Who Censored Roger Rabbit?

Mar 28, 2012 Roy rated it 3 of 5 stars

There are some films that you can't help but think "*This* is why there is film. Here's a movie that is so uniquely cinematic that it couldn't ever work as a book." Every time I watch "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" that pops into my mind. The mixture of live-action and animated characters inhabiting the same world is so very... film... I was sure it could never work as a book. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that, in fact, the movie was based on a book. Well, saying "based on" is a bit stro...more

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Feb 19, 2012 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: curious fans of Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Shelves: loved-movie-also, own

Growing up, I absolutely loved the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I've been told many times that my brother and I killed the VHS copy we had from watching it so much, and so we kept having to catch it on the Disney Channel free preview weekends when funds were too tight to buy a new copy. Eventually I grew up, got a job, and for a small window of a couple years, had disposable income due to not having any financial obligations of my own. So I bought a copy on DVD. That's when I finally noticed o...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

SPOILERS ALERT (not about who done it but mainly the gist of the book)!!!!

Yes, this is the book where the film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" but this is nothing like the film at all. Only four characters from the book made it into the film: Eddie Valiant, Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit (and yes she's a knockout in the book as well!) and Baby Herman. The rest of the book characters are not mentioned directly but the film does contain similar charaters. The whole point is different but after reading the...more SPOILERS ALERT (not about who done it but mainly the gist of the book)!!!!

Yes, this is the book where the film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" but this is nothing like the film at all. Only four characters from the book made it into the film: Eddie Valiant, Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit (and yes she's a knockout in the book as well!) and Baby Herman. The rest of the book characters are not mentioned directly but the film does contain similar charaters. The whole point is different but after reading the book and watching the film, I can feel a similiar vibe. A small one but it's there.

Okay, onto the book. Valiant is a private detective who is not keen on toons. Especially toon rabbits who want him to investigate his contract with the DeGreasy Brothers so he (Roger) can get out of the contract or get a better deal. Sounds pointless to Valiant but the paycheck Roger hands to him is all the persuasion he needs. Along the way, Valiant discovers truths Roger failed to tell him, in particular that two weeks earlier, his wife of a year, Jessica left him to go back to her former lover, Rocco DeGreasy. Afte several hours of trying to get to the bottom of the situation, Valiant decides to drop the case as he feels there is no case. That is when he finds Roger murdered in his house. Minutes after the police arrive, Rocco DeGreasy has been found murdered and the main culprit is Roger, who is now dead. Simple enought for Valiant until he finds Roger's doppelganger in his hallway. What comes next is a classic whodunnit case which leads to a forgery case and a quest for a teapot.

Wolf creates a very clever story. Okay, we have seen it all before in a Poirot film in which everyone had a motive for murdering one or both the victims (DeGreasy and Roger) but he writes it in such a manner it can be hard to notice. No-one is being 100% honest in this story and even at the end, Wolf leaves certain questions unanswered. The only person we, as a reader can genuinely trust and who is 100% honest is Valiant. The story, in its way is cheesy with its standard film noir detective talk but this book is a lot of fun. It is rarer than its sequel but if you can get it, then it is definitely worth a read :-)(less)

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Sep 24, 2010 Doug Wilkinson-gray rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 13, 2011 Myles rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, humor, hollywood-silver-screen-and-tv

The basis for the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Who Censored Roger Rabbit is a much more direct parody of American crime noir. For a parody to be good the details are everything and Roger Rabbit is fuzzy. Heh. Wolf's plotting and mood are nowhere near Dashiell Hammett's and his wordplay has none of the inventiveness of Raymond Chandler. The movie brought a lot of charm to the story that the novel lacked, fleshing out the characters and giving them backstories and motivations as opposed to the r...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Andrew rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: detective, comedy, mystery, modern_fantasy, fantasy, the_movie_was_better, low_fantasy, furry

A fun enough read, though by no means necessary unless you're curious about the origins of the much-more-entertaining film it later inspired. While I haven't read terribly much in the film noir, private eye genre, the dialogue and premise seemed kind of forced and hokey. The cast of characters came across as generally 2-dimensional (sorry), and while the protagonist Eddie Valiant's narration was riddled with an appropriately constant stream of hard-boiled hyperbole, about 1 in 3 of them felt unn...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of pulp and noir

Shelves: detective-fiction, mystery

3.5 stars if I could.

