Who Framed Mr. Toad?

Who Framed Mr. Toad is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy film directed by John Landis and released by Hollywood Pictures in June 22, 1987. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on James Patterson's novel Who Censored Mr. Toad?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters interact directly with human beings. Who Framed Mr. Toad stars Lou Albano as a private detective who investigates a murder involving the famous cartoon character, Mr. Toad. Paul Reubens co-stars as the titular character's voice, Rick Moranis as the villain, Morgan Fairchild as the voice of Toad's cartoon wife, and Sean Young as the detective's girlfriend.

Plot
In a stereotypical 1990 cartoon, What's Cooking, Mr. Toad messes up (he sees birds instead of seeing stars). Detective Peter Thompson watches him blow his lines, and Rick Kenny, Toad's boss, tells Peter that he thinks Toad's wife, Scarlet Love, has been making Toad suspicious that he is cheating on him. He sends Peter to figure out if Jessica ha been cheating, to which Peter replies he will not work with Toons. (A Toon killed Peter`s brother.) Rick convinces Peter, and he finds out that Jessica has been playing patty-cake---literally---with Marvin Acme, the owner of Toontown.

Peter takes a few pictures of the patty-cake game and shows them to Toad. Toad gets drunk and storms off, declaring that him and Jessica will be happy no matter what. Heartbroken, Roger sits outside of the Acme Factory crying, wile looking at pictures of him and Jessica. The next day, Eddie finds out that Marvin has been killed by a safe dropped on his head. Toad is the prime suspect, according to Steinbeck Doom, the Judge of ToonTown. Doom says that when he catches Toad, he will kill him using the Dip, the only thing capable of killing a cartoon character. Doom has enlisted the help of the Toon Patrol, a gang of koopas named Asshole, Nerd, Ding Dong, Manic, Grumpy, and Lu, to capture Toad.

Peter goes home and recieves a tip from Roger`s co-star, Baby Harold, that Toad did not kill Stan. He said that whoever did kill him, however, must have been after Marvin`s will, which supposedly left ToonTown to the Toons. Without it, anyone could destroy ToonTown. Peter discovers Toad in his room, pleading innocent. Peter decides to take his case, only because whoever set Toad up was also making Peter look bad. He hides Toad in a bar, only to have Doom find him the next day. Now, Doom and the Patrol are after both Peter and Toad.

After saving Lenny the Gadget Car from being "dipped" for driving on the sidewalk, Lenny drives Peter and Toad to safety. They go to a movie theater, where a news bulletin says that RK has signed a deal with Cloverleaf Industries, who want to buy ToonTown.

Peter and Toad go to interrogate RK, and Peter tells Toad to stay outside and guard. Toad gets captured by Scarlet, who throws him in the trunk of her car. While questioning RK, RK tells Eddie that Cloverleaf wanted ToonTown, but it would ``become land for the free-`` then RK is shot before he can finish the word. When Eddie goes to see who shot RK to death, he sees Jessica running to her car and leaving. He follows her into ToonTown. While chasing her, Peter thinks he has found her. He is fooled, as he has just found Lena Hyena, who wants to marry him all of a sudden. Scared, Eddie runs away into the men`s bathroom, except...there is no men`s bathroom! Peter starts falling to what he thinks is his doom. While falling, Peter runs into Ricky Boy and Roger Cat, who are skydiving. They both taunt him by saying they have a spare, but Bugs says that Eddie probably doesn`t want it. Thinking Roger means a spare parachute, Eddie pleads Bugs to give it to him until Mickey says, ``Better let him have it, Roger!`` Turns out the ``spare`` was a tire, which weighs Peter down.

Eddie thinks he is about to die, until Lena catches him. After escaping her, Eddie encounters Jessica and finds out that she is innocent, and that Steinbeck Doom killed Marvin Acme and RK Maroon. Benny comes and drives Scarlet and Peter to chase Doom, until, Doom makes Benny slip. Jessica and Eddie fall out to the ground, and Benny pretends to be dead. Doom and the Patrol take Jessica and Eddie to the Acme Factory.

Toad comes by Lenny, and Lenny finds the strength to get up and drive Toad to where Doom is holding Peter and Scarlet. Toad grabs a gun and tells Benny to call the cops. Doom revelas that he is the boss of Cloverleaf, and that he will dip Toontown off the face of earth and put a freeway in it`s place. Toad then comes and starts threatening Doom with a gun, until Sleazy drops a pile of bricks on him. He sees stars, and becomes happy because he couldn`t see stars at the beggining of the movie. Doom has Toad and Jessica tied up, and leaves the weasels alone to dip Roger and Jessica with a dip cannon. Peter gets an idea and makes the weasels laugh themselves to death, except for Smarty, who falls in a pool of dip.

Peter gets ready to shut the dip cannon off, until Doom stops him. Peter then runs over Doom with a steamroller, but Doom survives, because he was a Toon. But not just any Toon---he killed Peter`s brother! After a long fight, Peter reversed the dip cannon and fires all the dip left in the world at Doom, killing him. He lets Toad and Scarlet down just as the cops show up, as well as a bunch of famous cartoon characters. Toad is proven innocent, and Comedy Stars`s will shows up. Toontown now belongs to the Toons! Anyone sings ``Smile, Darn Ya, Smile`` as Morty Monkey closes the movie with his famous ``Th-th-tha-th-th-th-that-th-that`s all, everybody!`` and Tinkerbell flies by.

(Plot added to this wiki by user Cartoonist Guy.)

Sequel

 * Main article: Who Framed Mr. Toad 2

In February 2013, James Peterson, creator of Mr. Toad, that he as well as Erik Von Wodtke were working on a development proposal for an animated Disney buddy comedy starring Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit called The Stooge, based on the 1952 film of the same name. The proposed film is set to a prequel, taking place five years before Who Framed Roger Rabbit and part of the story is about how Roger met Jessica, his future wife. Wolf has stated the film is currently wending its way through Disney.

Trivia
This is the final movie where Mel Blanc voiced the Spoof Toons before his death in 1989.

The film inspired 3 cartoon shorts "Tummy Trouble", and "Trail-Mix Up". It also inspired a comic book series called "Roger Rabbit Comics" and a short comic book series called "Roger Rabbit's Toontown".

The film also included a chapter book "Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit" and a graphic novel "Roger Rabbit: The Resurrection of Doom".

Gallery

 * Who Framed Roger Rabbit/Gallery