- I love chimpanzees. I'm also afraid of them. I think it's appropriate to be afraid of them.
- Caroline to Will Rodman.[src]
Caroline Aranha was a primatologist and veterinarian who worked with primates at the San Francisco Zoo. Caroline was also the girlfriend of the late Will Rodman and the adoptive human mother of the late Caesar.
Biography[]
Rise of the Planet of the Apes[]
Meeting Will and Caesar[]
Caroline's first appearance comes when Will takes Caesar to the zoo after he was injured by their vile neighbor. She patches him up and takes an immediate liking to him while the ape takes a liking to her as well. Caroline is shown impressed that Will taught Caesar sign language and is moved by their bond. She agrees to go on a date with Will after Caesar convinces Will (through sign) to ask her out for dinner.
Trip with the Rodmans and Caesar[]
Later, she visits the Rodmans and Caesar at the house and talks with Will about Caesar as she admires the things he's done to the ape's room. She tells him that while she loves chimpanzees, she's also afraid of them but believes that it is appropriate to be. She then suggests that Caesar could do with some open space as one day he'll grow into a larger and stronger animal. The family heads to the Muir Woods. While there, she sees Caesar extending his hand to Will who is confused at the gesture. Caroline explains that is how apes subjugate themselves to those they view as dominant. A helping Will, they watch Caesar climb through the trees to be somewhere comfortable.
A Member of the Rodman Family[]
Over the next five years, Caroline began dating Will and fell in love with him, also has openly accepted Caesar as her son who in turn saw her as an adoptive mother. When Caesar began questioning his identity, Will took him and Caroline to Gen-Sys Laboratories and explained how Caesar came to be in his care. Caroline, shocked by this, suggested they go home. Back at the house, Caroline demands that Will tell her the full truth about Caesar, which he does with great reluctance. She tells him she understands that it's hard for him to admit the truth but it is not something that he can control and acts as his voice of reason.
Caesar's Imprisonment[]
After Caesar's attack on the neighbor, Caroline and Will accompanied him to the San Bruno Primate Shelter. Although Caesar didn't want to go inside, Caroline reassures him that they're going to go inside and see what it's like and offers him her hand, which reassures him that he has her support. Caroline finds it difficult to leave Caesar behind but forces herself to leave with Will in tow.
Not long after Caesar was locked up, Charles died and Caroline attended his funeral with Will. Back at the house, she watches as Will goes through his father's things and finds a photo of himself and a young Caesar wedged in Charles' copy of Julius Caesar. Seeing his saddened expression, she takes his hand and reminds him that things aren't meant to be changed and that he must accept it.
Caesar's Rebellion[]
The morning after Caesar broke into the house and stole the ALZ-113, Will called out to her, asking if she'd been up to Caesar's room. Will then calls the shelter only to get no reply. Arriving at the shelter, the couple was shocked to find the shelter empty. While Will investigates Dodge's body, Caroline finds Rodney locked in one of the cages. The terrified man tells the couple that he heard Caesar speak. After the police and John arrived, they watched security footage of Caesar's accidental killing of Dodge before Will pieced together where the apes were headed.
At the car, she asked what he knew only for Will to reply, "I know where they're heading". They raced towards the redwoods only to get stuck on the Golden Gate Bridge, where Caesar ordered a full-scale attack against the authorities. Allowing Will to follow their son, Caroline kissed him and told him to be careful before she attempted to climb a barrier only to get pulled back by a policeman. However, her distraction allowed Will to get past the police undetected.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes[]
Ten years after the Ape Rebellion and years of the Simian Flu Pandemic, Caroline and Will are believed to be dead; but there is no evidence to prove this.
Legacy[]
Due to Caroline's kind nature and good relationship with Caesar, she served as one of the main reasons why Caesar was able to see genuine goodness in humans; which is why despite being untrusting towards most other humans, he still held an amount of compassion and respect towards them. This is further seen when Caesar allowed Malcolm and his small group to work on a dam to restore power to their colony in San Francisco a decade later; allowing him to see good qualities in other humans and use it as an opportunity to make a potential peace with the humans.
Personality[]
An animal lover due to her work as a veterinarian; Caroline was a kind-hearted woman who cared greatly for Caesar and immediately befriended him, becoming his adoptive mother as she began dating Will at this time and was close to Will's father, Charles. She was also Will's voice of reason when it came to his work and disliked the fact that while Will saw Caesar as his son; he also used him like a lab ape for his research to try to cure Alzheimer's disease.
Relationships[]
Notes[]
- Caroline's exact fate is unknown, but it is speculated that Will and Caroline have died by the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, as James Franco and Freida Pinto were not asked to reprise their roles. An article by USA Today stated that Will died from the Simian Flu. According to an article in Collider from late April 2014, producer Dylan Clark revealed that Will and Caroline were never supposed to survive the end of Rise and that Will's death was a way of punishment for causing the downfall of mankind via the ALZ-113. It is likely that according to the global pandemic of ALZ-113; seen in the post credits, Caroline was infected by the ALZ-113 or that she was caught in the infighting of the virus outbreak mentioned by Dreyfus.
- Additionally, Caroline would have died during the large time gap between Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Trivia[]
- Caroline is the tritagonist of Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
- Dilshad Vadsaria, Chriselle Almeida, and Aarti Mann auditioned for the role of Caroline.
- An earlier version of the script gave this primatologist character the name "Dr. Molly Stewart", in reference to the doomed astronaut Stewart from the original 1968 movie. Dr. Stewart leaves her post at the zoo infirmary; before Will gets the courage to ask her on a date; but years later she takes a voluntary position at the San Bruno Primate Shelter where Caesar is held and meets Will again, finally beginning a relationship; with him then.
- A different character in the same script was named "Caroline". A lab assistant with curly red hair, she and Will had a history together; which he regretted; but she wanted to continue. She may be similar to the character Linda.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes (First appearance)