In the history of live-action Disney villains, I still maintain that Who Framed Roger Rabbit's Judge Doom as one of the studio’s crowning achievements. Part of that is because of the fact that Christopher Lloyd’s baddie came up with a brilliant Disney villain plot that so evil, and yet so believable, that it still holds up to this day.
And just when I thought we’d seen this toon disguised as a human at his most evil, a video from his recent appearance at Disneyland proved me absolutely wrong. The clip you’re about to watch came from 2023’s Oogie Boogie Bash, or at least I’m led to believe that, as Doom was announced as a new addition earlier that same year.
This allowed an X user to join in on the fun when someone asked a pretty loaded question on social media. Answering the call to prove “who has that theme park video?”, Judge Doom has been proven to be even more of a hard case, as you’ll see below:
https://t.co/KVROcsQSlA pic.twitter.com/enBGkHJsSiJanuary 15, 2024
Tax evasion? Seriously?! Look, I know this is a suggestion from the park patron that provided the video, or at someone close to them in the crowd. But still, Judge Doom isn’t exactly an “improv” sort of guy, so the laws of “yes and” probably don’t apply.
As if it wasn’t enough that Who Framed Roger Rabbit’s resident gargoyle bribed his way into becoming a judge, he’s now dipped a Toon for tax evasion. I’m counting this as canon, and now I hate this man even more. Flipping back to reality, I do hope this Disneyland cast member got some sort of bonus and/or recognition for this.
The same goes for anyone who goes out of their way to interact with Disney Parks guests in a similar manner, as that’s not a responsibility solely on the shoulders of the nicer and gentler character performers. Villains need to be believable too, as we saw previously with Kylo Ren's adorable Disneyland Stormtrooper encounter, and this Judge Doom fits the bill to a tee.
Whether everything new coming to Disneyland includes Judge Doom’s return to the Oogie Boogie Bash is yet to be seen. To be fair, it’s early in the year, and there are other highlights on Disneyland’s 2024 event schedule that are still in the wings. However, it was the 35th anniversary of Who Framed Roger Rabbit last year, and those major changes to Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin are still in process as well.
So maybe I’ll finally get to square up with Judge Doom in person this year, giving him a piece of my mind on cartoon tax codes and every other crime he’s committed. That is, if watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit through my Disney+ subscription doesn't bring back those collective childhood memories a certain generation shares of being terrified of this man. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?