I liked this book, but not as much as I had hoped to. What I liked about this book was that it was loving pastiche of the noir/pulp genre, complete with snappy dialogue and some truly laugh out loud witticisms from lead character and cynical private dick, Eddie Valiant. It's a quick read, nothing overly cerebral (wouldn't really be a nod to classic pulp that way, would it?), but a fun jaunt in a ridiculous world where cartoons and people co-exist.

Of course, like most people...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Ri rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, ebooks, fantasy, mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 26, 2010 Abed Gheith rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So far so good. This book was the inspiration for one of my favorite movies of all time. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" but it's different. Instead of a cartoon star, Roger is a star of comic strips. So far I feel like the movie improved on it. But the book has so much more mystery going on. It's more a Raymond Chandler type of tale and the way they make Eddie Valiant out as a complete straight, no nonsense type of guy no matter what is great. I'm still working through it so I'll get back to you.

Well...more

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Mar 29, 2011 Erin Germain rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, kindle, mystery, 2011-reads, kindle-books-to-lend, anthropomorphistic, four-stars

I originally read this shortly after the Disney film came out. As many have said, the only things the book and film have in common are a detective named Eddie Valiant and a Toon named Roger Rabbit, who is accused of killing a human. Roger is married to Jessica Rabbit, a humanoid Toon knockout and he does work with Baby Herman. From there, the stories shake hands and go their separate ways.

I remembered the book being good. Unfortunately, I had a cheap mass-market paperback that fell apart if you...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Toi Thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the book that inspired the flick “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”.

I thoroughly enjoyed visualizing this world of humans and toons created by Gary K. Wolfe. After reading this, I can see how this work has influenced other animated series. I only hope Wolfe has gotten some credit for it. I love the way these characters come to life in an entirely different way than was presented by the film. I love the adult appeal to this story and wouldn’t suggest it for children at all; maybe teens.

“Who Censo...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Iris rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I actually really liked this book, and thought that it did a great job emulating the hardboiled detective genre -- which is a ridiculously presumptuous statement for me to make, because I've never really read any actual books from that genre (I think). But we all kind of know the feel of those kinds of noir movies or whatnot and I thought the book did well capturing that sort of feel and atmosphere.

I am a huge Roger Rabbit fan was pretty horrified to find out how different his character is in t...more I actually really liked this book, and thought that it did a great job emulating the hardboiled detective genre -- which is a ridiculously presumptuous statement for me to make, because I've never really read any actual books from that genre (I think). But we all kind of know the feel of those kinds of noir movies or whatnot and I thought the book did well capturing that sort of feel and atmosphere.

I am a huge Roger Rabbit fan was pretty horrified to find out how different his character is in this book. But I kept on thinking about how, without the context of the movie, this book has got a couple of really clever plot twists -- ones that rely on many of the characters being completely different from the movie. I was kind of sad to see how sweet, innocent little Roger from the movie was... well, not here. And when Jessica says "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way" in the movie (a line which has persisted twenty-some years later and is still featured on all kinds of merchandise) it's actually true! Not so in this book!

Oh, and while I was trying to think of the book as completely separate from the movie, I also had another thought. Maybe I'm just dumb but I think if the movie didn't exist, I would have had a really hard time picturing what the author even meant by Toons. I mean, I'd have gotten it after awhile, but... yeah, I think it was just me. Although, the thing about word balloons is not entirely clear. How come some word balloons disappear right away, and others are left behind? I don't think he ever answers this question? In "Who P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit" word balloons are even displayed in museums.

I read some other reviews saying the genie thing was way too far-fetched, even for a world in which humans and Toons co-exist. Actually, I was okay with it. I thought it was interesting and cool to have a genie that doesn't behave like the typical genie who just grants wishes and leaves it at that.

All in all, Gary K. Wolf had an extremely creative idea in my opinion. Photographing toons in various poses and using their word balloons to create comic strips is very creative, as is the multitude of ways their word balloons convey emotions, etc. But the movie did a good job of transitioning over to toons being actors in cartoons -- makes a lot more sense in the context of the movie! I think reading about toons, though, it's easier to picture them being photographed and making comic strips.

