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The Pagemaster Review

Nine-year-old Richard Tyler (Macaulay Culkin) is, not to put too fine a point on it, a coward. He's afraid of secondhand smoke, electric shock, natural disaster, and the possibility of any accident no matter how small. His bicycle is equipped with big headlights, a windshield, a beeper, and a visibility pennant, and when he ventures out on it he wears a long-sleeved jacket, helmet, goggles, and reflective vest. He won't play Little League for fear of being beaned on the head by a ball, and he won't go up into the treehouse his father (Ed Begley, Jr.) is building for him because "seven per cent of all household accidents involve ladders." Surprisingly for a kid who's memorized every statistic related to injuries and danger, he doesn't have a library card, and when a thunderstorm drives him into the local library for shelter, he's amazed by its possibilities and by the mural on the central dome. A bump on the head sends him into a universe of "illustrations" where he meets the Pagemaster (Christopher Lloyd, who also plays Mr. Dewey, the librarian) and is sent on a quest through the land of books to overcome evil, find his own courage, and face his fears, with the help of a trio of animated volumes, bluff piratical Adventure (Patrick Stewart), jive-talking Fantasy (Whoopi Goldberg), and Horror (Frank Walker), who looks like a cross between Igor and the Frankenstein Monster and, like Richard, is afraid of just about everything. With references to such classic books as Treasure Island (Puffin Classics), The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Unabridged Classics), The Arabian Nights (Illustrated Junior Library), Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics), and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: And Other Tales of Terror (Penguin Classics), a powerful James Horner soundtrack The Pagemaster, and animation that sometimes approaches the quality of Disney (Richard's "third trial," a fire-breathing dragon, is particularly impressive), this is a good DVD to watch with young book-lovers and reluctant readers alike--as one critical review says, "How can you find fault with a movie that encourages kids to pick up a book?"

The Pagemaster Overview

Seeking refuge from a storm, timid Richard Tyler enters an empty library only to be swept away into the magical animated world of the Pagemaster. It's a timeless place of wonder and discovery where legendary characters from literary classics come alive. Richard meets the infamous "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide" and comes face to face with the mighty "Moby Dick," the treacherous pirates on "Treasure Island" an a giant fire - breathing dragon, Guided by a trio of talking books - Adventure, Fantasy and horror - Richard must conquer his greatest fears before he can find his way home.

The Pagemaster Specifications

A blend of live-action and animation, this film centers on a fearful young boy (Macaulay Culkin) afraid to experience life because he's calculated the odds of an accident for every known activity. Chased by bullies, he winds up at the local library, where a bump on the head sends him into an animated universe, where his best friends are walking, talking books voiced by, among others, Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg. The Pagemaster (Christopher Lloyd) points the way to the exit, but the boy must first traverse the adventures of literary history, encountering everyone from Dr. Jekyll to Captain Ahab to Long John Silver. The animation is middling, but a worthy message makes this better children's entertainment than you'd expect. How can you fault a movie that encourages kids to pick up a book? --Marshall Fine

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