeared in two different scenes during the ride, the first of which depicted her being placed into the trunk of a car by a villainous member of the Toon Patrol Weasels from the film.
Recent guests at Disneyland have noticed that Jessica Rabbit has already been removed from this first scene, replaced in the car’s trunk with two barrels of the cartoon-dissolving “dip” from the film.
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Flip, which debuted at Disneyland in 1994, is currently described at Disneyland’s website as a “race through Toontown in search of Jessica Rabbit.”
“The attraction revisits the story of Roger Rabbit as he attempts to rescue his beloved wife Jessica Rabbit from the evil henchman known as the Weasels,” reads the description’s only other mention of Jessica Rabbit.
Part of Jessica Rabbit’s new storyline, however, will see her “starting her own private investigations service” and combatting the crime in Toontown, according to the news article that will greet guests in the queue. The article also includes an image of Jessica Rabbit in a fedora and trench coat, like that of Bob Hoskins’ private investigator from the film.
Disneyland has not disclosed how Jessica Rabbit’s new storyline will impact other scenes from the ride.
The Disney Parks are not averse to updating or changing the narrative of classic rides to change, or completely remove, some of the narrative elements. In June 2020, the parks announced that Splash Mountain would be “completely reimaged” with a new theme inspired by “The Princess and the Frog.” The ride was originally based on the 1946 Disney film “Song of the South,” which has been criticized for its portrayal of Black characters in the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War.
In recent years, rides including Pirates of the Caribbean, Snow White’s Enchanted Wish and the Jungle Cruise, the last of which was reimaged to remove “negative depictions” of Indigenous characters.