Very enjoyable, to put it briefly. I can tell, because I stayed up really late to read the last few chapters.(less)

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Apr 22, 2013 Cathrine Bonham rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book may have inspired the Movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" but it is so different.

First of all in this world "toons" are not from animated movies. They star in Comic Strips and comic books. They talk with word balloons that pop out of their heads and then disintegrate in to dust. To make a Comic Book the Toons pose for a photographer and then the stills are edited together Colors, Word Bubbles and everything else already in place.

Secondly the plot is different. So different. I am so torn o...more

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May 14, 2012 Mjhancock rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, mystery

The book that the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was based on. The high concept--cartoon characters are real, and there's a noir crime plot afoot--is still there. But the clear-cut good guys/bad guys distinction is a lot murkier. There's also less slapstick comedy (which you'd probably expect, given that slapstick isn't very easy to do in prose form) and more noir pastiche. It's also more of a proper mystery, with a list of motives and suspects (as opposed to film, where if you couldn't figure o...more

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Apr 14, 2009 Cameron rated it 5 of 5 stars

*Very* different from the Disney film of similar name. This is a hard boiled detective novel set in the surreal world of real-life cartoons.

Gary K. Wolf approaches the story from the same angle as a any "hard" detective or science fiction writer might: establish what's possible in definite, yet subtle ways, then weave a story around exploiting your expectations. It's a fun romp, very well plotted, with memorable characters involved in a genuine mystery.

This book celebrates imagination and huma...more

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Sep 04, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, fiction

This book is SO much fun to read. Others have mentioned that while it inspired the famous 1988 film, there are many notable differences between Gary K. Wolf's original novel and the screen adaptation. This is certainly true but, as is so often the case, the book is better.

No doubt the film makers chose to extensively alter the plot and tone down adult themes to make the material suitable for families, a must in a movie featuring colorful animated characters which audiences will expect are intend...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Mathias rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had no idea one of my favorite flicks as a young lad had been based on a book. Aside from the characters of Jessica, Roger, and Eddie there aren't really any similarities. The toons are more like comic strip characters. They communicate non-verbally using word balloons. Some humanoid toons are even able to suppress their word balloons and speak out loud as is the case with Jessica. The setting is in present day (when the book was written that would be the 1980's), Eddie is much younger, Jessic...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Jan Bednarczuk rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun, fast read. I picked it up because a friend mentioned it off-handedly as an example of a book that was much darker than the movie that was made from it. This piqued my interest.

My friend was accurate. The book is much darker than the movie, although that doesn't keep it from being a lot of fun. It's written as a noir-style hardboiled detective story, set in a world where real-life cartoons exist. I loved the writing. The author has a real knack for the clever, almost-but-not-quit...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Chef Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm a major fan of the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and I've seen it so many times I've lost count. I collect everything and anything to do with the movie and I was in search of this book for years. I finally went to a convention around the D.C. area and Gary Wolf was actually there with copies to sign. After reading the book I can say that you can see how the movie came to be, but if they would have followed the book exactly, the movie would have been a little darker and not quite so light...more

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Jul 14, 2007 R. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1974-2002

Read summer of 1988, in anticipation of the blockbuster hit movie of almost the same name.

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Feb 13, 2013 Tessa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fictive, mystery-or-detective, slightly-off

I finally read this! Ever since, as a tween, I saw in the credits of Who Framed Roger Rabbit that it was based on a book, I vowed to find the book and read it. And like 20 years later I got around to doing just that. Let's give thanks to libraries with relatively old mystery collections.

I agree with the major changes they made in scriptwriting and casting (HOSKINS!!), but could also see why the book would inspire a movie adaptation. It's deadpan noir that kept me guessing and does a halfhearted...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Ian Thomas rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is not the story I was expecting.

Like most people, I saw the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and that's more or less what I was expecting. Instead, it's a VERY different murder mystery, with almost no crossover to the movie, except for only a couple of spoken lines of dialogue.

