I’m a very big fan of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It’s one of the greatest movies of all
time in my book – the visual effects are astounding, even to this day, and it
has a love for classic animation and old-time Hollywood that makes it a real pleasure
to watch. It also brought characters like Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse to the
screen together for the first time. And in the midst of all this, the movie manages to
be a legitimate mystery with a solid, satisfactory ending. And so I finally
decided to acquaint myself with the book that inspired the film version, Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf.
Naturally, because I love the film as much as I do, the book
would have a tough act to follow. But I decided to keep an open mind and try to
enjoy the ride. Like the movie, the book stars Eddie Valiant, a hardboiled,
cynical P.I. He is hired by Roger Rabbit to investigate the DeGreasy brothers.
They are the heads of a large cartoon syndicate and have Roger under contract,
playing second fiddle to one Baby Herman. But when he signed the contract,
Roger was promised his own strip. The DeGreasys now deny ever offering him his
own strip and refuse to let him go or sell him off to another syndicate,
despite the interest shown in his talents.
