Heartwarming / Who Framed Roger Rabbit

As a Moments page, all spoilers are unmarked.

Heartwarming moments in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

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Awww! Such a cute couple!^note Yeah, but a couple of what?

• Eddie seems to get along well with human kids, pulling one boy onto the back on the Red Car, and trying to stop a mother from smoking around her own baby (although it turns out she's just lighting a cigar for Baby Herman).
• You must admit, despite the fact that they are goofy toons, Roger and Jessica's happy marriage is very endearing to watch. "He makes me laugh."
  • And if you look carefully during the climatic warehouse scene: when Roger and Jessica are tied up, even when they're struggling to not get sprayed by Dip, they don't let go of each other's hands the whole time.
  • Jessica complimenting Roger on his bravery in the face of Doom and the Toon Patrol, particularly when she calls him her "hero". D'awww.
  • When Toon Doom reactivates the Dip, Roger has tucked Jessica onto his lap, lifting her away from the Dip. He's ready to put his life on the line if it means his wife gets a little longer to be saved.
  • After getting rescued by Eddie and untied by him, Jessica rushes to Roger, kisses him over and over again and calls him a pillar of strength. It's so cute.
  • "Roger, I love you. I love you more than any woman's ever loved a rabbit." Admittedly, it's a bit of an Overly Narrow Superlative (by human standards, anyway, with toons it's anyone's guess), but the sentiment's still very sweet.
  • When he sees the pictures of Jessica and Marvin, Roger insists that it must not be what it looks like, that someone must've forced her into it somehow. Eddie takes this as denial, as does most of the audience on their first viewing, but we later find out he was right; Maroon blackmailed Jessica into posing for the pictures. Roger's faith in his marriage was well-founded, and he knows his wife well enough to know she would never, ever cheat on him willingly.
  • It's also touching that Jessica was willing to put herself through something so unpleasant and potentially humiliating for the sake of her husband's career, because she knows how much Roger loves his job.
  • After seeing the pictures, Roger heads to the club to talk to Jessica and find out what happened. When she's not in her dressing room, he decides to write her a note—specifically, a note about how much he loves her, because he knows she's not to blame for the situation. That is trust and devotion.
    Eddie: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You're telling me, in a fit of jealousy, you wrote your wife a love letter?
    Roger Rabbit: That's right. I know that she was just an innocent victim of circumstance.
• The fact that Angelo and the other skeevy barflies didn't end up selling out Roger and Eddie...because Roger made them laugh and brought some happiness into their lives.
  Roger: A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have.
• The first (and sadly only) team-up between Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny was a wonderful little thing. Unlike Donald Duck and Daffy Duck, who spent their scene competing, Mickey and Bugs' scene shows them being friendly and working together to mess with Eddie.
  • Although in a Deleted Scene, it's revealed that Donald and Daffy's aggression to each other is All Part of the Show and no genuine ill will is held between the two cartoon ducks off the stage. In the deleted scene, Eddie sneaks backstage and hides in a replacement piano, the two are then seen quite amicably conversing with each other, before they decide on a whim to sit at the piano and practice together. And when the piano isn't playing as expected, because Eddie's inside it, they work together on figuring out why it's out of tune.
• After Eddie saves Roger's life the second time by tricking him into taking a drink (and firing a Chekhov's Gun in the process), Roger commends Eddie on his quick thinking.
• When Eddie enters the Terminal Station Bar near the beginning of the film, he walks past Harry, but not before touching Harry's arm and gently asking him if he's okay. Eddie then walks past Earl, who's drunk and asleep at one of the tables. Eddie stops to pop the conductor's hat back on his head, before asking what's wrong with the guy.
  • Eddie may be a crusty, frustrated detective, but he does care about his friends.
• When Eddie meets Betty Boop in the Ink and Paint Club as a cigarette girl, he's shocked to see her there, and Betty explains that work's been a bit slow for her since technicolor cartoons have become the norm. But being who she is, Betty keeps an upbeat attitude giving him her trademark 'boop-boop-be-do-boop'. Eddie, the guy who at that point despised any and all toons that he met, actually gives her a genuine smile and remarked, "Yeah, you still got it." Says a lot for the guy that up until that moment has reacted to all toons with annoyance and hostility.
  • Even Mae Questel herself reprised her role!
  • It's easy to miss, but Eddy has a Betty Boop toy in his office (and the only piece of toon merchandise on his desk), which implies that she is a cartoon that he fondly remembers from his childhood and that he still values their friendship.
• This part of the scene where Eddie and Dolores are hiding with Roger in the movie theater will get you every time:
  Eddie: You oughta go find yourself a good man.
  Dolores: But I already have a good man.
  • This bit is poignant for several reasons actually. First off, when the movie starts, the two seem to be arguing because Dolores has loaned Eddie money that could cost her the job at the bar, so this scene implies that Eddie has finally realized how much he has put Dolores through and cares enough to ask her to seek her own happiness because he's done dragging her through the mud. Secondly, however, Dolores' comment shows that she still sees the good in him and still cares about him, despite all he's put her through.
  • Followed by Roger in full-on Shipper on Deck mode, his ears even forming a heart.
    Roger: Pb-b-b-blease! Don't mind me..!