I'm afraid that I liked the movie better. While a good, well-written murder mystery, there's no real sense of wonder, of the lunacy of the Toons, of the magical period of the Golden Age of Animation from the movie in t...more

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Apr 30, 2011 R. A. Danger rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: toons-in-real-world, mystery-fiction, ebook

In the beginning Eddie is not very interested in the case that Roger gives him until Roger and Rocco ends up dead.
What is every one hiding? In the book we find out that all the suspects (including Roger Rabbit) have there own secrets that they might not wish to get out. They will attempted to lie or hope to avoid any unanswered question, so these secrets wouldn’t come out. Then there is also a tea kettle that’s is important to the story. Why does Rocco’s brother and Jessica want a tea kettle f...more

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Dec 06, 2010 Jennifer added it

Shelves: kindle-text-to-audio

When I saw Who Framed Roger Rabbit years ago, I thought it was a fun and creative premise. I didn't realize at the time that it was based on a novel. Then, when I was thinking about ways of working with the hardboiled detective genre for a course I teach, I thought of the movie, looked to see whether there was a DVD on Amazon, and was surprised to find that it was in fact based on a book. Even better, I thought! We could read the book and compare it to its adaptation! Books are so reliably bette...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Grey Liliy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, detective, mystery

More serious than the movie, but definitely a good read. Loved the ending.

Edit: Found a review I wrote January 5th, 2011 and decided to post since it's significantly more informative. XD I've modified it slightly (it's been a year, I can fix things!), but it's more or less the same. :)

Review, 1/5/11:

Most of you are probably much more familiar with the masterpiece that is Who Framed Roger Rabbit, an amazing movie from 1988 that pretty much set the standard for Toon/Live Action crossovers. If you’...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, crime, humour

A murder investigation with as many suspects as there are witnesses. A femme fatale with icewater in her veins and sex appeal that she knows exactly how to use. A down-on-his-luck private investigator trying to make good on a promise to a client. In a lot of ways Who Censored Roger Rabbit seems like an assortment of cliches of the hardboiled detective genre, and then you pause for a second and realize that one of the main characters is a 6 foot tall bunny rabbit. It doesn't feel exactly like sat...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Cesare Falco rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You can't compare the book with the Disney Film. This is no juvenile literature, no way. Toons live side-by-side with humans, all around the world. They are no cuddly stars, just there to provide entertainment to humans. They "love and hate and cry and laugh", they struggle for their carreer, they have secrets to keep. They kill. The whole atmosphere is darker. Eddie Valiant relies on cards to pay the rent, he's a decent man and still a true alcohol lover. You won't see a single character with n...more

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May 02, 2013 TwinFitzgeraldKirkland rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: narrativa, english-language

Non ricordo di aver mai adorato un film quanto il mai troppo apprezzato: "Chi ha incastrato Roger Rabbit". Non so se ho mai visto un film più volte di quante non abbia visto questo. Lo so a memoria. Non c'è un personaggio che non mi abbia appassionata, divertita, commossa. Ho passato anni terrorizzata al solo pensiero della scena in cui il giudice Morton viene sottilettato dallo schiacciasasi nella fabbrica ACME per poi uscirsene con una gommosità bidimensionale modello looney toons ideato da St...more Non ricordo di aver mai adorato un film quanto il mai troppo apprezzato: "Chi ha incastrato Roger Rabbit". Non so se ho mai visto un film più volte di quante non abbia visto questo. Lo so a memoria. Non c'è un personaggio che non mi abbia appassionata, divertita, commossa. Ho passato anni terrorizzata al solo pensiero della scena in cui il giudice Morton viene sottilettato dallo schiacciasasi nella fabbrica ACME per poi uscirsene con una gommosità bidimensionale modello looney toons ideato da Stephen King ("E avevo questa vocetta... RICORDIIII?"). Mi sono esaltata per i mille riferimenti a personaggi animati più o meno conosciuti. Roger era un idiota assolutamente adorabile e adoravo Jessica. Persino gli effetti speciali mi esaltano ancora oggi, anche se sono decisamente datati.

Non appena venuta a conoscenza dell'esistenza di un libro scritto da Gary Wolf da cui ci si era molto liberamente ispirati per il film, è cominciata la mia piccola epopea di ricerca. Il libro, naturalmente introvabile in italiano, non è molto a portata di scaffale nemmeno in USA. L'ho cercato per anni e ancora non sono riuscita a mettere le mani su una versione cartacea che non costi come se le pagine fossero fatte di platino. La speranza è sempre l'ultima a morire.
Prima o poi ci riuscirò. Voglio quel libro.
Se qualcuno vuole regalarmelo è più che benvenuto! ;D

