The Pagemaster (1994)

A cowardly boy, who buries himself in accident statistics, enters a library to escape a storm, only to be transformed into an animated illustration by the Pagemaster. He has to work through obstacles from classic books to return to real-life.

Directors:

Pixote Hunt (as Maurice Hunt), Joe Johnston

Writers:

David Kirschner (story), David Casci (story)

Stars:

Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Kanin Howell

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Macaulay Culkin	...	Richard Tyler
Kanin Howell	...	Neighborhood Kid (as Canan J. Howell)
Alexis Kirschner	...	Neighborhood Kid
Jessica Kirschner	...	Neighborhood Kid
Guy Mansker	...	Neighborhood Kid
Brandon S. McKay	...	Neighborhood Kid (as Brandon McKay)
Stephen Sheehan	...	Neighborhood Kid
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Alan Tyler
Mel Harris	...	Claire Tyler
Christopher Lloyd	...	Mr. Dewey / The Pagemaster
Patrick Stewart	...	Adventure (voice)
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Fantasy (voice)
Frank Welker	...	Horror (voice)
Leonard Nimoy	...	Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde (voice)
George Hearn	...	Captain Ahab (voice)

Storyline

This is the story of a young boy named Richard Tyler, who spouts statistics about the possibility of accidents. So much so, he is scared to do anything that might endanger him, like riding his bike, or climbing into his treehouse. While riding his bike home, Richard finds shelter from a storm inside a nearby library. Richard slips and is knocked unconscious while exploring a rotunda in the library. Upon awakening, he is led on a journey through conflicts and events that resemble fictional stories, keeping him from finding the exit from the library.

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Plot Keywords:

dr. henry jekyll character | mr edward hyde character | queen of hearts character | rain | library | 

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Taglines:

All the adventure your imagination can hold.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

El guardián de las palabras

Filming Locations:

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$56,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,Turner Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Whoopi Goldberg and Sir Patrick Stewart recorded their dialogue together.

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Goofs

One of the books Richard looks at while inside the dragon is "Alice in Wonderland". The exact name of Lewis Carroll's book is "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".

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Quotes

Horror: Horror always has sad endings.
Fantasy: I come from a world of happy endings, why don't you come with us?

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Crazy Credits

The original VHS release of the film contained a sneak preview of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie prior to the film.

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Connections

References Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

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Soundtracks

Soundtrack available on Fox Records
Marketed and Distributed by Arista Records

User Reviews

J'adore!

• It's in the middle, by the waterfall! - No, it's East.. by some broccoli.

I'm sorry. But I absolutely love this movie! I remember it so well from when I was a kid, how I watched it over and over again, never getting tired of it. For years I have been wanting to see it again, but I couldn't remember what it was called. And when I Finally found it, I was a bit scared to actually see it. I mean, whenever you have had so high expectations on a movie (especially one that you've seen and loved as a child) you always in some way get more or less disappointed. But this time I have to say I didn't!

Sure, the colors and contrast isn't as powerful as it could be and the part where he gets chased by the color isn't half as realistic as I remembered it too be, but for a 4-yearold (which I was at the time this came out) it's more than enough to get the engines running! This movie is partially responsible for my massive interest and collection of fantasy-books and movies at home, as well as my ridiculous fear of thunder. I mean, come on, it's really nicely put together! It's got it all! Plus, even if they are only in there for a short period of time, you build up an interest for all the stories you come across throughout the story, like Moby Dick and Dr Jekyll. And that was the intention of the maker of this move, right? To get the children into reading. At least I remember asking my mum to read all those stories to me after seeing this!

Okey, maybe I'm letting myself get a bit carried away.. I'll be honest, If I hadn't seen this as a kid or had kids myself, I probably wouldn't think that much of it. It's a bit dated which we all can tell and with todays technology you could make this 10 times better . But setting that aside, this is a timeless story! And I hope that when I have kids myself, this movie will help them get their lazy asses away from the computer and into the library.

In the end I will not rate this movie from an adult living in our time's point of view, but from the heart of a little girl. And never the less, this adults heart still beats hard for this movie.