  • Even before Dolores shows up, after Roger asks Eddie straight-up about what happened to him that led to his hatred towards toons, Eddie decides to come clean and reveals what happened to his brother, Teddy. This is heartwarming for two reasons:
    • 1.) Despite how he's treated Roger up to that point in the movie, Eddie (at least on some level) seems to feel comfortable enough around Roger to tell him something extremely personal (and something that's implied to have happened relatively recently).
    • 2.) Roger's got nothing but sympathy for what Eddie's had to go through since his brother died—Roger's also horrified that it was a toon that killed Teddy, especially since (as previously mentioned at earlier points in the movie) toons are meant to be funny, make people laugh and feel happy.
  • And before that, they were watching a Goofy short, where Roger is in hysterics and hails Goofy as a comedic genius. When you remember that in this universe they are actors working for rival studios, it is heartwarming to see such praise from one artist to another. It's even more relevant since—if the comments of the other characters can be believed—Roger is considered to be a superstar and thus at least equal to Goofy in-universe, if not above him.
• Benny the cab may very well be a real Jerkass and a roadhog (and a sidewalk hog, but that was just a couple of miles). But he'll always come be there for you if you stick out your thumb, and even when you don't.
• When Eddie enters Toontown to chase after Jessica (whom he thought killed Maroon), he's greeted by a trio of hummingbirds. Despite Eddie not being in Toontown or associating with toons after his brother's death, he's still welcomed into Toontown.
• Mixed as a funny moment. Jessica knocking out Roger and putting him in the trunk of her car for his safety. She cares enough about her husband to protect him from harm. Also, considering the Weasels and Doom were actively looking for Roger (and would Dip him if they found him, which they had already tried to do), she was right to be worried about him.
• The final scene of the film where Porky Pig and Tinker Bell get to close out the film together in their distinctive ways, bringing this unique team-up of animation companies to end in the most charming way possible.
  • This was Mel Blanc's second-to-last performance before his death the following year. He not only gets the last line of the movie, but also got to close out his career with one of his most famous characters saying, arguably, his most famous Catchphrase.
  • In the same scene you can also see Wile E. Coyote with his arm affectionately around the Road Runner's shoulders. It's an incredibly sweet contrast to the attitude that is typically portrayed in their shorts.
    • Similar to the above easy-to-miss one: In the Toontown scene, you can briefly see Snow White and the Evil Queen (in her witch disguise) going grocery shopping together. For anyone who was traumatized by the Evil Queen as a child, it can be kind of comforting to know that she's good friends with her co-star off set. In fact, it's very likely that all animated villains abide by the Mean Character, Nice Actor rule. (Well, except Doom, of course.)
• When Eddie, well-established as an alcoholic, decides to take a drink before entering Toontown, but then visibly toughens his discipline and instead uses the bottle of whiskey as target practice.
  • He probably was going to use it as target practice anyway, but the heartwarming part is that he dumped the whiskey out rather than drinking it.
  • Eddie decides to turn over a new leaf, give up the booze, and do something worthwhile. And why does this washed-out detective who loathes toons decide to do these things? To save his friend—WHO'S A TOON.
    • As a Freeze-Frame Bonus, a little engraving on the case of the toon gun reveals Eddie received it from Yosemite Sam, who gave it to him as a thank-you-present for "getting him out of the hoosegow" (prison).
    • Speaking of the gun, when Eddie opens the lid for the bullets, they are mentioning how they haven't seen him in five years. Are they angry that he's ignored them all this time? Nope! On the contrary, they are overjoyed to see him again and when he opens his gun, they readily jump in with an excited yell.
• Herman defending Roger, saying that he doesn't think Roger's a murderer and even calling him a good friend of his. What really makes this touching is that Herman simply can't stand Roger sometimes, what with the latter frequently screwing up their scenes together during filming.
• Eddie flipping through the photos of him and Dolores on vacation. It's one of the few times Eddie actually smiles. Then he gets to the photos of Teddy and we're treated to a pan-over of photographs and newspaper clippings that tell the story of how much the two brothers loved one another.
  • Related to the above: one of the newspaper clippings showed how Eddie and Teddy solved a kidnapping of Donald Duck's nephews (Huey, Louie and Dewey), and to celebrate their return, they threw a party which all of Toontown attended.
• Marvin Acme may be a bit of a Manchild, but like his buddy Roger, all he wants to do is make people laugh. He sprays in disappearing/reappearing ink on Eddie, but is quick to apologize when he sees Eddie doesn't find it funny. Even his will refers to the toons as "those lovable characters!"
• Eddie Valiant showing he still has a sense of humor.
• If there were ever a song to describe how great cartoons are, it'd be "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile."
  • Look closely and you'll see Wile E. Coyote putting his arm around the Roadrunner.
• It's brief, but there's a scene where Eddie gets onto the back of a streetcar and two kids are trying to do the same. Without hesitating, he gladly helps them up onto the back of the streetcar with him.
  Boy: Hey, mister! Ain't you got a car?
  Eddie: Who needs a car in LA? We got the best public transportation system in the world!
• At the very end of the film, in the background, you can see Eddie shaking Dumbo's trunk, thereby solidifying his changed attitude towards toons.
• Though his relationship with Jessica was both inappropriate and a sham, it really says something that Marvin Acme trusted her enough to leave his will with her, knowing she'd get it into the toons' hands.