Va subito detto (ma lo sapevo già ed ero interessata all'acquisto proprio per questo motivo) che se ci si aspetta di leggere questo libro ritrovando le atmosfere deliziosamente hollywoodiane del film può anche fare a meno di leggerlo perchè la delusione è dietro l'angolo. Film e libro hanno in comune giusto i nomi dei personaggi principali, e qualche sparuto aspetto caratteriale. L'amore di Eddie Valiant per l'alcool. L'avvenenza di Jessica. Il ricco e vizioso Baby Herman intrappolato in un corpo di bebè. Per il resto, nel libro non ci sono nemmeno star-cartoons ma esseri a metà strada tra il cartone muto e il fumetto che "parlano" attraverso BALLOONS solidi. Il film ha comunque dei misteri da risolvere, sono di meno e lo sviluppo della trama è più lineare, e alla fine si risolve tutto con un grande e brutto cattivo colpevole anche dell'inflazione in crescita (spiegazione comoda laddove il libro tiene più al noir vero e proprio e non tira in mezzo cartoon impazziti. Tira fuori di peggio, ma dettagli, sarebbe spoiler! :D). Nel film ovviamente vengono coinvolti cartoni famosi di marchio disney warner e qualcuno MGM, il libro indulge anche in personaggi più di nicchia, come Dick Tracy o Felix the cat. Nel film ci sono scene d'azione e comicità slapstick laddove il libro ha molto più dialogo e l'umorismo è sottile e ironico, da noir per l'appunto.

Un'altra somiglianza di fondo è il fatto che i cartoni vengano considerati cittadini di serie B rispetto ai "normali": laddove nel film vivono in un ghetto formato cartoon in cui gli umani non mettono piede perchè troppo folle o addirittura pericoloso, nel libro lo stesso Eddie vive in un quartiere misto, in cui le strade sono insozzate dai resti in purtrefazione di migliaia di balloons e tra normali e cartoni scorre odio e disprezzo. Jessica, e in generale i cartoni umanoidi, rappresentano un'ovvia eccezione.

La storia del libro inizia con un detective privato, Eddie Valiant, assunto dal coniglio Roger Rabbit per una questione legale a riguardo del proprio contratto di lavoro: i fratelli De Greasy, Dominic e Rocco, che hanno su di lui diritti in esclusiva, gli avrebbero promesso una strip tutta sua mentre invece si ritrova dopo anni a fare la spalla di Baby Herman. Problema: la promessa, se effettivamente c'è stata (cosa di cui non si è sicuri perchè Roger ha la fama di essere un pazzo e un bugiardo ed è sotto cure psichiatriche) è verbale e nel contratto non v'è traccia di accordi simili. Nel bel mezzo dell'indagine Roger viene trovato assassinato nel suo appartamento, ucciso da un colpo di pistola che l'ha trapassato da una parte all'altra come carta: accanto ha un Baloon quasi del tutto svanito che fa riferimento al suo contratto e alla moglie Jessica ("No fair! You got me everything? Jessica. My contract…"). I sospetti ricadono subito sul suo rivale in amore, Rocco De Greasy, il nuovo fidanzato di Jessica (e suo ex, prima che sposasse Roger), se non fosse per il fatto che anche l'uomo viene trovato morto nel suo appartamento. Eddie decide di vederci chiaro in questo mistero... Con l'aiuto dello stesso Roger, o più precisamente del suo Doppelganger, un doppio mentale che i cartoons sono in grado di creare per brevi periodi in caso di bisogno (come stuntman per esempio, o come facchini). I Doppelganger hanno vita breve ma il doppio di Roger, che è stato creato dall'originale poco prima del suo omicidio, vorrebbe far luce su questo mistero. Dovranno risolvere tutto in un paio di giorni, e nel frattempo Roger farà da spalla a Eddie, visto che è sempre stato il suo sogno fare il detective.

