The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)

Milo is a boy who is bored with life. One day he comes home to find a toll booth in his room. Having nothing better to do, he gets in his toy car and drives through - only to emerge in a world full of adventure.

Directors:

Chuck Jones, Abe Levitow

Writers:

Chuck Jones (screenplay), Sam Rosen (screenplay)

Stars:

Butch Patrick, Hans Conried, Mel Blanc

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Butch Patrick	...	Milo
Mel Blanc	...	Officer Short Shrift / Dodecahedron / Demon of Insincerity (voice)
Daws Butler	...	Whether Man / Senses Taker / Terrible Trivium / Gelatinous Giant (voice)
Candy Candido	...	Awful DYNN (voice)
Hans Conried	...	King Azaz / The MathemaGician (voice)
June Foray	...	Ralph / Faintly Macabre / Princess of Pure Reason (voice)
Patti Gilbert	...	Princess of Sweet Rhyme (voice)
Shepard Menken	...	Spelling Bee / Chroma The Great (voice) (as Shep Menken)
Cliff Norton	...	Kakofonous A. Dischord / Tollbooth Speaker (voice)
Larry Thor	...	Tock The Watchdog (voice)
Les Tremayne	...	Humbug (voice)

Storyline

Milo is a boy who is bored with life. One day he comes home to find a toll booth in his room. Having nothing better to do, he gets in his toy car and drives through - only to emerge in a world full of adventure.

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Plot Keywords:

part live action | flight | child driving a car | close up of eyes | live action animated hybrid | 

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Taglines:

It's an Alphabeautiful Mathemagical New Musical Movie!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

CASTLE THUNDER: Heard at every mention of the Castle in the Air earlier in the movie and when the last five Demons of Ignorance merge to create the monster.

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Goofs

During the live-action portion at the start of the film, as the kids run out of the school, the camera operator's shadow is briefly visible on the bottom right corner.

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Quotes

Tock: That's why people don't seem to care anymore which words they use as long as they use lots of them.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits, set immediately after the prologue, revolves around Milo (Butch Patrick) walking from school into various places before he heads home. The text is white, upper-cased and hand-written, while the title itself is purple and in two lines, with the "THE" at the top-left position.

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Connections

Referenced in Parks and Recreation: Canvassing (2009)

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Soundtracks

Noise, Noise, Beautiful Noise
(1969)
Music by Lee Pockriss
Lyrics by Paul Vance
Performed by the Cliff Norton (uncredited) and Candy Candido (uncredited)

User Reviews

A must-see for Chuck Jones fans!

I feel bad for a lot of underrated movies, mostly because the people who'd like them the most have probably never heard of them. I argue that Chuck Jones is the most important of the animation directors of the Golden Age of Cartoons, and this is his only full-length feature. If you like his cartoons, you should definitely hunt for this charming adaptation of Norton Juster's charming (if pedantic) novella.

Here's the interesting thing about "Phantom Tollbooth". Neither the book nor the movie strike me as a children's' story. Don't get me wrong, kids will probably like this movie, particularly older kids, but it's more for adults who can get the puns and such. Adult will also probably appreciate the psychedelic artwork from longtime Jones collaborator Maurice Noble. The amoebic Doldrums are a highlight as is the Awful DYNN, a manic crayon scrawl, and the cities of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis; they look like a riot at the Avant-garde Graphic Design class. Adorable and very, VERY sixties.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1972 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Phantom Tollbooth

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chuck Jones Enterprises, MGM Animation/Visual Arts, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1