We need to talk about Jessica Rabbit. Why? Because Who Framed Roger Rabbit is an amazing movie and because Jessica is the most underrated character in the world and it’s tragically ironic, especially when you consider what her character is supposed to represent.
It’s no secret that Jessica is sexy. Her bust-waist-leg proportions are worse than Barbie’s! But that’s the point. Jessica was supposed to be proof that some animators completely exaggerated certain body parts when drawing cartoon women.
But as the movie goes on, Jessica actually shows the struggle that she has to face. “You don’t know how hard it is being a woman looking the way I do.” I mean, Jessica has to stow weapons in her bra due to the amount of times that guys have tried to fondle her. She was forced to dance, sing, and play patty-cake with Acme. People always reblog her quote, “I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way.” But very few people seem to know what that means. Jessica was drawn, most likely by a sexist man, to be sexy and act naughty.
But here’s the best part: Jessica doesn’t want any of that. She just wants to be with her husband, Roger. Roger. Out of every Toon in Toontown, Jessica falls in love with Roger. Why? Because he makes her laugh. Because whereas everyone else saw her as being a sex symbol, he saw her for her personality. He unconditionally loved her and she unconditionally loved him. And she was ready to do anything for him. She danced, she sang, she played patty-cake, all because they threatened to kill him. Long story short, she’s an amazing character because she has a great personality, undying love for her husband, and the ability to fight when the time comes. (She used a fryign pan to bash a Toon’s head in long before Rapunzel!) She is, in short, amazing.
And do you know what the ironic part is? Go into the Jessica Rabbit tag. ¾ of the tag is explicit drawings and photoshops. Most people don’t respect her character and instead see her as simply a sex symbol … which is completely ironic because her entire plotline was about how nobody respected her and saw her as a sex symbol! Even though she was so much more than that! Do you see where I’m going with this? (Hello Nurse has the same problem but that’s a post for another day.)
this needs more notes.
I really, really like the change Disney made to Jessica’s character in the film adaptation of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In the original novel (Who Censored Roger Rabbit), she is an amoral, social-climbing gold digger who seemingly married Roger on a whim and openly loathes him, using him and then moving on. But in the film, Jessica and Roger are genuinely, deeply in love and for all the right reasons: Jessica loves Roger because he makes her laugh (off topic, but my #1 trait that I look for in a partner is the ability to make me laugh) and Roger loves Jessica because of her insides, not her outsides. The film emphasizes that Jessica, while sultry and sexy and seemingly a femme fatale, had a strong moral center and is willing to do anything to protect her loved ones.
