Frank DeTorre

Francis "Frank" DeTorre is the central protagonist of the live-action segments in the Osmosis Jones film. He is the widowed father of Shane DeTorre and the elder brother of Bob DeTorre.

Names	Francis DeTorre, Frank
Gender	Male ♂
Race	Human
Occupation	Pea soup factory employee (formerly) Zoo Keeper
Origin	Osmosis Jones (August 7, 2001)
Alignment	Good
Age	40s
Created By	Piet Kroon, Tom Sito, Marc Hyman
Height	185cm (6ft 1in)
Weight	83 kg (185 lbs)
Personality Type	ENTP

Appearance

Frank DeTorre is an overweight middle-aged man with a disheveled and unkempt look, reflecting his poor hygiene and unhealthy lifestyle. He typically wears casual, somewhat ill-fitting clothing, including stained shirts and baggy pants, which emphasize his neglect of personal care. His hair is unkempt, and he often appears sweaty or flushed, further highlighting his lack of attention to cleanliness.

After his near-death experience and decision to improve his health, Frank begins to look slightly healthier and more presentable, though his appearance remains consistent with his everyman persona. In the animated series Ozzy and Drix, Frank's weight is exaggerated even further, giving him a more cartoonish and exaggeratedly unhealthy appearance.

Personality

Frank begins as a lazy, gluttonous, unhealthy, and sarcastic individual, traits stemming from depression following the death of his beloved wife, Maggie. Frank deeply loved Maggie, and her loss, combined with a humiliating incident where he vomited on Shane’s science and PE teacher, Mrs. Boyd, drove him to overeat and neglect basic hygiene. Frank’s coping mechanism became indulging in junk food and avoiding self-care, exacerbated by the ridicule he faced from almost everyone except his family. Despite his struggles, Frank avoids thoughts of his own mortality, knowing he must care for Shane, whom he loves deeply.

Although Frank prioritizes Shane’s happiness and well-being, he often fails to meet her needs due to the influence of Mayor Phlegmming, who governs his body’s internal decisions. This influence causes Frank to selfishly put his desires above Shane’s, leaving him unable to keep many promises to her. However, his love for Shane motivates him to try, as seen when he persuades Mrs. Boyd to lift her restraining order so he can attend a school hiking trip with Shane. He also shows discomfort when Bob suggests Shane should leave home at sixteen if anything happens to Frank.

Despite his flaws, Frank demonstrates remorse for his poor lifestyle choices, particularly when they affect others. He regrets eating a contaminated oyster, which caused embarrassment for himself, Mrs. Boyd, and Shane. However, his depression and lack of external support, compounded by Phlegmming's influence, prevent him from making meaningful changes, straining his relationship with Shane.

Frank’s turning point comes after Osmosis Jones saves him from being killed by Thrax. This experience motivates Frank to become more responsible, shedding some of his negative traits, moving on from Maggie’s death, and adopting a healthier lifestyle. These changes allow him to reconcile with Shane and build a stronger, more positive relationship with her.

Biography

Osmosis Jones (film)

After losing his wife to an unspecified illness, Frank’s life began to spiral. A humiliating incident at Shane’s school science fair, where he vomited on her teacher after eating raw oysters, turned him into a laughingstock. This event cost him his job at a pea soup factory, forcing him to accept a lower-paying job at a zoo through his brother Bob.

Frank’s declining health reached a critical point after he ate a boiled egg contaminated with chimpanzee saliva and dirt, leading to a severe viral infection. The resulting fever nearly killed him, but after his recovery, Frank resolved to improve his lifestyle and health for Shane’s sake.

Ozzy and Drix

Despite the positive changes at the end of the movie, Frank regains much of his weight in the animated series, becoming even heavier than before. This regression suggests he resumed his unhealthy eating habits, though it’s possible the show exists in a different continuity. Shane is notably absent and unmentioned.

Frank’s only significant role in the series occurs when he is bitten by a mosquito, which transfers Ozzy, Drix, and the Scarlet Fever virus into a new host, Hector Cruz. After this, Frank only appears briefly in the episode "The Globfather."

Trivia

• Frank makes a reference to a "National Buffalo Wing Festival" in Buffalo, New York. The event did not exist at the time of the movies release. Buffalo resident Drew Cerza, upon seeing the movie, decided to organize a real-life National Buffalo Wing Festival, which has been held in Buffalo annually since 2002

• During Frank's near death experience, a group of street performers play "Nearer, My God, to Thee", symbolizing the apparent end of Frank. The group's leader who resembles Wallace Hartley remarks, "Gentlemen, playing with you has been the greatest pleasure of my life," before playing one final stanza. In the film Titanic, the ship's orchestral quartet does the same (mirroring the actions of the ship's band on the historical Titanic). Mayor Phlegmming's scene of shedding a tear at realizing he has doomed everyone in Frank also parallels Titanic's captain Edward Smith and builder Thomas Andrews, both of whom went down with the ship.