The Merry Go Round Broke Down
is a Who Framed Roger Rabbit fanfic by Merlin Missy that acts as a sequel to the film. It's a murder-mystery story.
Set several decades later, the cartoon business has changed much since the 1940s. There's been a recent string of murders involving computer-generated characters (called "digi's") lately, so Roger and his wife Jessica try to find out who's behind it all. Helping them out is an old friend's grandson, a perennially broke young Private Detective named Freddie Valiant.
The Merry Go Round Broke Down features various cameos and references, ranging from video game characters to edutainment cartoon characters.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Asshole Victim: Lara Croft is shown treating Jessica Rabbit horribly, deliberately performing a Spit Take on her and suggesting that Jessica's regular coffee has rabbit droppings in it. She's the first digi in the story to get killed via having her hard drive smashed.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: Freddie loves Film Noir and sticks with the aesthetic because it's what's expected of a private eye. The upshot of this is that Roger discovers him in a diner wearing a trenchcoat (in 80-degree weather), a fedora and sunglasses.
- Crossover Couple:
- There's a heavily implied something between Cinderella and Snow White.
- Jane Jetson ran off with Shipwreck after GI Joe became a hit.
- Daffy Duck and Lois Lane gets teased.
- Driven to Suicide: Instead of becoming a digi, Christopher Robin opted to dip himself.
- Fan-Created Offspring: Eddie's grandson Freddie is a major character made for the fanfiction.
- Fantastic Racism: There's a lot of racism against toons from humans. There's also racism from toons towards digis, digis towards toons, and toons towards digis-who-were-originally-toons.
- Fantastic Slurs: "Digi" was originally a slur for CG toons created by traditionally-animated ones, but it's also used neutrally.
- Flash Forward Fic: Takes place in 2008, many decades after the original film's 1940's setting, allowing it to incorporate the controversy surrounding CGI animation vs. traditional animation into the work. Eddie's grandson Freddie and Roger must find out who are murdering digis around Hollywood.
- Gender Bender Angst: For some reason, Simon accidentally went through a transformation when he switched to CGI. He still identifies as male, but it's also mentioned that he has the "wrong parts" (and he's pregnant). Simon's horrified and embarrassed, but his girlfriend offers to raise the kids with him anyway.
- Groin Attack: It's implied that Jeanette bit Alvin in the groin.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Batman, Robin, Superman, and Lois have a foursome in a phone booth.
- Mama Bear: When Alvin threatens to hurt Simon, Jeanette attacks him in order to save her unborn kids.
- Minority Police Officer: Goofy is the only toon amongst his group in the police.
- Mistaken for Murderer: After Lara is deleted, Jessica is the first suspect because it's known that they hated each other.
- Mister Seahorse: As a side-effect of being made digi, Simon somehow ended up pregnant.
- Painful Transformation: Turning from a toon to a digi is painful, and even after the transformation it takes years for the residual pains to wear off.
- The Primadonna: Lara Croft is treated as a hotshot star who complains when Jessica gives her the wrong coffee.
- Secret Relationship: There's one implied between Cinderella and Snow White. Snow calls Cinderella by the Affectionate Nickname "Cindear". It might be not-so-secret after Charming leaked a video online.
- Shifted to CGI: Some traditionally-animated toons get themselves converted into CGI in order to try and stay relevant in an industry where they're no longer relevant in their original form.
- Shout-Out: On top of the various film, gaming, and cartoon jokes, there's a music reference. Aurora tells Jessica to "Go ask Alice", referencing the Jefferson Airplane song "White Rabbit". In the same line, Aurora also mentions Jasmine smoking a hookah, like the caterpillar in the song.
- Soul Jar: Every digi has a computer hard-drive. If it gets broken, they die.
- The Stoner: Alice, Jasmine, the Caterpillar, Shaggy, Scooby, and Rainbow Brite like to smoke together.
- Troubled Production: The production of Tomb Raider is struggling due to the script being rewritten fifteen times. Additionally, Lara Croft is being a jerkass to everyone, is wholly uninterested in proper studio etiquette, and has run through three assistants in the span of two days. Things only get worse once Lara is murdered.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Jessica isn't read her rights by the police because, as a toon, she has no rights.
- Who Murdered the Asshole: The death of Laura Croft (here depicted as an unlikeable prima donna) sparks the plot. Jessica Rabbit initially gets blamed for it because they couldn't stand each other, but her husband Roger is quick to point out that virtually everyone involved in the production of Tomb Raider loathed Croft and is just as likely to be a suspect.Freddie: Say I believe you. Jessica didn't kill Lara Croft. Who did? Who had a motive?
Roger: The other two assistants she fired yesterday. The guy she kicked in the turnips this morning. The snack guy. The butcher. The director. Oh, and all us toons hate her guts, too.
