Why Christopher Lloyd Wanted His Disney Villain, Judge Doom, To Give You Nightmares
The 1980s was probably the most weird-ass decade of Disney films in the studio's history. It was also yours truly's favorite era from a young age, a time in which the House of Mouse released some of the scariest and most twisted films it's ever made in the hopes of regaining its cultural foothold after years of floundering in the wake of its founder's death. But of all the big swings the company took at that time, none were more successful than 1988's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
Distributed by Disney under its Touchstone Pictures label, director Robert Zemeckis' fantasy detective comedy remains the gold standard for live-action/animated hybrid films. It's also full of moments that are pure nightmare fuel for children (and, frankly, a lot of adults, too) thanks to Christopher Lloyd's fiendishly fantastic performance as the diabolical Judge Doom. Lloyd's villain — the most terrifying court official this side of the real-life Supreme Court — is easily one of the best Disney baddies ever. In fact, he may be a little too terrifying, which is why he tends to be absent from Disney's theme parks. As beloved as "Roger Rabbit" is, a pale, unblinking man who's actually a homicidal toon in disguise doesn't exactly lend himself to "The Happiest Place on Earth."
It appears that will finally change in 2023, with Disneyland hinting at Judge Doom being part of this year's Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party, and just in time for the 35-year anniversary of "Roger Rabbit" (which is surely not an accident). Indeed, a video posted to the park's Instagram alludes to the infamous scene where Doom casually murders a terrified cartoon shoe using a blend of turpentine, acetone, and benzine, aka "The Dip." It's a moment that's traumatized who knows how many people over the years ... just as Lloyd intended.
'When I killed your brother, I talked JUST... LIKE... THIIIISSSS!!!'
While Disney films got extra chilling during the '80s (there's a reason the studio, ever worried about presenting itself as the home of middle-of-the-road four-quadrant entertainment these days, likes to pretend "Something Wicked This Way Comes" doesn't exist), this was far from unprecedented. The company's first-ever animated feature films, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Pinocchio," did their best to scare the socks off kids, with cackling villains who like to murder young women or transform boys into donkeys and sell them off for manual labor. This was the Disney that Lloyd was raised on, and the reason he loves when Doom murders a cute animated shoe in "Roger Rabbit." As he explained during a 2020 Twitter Q&A (via The Hollywood Reporter):
"I know that is mean and cruel and a lot of people said it gave them nightmares. Well, [in] some of the first Disney films I ever saw, like 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' etc., there was always something horrible done then, and I would have nightmares. So, it's kind of payback."
Lloyd is obviously being playful with his response, but he's speaking to something meaningful. As I've written about before regarding another weird-ass '80s Disney fantasy film, "Return to Oz," exposing kids to scary stories can help prepare them to grow up and face the Judge Dooms of the real world. You might not be able to stop them from doing more harm by turning their own toon-killing, Dip-spewing machine against them, but it's better to acknowledge those types of evil-doers are out there and they're not all misunderstood or sympathetic. Some of them are just nefarious a-holes who want to demolish Toontown so they can build a freeway and line their pockets with moola.