Per il resto il libro è un noir fatto e finito: Il detective è uno sbevazzone incallito dalla morale molto relativa, c'è una famme fatale, un morto che ha più nemici che peli superflui, menzogne su menzogne e alibi che si annullano l'un l'altro, interrogatori e raccolta di prove fatta in modi più o meno legali. Gary Wolf vuole parlare di un mistero, e ci riesce maledettamente bene condendo la storia e il duplice omicidio di moventi, sospetti e una rivelazione a sorpresa dietro l'altra (alcuni meno riusciti di altri ma sempre in grado di emozionarmi), ma vuole anche affrontare il genere letterario con ironia, e i vari modi sarcastici con cui Eddie definisce l'azione di dare un pugno a qualcuno è solo uno degli esempi. Alla fine, inseguendo una misteriosa teiera rubata da Roger sul set del film "Alice in Wonderland" in cui ha partecipato come comparsa (interpretava un beagle, perchè i suoli da coniglio erano tutti riservati a Bugs Bunny) si scenderà addirittura nel soprannaturale, ma in un libro in cui i cartoni camminano e parlano è davvero il meno.

Roger non so se nella trasposizione filmica ci perda o ci guadagni, diciamo che i personaggi mi piacciono entrambi per motivi loro: Roger del film è un adorabile coglione, una star comica dei cartoni che vive per far ridere la gente, perchè "a volte nella vita ridere è l'unica cosa che ti rimane", è fiero del suo lavoro e ce l'ha nel sangue. Riesce a risultarmi simpatico persino considerando che a me i personaggi stupidi in genere fanno schifo, e non è poco. Il Roger del libro non è tanto entusiasta del fatto che la gente rida di lui, del fatto che sia una spalla di un bebè animato: lo trova umiliante. E' orgoglioso, arrivista, mantiene una facciata di stupideira ma mostra anche di possedere un acume non da ridere. E' un personaggio più complesso, un po' più dark, decisamente più astuto e in un certo senso adulto. Per i motivi che esporrò più chiaramente qui sotto, il suo amore disperato e incondizionato per Jessica qui raggiunge vette patetiche che non avevo visto neppure nelle soap opera mentre nel film trovavo la loro storia d'amore assolutamente adorabile.

Jessica è decisamente migliore nel film. Ma di parecchio. Nella versione animata il suo cavallo di battaglia era "Io non sono cattiva, è che mi disegnano così", affermazione che si rivelerà verissima. Jessica è innamorata follemente di suo marito anche se è un coniglio dei cartoni e anche se nessun "umano" riesce a capire come sia possibile (mentre ogni donna cartoon invidia LEI! Perchè Roger sa far ridere) ed è una moglie premurosa disposta a dare al marito padellate sulla zucca pur di salvargli la vita. Quello che fa lo fa per lavoro, flirta con Marvin ACME perchè costretta e minacciata, fa la vamp perchè è il suo personaggio. Per l'appunto, perchè la disegnano così. La Jessica del libro è la classica femmina bona e stronza che bada solo ai propri affari. Consapevole del proprio potere sugli uomini (per l'aspetto avvenente da pin up, per l'intelligenza e i modi eleganti e per il fatto che riesce a non parlare tramite balloons ma ad usare una voce molto bassa e sensuale) non esita a prometterla anche al panettiere sotto casa in cambio di una rosetta appena sfornata, convinta che non possa esserci ricompensa migliore delle sue grazie (si offrirà a Eddie che rifiuterà benchè egli sia decisamente attratto da lei, come tutti nel libro. Non tanto per rispetto verso Roger quando per il fatto che non gli piace essere usato, e Jessica l'ha inquadrata subito). Con gli uomini gioca, se li rigira, li stuzzica. Ha comportamenti da diva stizzita come Naomi Campbell. Ha posato per fumetti porno per denaro, e perchè le piaceva anche se gioca a fare la bambolina costretta dalla necessità, o alla vittima drogata e costretta. Cerca uomini danarosi. Sposa Roger la sera stessa in cui si conoscono ma dopo un anno divorzia da lui: lo detesta quel coniglio, lo trova disgustoso, un pusillanime, un idiota, uno stronzo, un pazzo, lei per prima non si rende conto di come possa una donna come lei amare un coniglio. Non vuole vederlo nemmeno in foto e a nulla valgono le suppliche del coniglio disperato che, convinto sempre con una cocciutagine irritante delle buone intenzioni della ex consorte, vuole parlarle per farle "confessare" che è stata costretta a lasciarlo per tornare dal suo ex, Rocco DeGrease. Wolf è chiaramente ironico nel dipingere questa famme fatale da noir, ma il personaggio risulta abbastanza piatto. Jessica nel libro o piange o la promette o racconta cazzate. Più spesso piange perchè ha raccontato cazzate e non ha funzionato prometterla. Non mi dispiace invece che la Jessica de libro si cambi d'abito e cambi pettinatura, le aggiunge un tocco di realismo che alla Jessica del film un po' manca. Anche se sembra un ossimoro parlarne in questi termini.

