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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Massively different from the film that's based on it, but equally as enjoyable. There's no point in listing the differences as a better question would be "what are the similarities?"
The only thing the book and the film adaptation have in common are the usage of a few names, Eddie being a private detective, and Roger and Jessica being 'Toons. Otherwise, everything is different. Characterizations are different, the plot is different, etc.
This novel is good. Really good. It's an enjoyable mystery in the style of those old school pulp mysteries. Well written, funny, satirical on social issues, superb characterization, and a good mystery. It's really a good read, especially if you liked the film.
The only thing the book and the film adaptation have in common are the usage of a few names, Eddie being a private detective, and Roger and Jessica being 'Toons. Otherwise, everything is different. Characterizations are different, the plot is different, etc.
This novel is good. Really good. It's an enjoyable mystery in the style of those old school pulp mysteries. Well written, funny, satirical on social issues, superb characterization, and a good mystery. It's really a good read, especially if you liked the film.
So completely different from the film, it took me aback at first.
In this, toons are strip cartoons and their speech is silent but comes out in speech bubbles that can be kept, manipulated and frozen. Some of their reactions and thought bubbles are also physical.
A lot of the fun of the film is not included in the book, no toon town, no Judge Doom, no happy ending.
There were some stand-out gags, very interesting use of the mechanics of the toons and some genuine mystery but the tone of the book isn’t proper gumshoe - it’s fairly weak gumshoe and the characters are less pleasant than the film.
In this, toons are strip cartoons and their speech is silent but comes out in speech bubbles that can be kept, manipulated and frozen. Some of their reactions and thought bubbles are also physical.
A lot of the fun of the film is not included in the book, no toon town, no Judge Doom, no happy ending.
There were some stand-out gags, very interesting use of the mechanics of the toons and some genuine mystery but the tone of the book isn’t proper gumshoe - it’s fairly weak gumshoe and the characters are less pleasant than the film.
fast-paced
Who didn’t absolutely love the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? This is the book that inspired the movie, as although some of the characters are the same, the storyline is very different. There’s no Jude, no dip, no bar, no bar-tending flame and no Will that they have to find to see who inherited Toon Town.
However I still enjoyed the book, some of the cartoons have ‘word balloons’ that humans have to read to see what they are saying, other supress their word balloons. They are physically manifested so you can actually pick up the discarded words which I loved. The bottles of alcohol have death skulls and triple x's and when they run quickly they leave tyre tracks on the pavement.
Eddie Valient is hired by Roger Rabbit, and early on in the book Roger dies. However Toons can make temporary versions of themselves or Doppelgangers, and Roger’s dopple helps Eddie solve his murder.
Even though I preferred the movie, this was still an interesting read.
However I still enjoyed the book, some of the cartoons have ‘word balloons’ that humans have to read to see what they are saying, other supress their word balloons. They are physically manifested so you can actually pick up the discarded words which I loved. The bottles of alcohol have death skulls and triple x's and when they run quickly they leave tyre tracks on the pavement.
Eddie Valient is hired by Roger Rabbit, and early on in the book Roger dies. However Toons can make temporary versions of themselves or Doppelgangers, and Roger’s dopple helps Eddie solve his murder.
Even though I preferred the movie, this was still an interesting read.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have to say, despite the writing not aging well and being rather poor, I was gripped by the plot and wanted to keep reading to find the resolution. However, the ending felt unearned and was unsatisfying. If the ending landed better I'd rate it higher because I enjoyed the read, but the ending definitely tempered my enthusiasm.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I must say that while I am aware that this is a book written in the 1980s about 1930s stereotypes and cartoonish ones at that, I just couldn't get over the misogyny aimed at Jessica Rabbit.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
This book is completely different from the movie it inspired, the movie I've loved since I was a kid and have found layers to appreciate as an adult. It isn't bad, it's just wholly different. I've written in some reviews on here and in other places that in the past few years I've come to terms with the idea of adaptations. Movies and books will never be perfectly similar because adaptations require each to play to the strengths of the medium in which it's in. This, however, is much more than an adaptation. The movie took 80% of the same characters and the thinnest connection to the plot in here and then made its own thing. And that's good, because this book's plot points are quite a bit too convoluted for a movie, especially a mass-market movie.
Getting away from comparisons and to this book itself, it's a nice homage to noir detective novels and the first person voice is pretty fun to read. Detective Valiant's sarcasm and world-weariness are a treat. The mystery is fun to solve and doesn't seem to be poorly written - most of the difficulty in predicting it ahead of time has to do with unreliable witnesses. The world Wolf crafts is also an interesting one of toon/human segregation. There are some analogies to race-based segregation, but nothing that beats you over the head with a moral. Wolf also creates a demented cast of characters to populate the world that make for a fun time as he interrogates them.
Overall, it's a fun read if you're a fan of the noir detective genre and don't expect it to hew too closely to the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Getting away from comparisons and to this book itself, it's a nice homage to noir detective novels and the first person voice is pretty fun to read. Detective Valiant's sarcasm and world-weariness are a treat. The mystery is fun to solve and doesn't seem to be poorly written - most of the difficulty in predicting it ahead of time has to do with unreliable witnesses. The world Wolf crafts is also an interesting one of toon/human segregation. There are some analogies to race-based segregation, but nothing that beats you over the head with a moral. Wolf also creates a demented cast of characters to populate the world that make for a fun time as he interrogates them.
Overall, it's a fun read if you're a fan of the noir detective genre and don't expect it to hew too closely to the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit.