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Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 First edition cover |
|
| Author | Gary Wolf |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Mystery Novel |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
| Released | 1981 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 214 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-312-87001-9 (paperback edition) |
| Followed by | Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? |
Who Censored Roger Rabbit? was a mystery novel written by Gary Wolf in 1981, later adapted into the hit Disney film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
Although the book features many of the same characters used in the film, some of their characteristics, as well as the basic plot, are significantly different. The novel is set in the present day and a strange universe in which humans and cartoon characters co-exist. The cartoons of the novel are primarily comic strip characters, as opposed to animated cartoon stars. Strips are produced by photographing cartoon characters. In this version, "toon" characters speak in word balloons which appear above their heads as they talk. Although some characters have learned to suppress this and speak vocally, the use of word balloons forms several important plot points.
The only line from the book that was used in the film was "I've got a 50 year old lust and a 3 year old dinky", though in the book, the age is 36.
Eddie Valiant is a hard-boiled private eye, and Roger Rabbit is a second banana cartoon star. The rabbit hires Valiant to find out why his employers, the DeGreasy Brothers, the sleazy owners of a cartoon syndicate, have reneged on a promise to give Roger his own strip. Soon after, Roger is mysteriously murdered in his home. His speech balloon, found on the crime scene, indicates his murder was a way of "censoring" the star, who apparently had just heard someone explain the source of his success.
Valiant's search for the killer takes him to a variety of suspects including Roger's widow, Jessica Rabbit and his former co-star Baby Herman.
In 1991, Wolf wrote another Roger Rabbit book, Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? (ISBN 0-679-40094-X), but, in the form of a memo from Valiant, the book says that Roger Rabbit "and his screwball buddies play fast and loose with historical accuracy," which means that the stories don't have much continuity between each other. There is absolutely no connection between this novel and the first one, with the exception of Jessica mentioning having a dream about Roger being framed for murder, and asking Valient for help, even though he knew Roger was guilty of the crime. In fact, the second book attempts to connect itself more with the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit than the first book. At one point, Jessica Rabbit reveals that the entire story of the first book was a dream of hers, much like the infamous "Bobby in the Shower" sequence from the TV series Dallas.
