Review of The Pagemaster (1994) by Curren W — 10 Oct 2009

The Pagemaster (1994) -- [4.0] -- Macaulay Culkin plays a boy who's afraid of everything until he's thrust into a dimension where books come alive. After braving the storylines of classics like "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" and "Treasure Island", the kid finally grows a pair and stops being such a wuss.

"The Pagemaster" has live-action bookends featuring Culkin and Christopher Lloyd as a mysterious librarian, but most of the film is animated. Unfortunately, the animation is sub-par and the episodic narrative lacks forward momentum.

But the voice cast is great, featuring Patrick Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Welker, and Leonard Nimoy. And composer James Horner once again demonstrates his profound aptitude for scoring animated features.

But the talent is wasted here. With its generic premise and uneven execution, "The Pagemaster" is better left on the shelf.