Eddie Valiant caratterialmente è molto simile in entrambe le versioni. Il film l'ha dotato di una donna con cui flirta adorabilmente ma con cui pare che non si concluderà mai nulla, la barista Dolores (nome omen), e di un background, un fratello ucciso da un cartone che ha giustificato in un film che era rivolto a un pubblico giovane il suo cinismo e il suo odio per i cartoni animati, il suo rifiuto di lavorare con loro. Nel libro non c'è alcun bisogno di una giustificazione per il razzismo, cosa che trovo più realistica, anche se la storia del fratello di Valiant era meravigliosa. Ai vizi dell'Eddie cartaceo viene dato più spazio (gioco d'azzardo e alcolismo, fumo, e anche sesso perchè no?)

Insomma, una lettura che ho trovato veramente deliziosa, appassionante e avvincente, sia come storia in sè (che resta comunque un noir, non vi aspettate particolari introspezioni psicologiche o uno stile manicheo) sia parallelamente ad un film che ho adorato e con cui ha veramente poco in comune.(less)

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May 27, 2010 Travis McClain rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While browsing at the Oldham County Public Library, a facility I have come to greatly appreciate in recent months, I stumbled upon a hardback copy of Gary Wolf's Who Censored Roger Rabbit? Having been a fan of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit I thought I ought to read this novel.

Fortunately for me, I am not one of those people who are disappointed when a novel and film bear little resemblance to one another. Aside from the scenario of Private Eye Eddie Valiant investigating Roger Rabbit, who is...more While browsing at the Oldham County Public Library, a facility I have come to greatly appreciate in recent months, I stumbled upon a hardback copy of Gary Wolf's Who Censored Roger Rabbit? Having been a fan of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit I thought I ought to read this novel.

Fortunately for me, I am not one of those people who are disappointed when a novel and film bear little resemblance to one another. Aside from the scenario of Private Eye Eddie Valiant investigating Roger Rabbit, who is implicated in a homicide, precious little of what Gary Wolf wrote can be found in the film. And, to be honest, it is the novel that is the more rewarding story. Roger is actually murdered, but has created a doppleganger of himself who survives to investigate. The doppel exists proportionate to the energy that went into creating him, and Roger worked very hard at establishing him. That buys him enough time to work with Valiant to find out not only who killed the real Roger, but the truth about the murder of Rocco DeGreasey, the guy who owned Roger's contract and wouldn't let him out of it. He's also the guy that Jessica Rabbit really had a relationship with, and all evidence points to Roger as his killer.

Wolf's writing is easy to read, and the plot is interesting; even more so for someone who has seen the film first, and turns each page wondering if anything from that version will surface. Benny the car? Movie only. The Judge? Movie. The Weasels? Movie. Baby Herman? He actually is in the novel, but only briefly. There is no deed to Toon Town; in fact, there is no Toon Town. Everything happens in real life L.A., and in its own way, the novel is even more absurd than the film because of this. As a mystery, it is quite compelling, and the finale is genuinely surprising. Recommended for those with a sense of whimsy and a few free hours; I managed to read it in its entirety across the span of yesterday afternoon and evening, taking time to eat and watch No Reservations throughout. If I can do it that quickly, a more dedicated reader should be able to knock it out in about the time it takes to watch the vastly different film version.(less)

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Mar 17, 2009 Derek rated it 3 of 5 stars

Where the movie is a doughnut of family entertainment sprinkled with film noir, the book is a pound cake of Raymond Chandler with whimsy icing. These contrasts--book and movie, whimsy and noir--are distracting, and I was constantly comparing and analyzing, rather than enjoying this oddball story.

Wolf's concept is more sophisticated than just "cartoons walking among us". The 'toons are a downtrodden ethnic minority, and there are elements of metaphor that occasionally pop up out of the grime.

One...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765430.Who_Censored_Roger_Rabbit_?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1209971215l/765430.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765430.Who_Censored_Roger_Rabbit_?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf[/url]

Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (Roger Rabbit #1)

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