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:

rain | thunder | lightning | bicycle | bike | 

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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:

The Pagemaster

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,188,399, 27 November 1994

Gross USA:

$13,670,688

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,670,688

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

Sir Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Star Trek: Generations (1994) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

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Goofs

Richard never regains his jacket in the library.

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Quotes

[First lines during the opening scene]
Claire Tyler: [offscreen; in bed] Alan, every ten-year-old is afraid of something.
Alan Tyler: [offscreen; in bed] The kid's afraid of tuna-fish sandwitches.
Claire Tyler: Mercury levels in the tuna.
Alan Tyler: Whatever.
Claire Tyler: Alan, the world is a frightening place to him right now. I think we could be a little more supportive.
Alan Tyler: Supportive? I'm the most supportive father on earth, but I'm running out of supportive things to do. I signed him up for Little League, he drove everybody crazy with statistics about how you...
[...]

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Connections

Spoofs Home Alone (1990)

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Soundtracks

Whatever You Imagine (Montage)
(1994) (uncredited)
Lyric by Cynthia Weil
Music by Barry Mann and James Horner
Produced by Keith Thomas
Executive Producer: Jay Landers
Performed by Wendy Moten
Wendy Moten courtesy of Thunderbird Records / EMI Records

User Reviews

This movie deserves a place in your collection!

It's a great movie. This kid, Richard Tyler, played by young Macaulay Culkin, is really paranoid, and always talks about injury-related statistics. During a frightening storm, he takes temporary refuge from the rain in a library, run by the eerie Mr. Dewey, played by Christopher Lloyd. Richard is instructed to find a pay phone so he can tell his parents where he is.

In the middle of the library, there's a huge ceiling painting of Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, Long John Silver and his crew from Treasure Island, Captain Aham and Moby Dick, a fierce dragon, and in the center, an old man with a long white beard and nobleman clothes holding a scroll. The ceiling starts dripping paint, and the globs are transformed into a huge dragon, which transforms everything it touches into animation. Richard, now a cartoon, meets the old man, the Pagemaster, who tells him that to get out of the library and return to normal, he must past three tests, described only as adventure, horror, and fantasy.

Soon, he also meets three hilarious talking books. The first, Adventure, played by Patrick Stewart, is probably the funniest guy in the movie. The second, Fantasy, played by Whoopi Goldberg, is also funny, but it's because of her attitude. The third, Horror, played by Frank Welker, is a brain-dead coward who looks like Frankenstein's Monster. With his three new friends, Richard has to pass the tests to get his normal form back, admittance to the exit, and most of all...the courage he never thought he had.