Review of The Pagemaster (1994) by Jon T — 10 Oct 2013
On paper (no pun intended), the premise of this live action/animated hybrid is fantastic: a boy escapes into a library where he finds himself journeying through many famous pieces of literature, from Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to Moby Dick to Treasure Island to Mother Goose Land, and ultimately, a fight with a ferocious dragon. Unfortunately, the film only marginally realizes its concept. The animated sequences are flat and lack fluidity, and the film rushes at such a breakneck pace that it's hard to get emotionally involved in the story.
It doesn't help that the main character, as played first in real life then in animation by Macaulay Culkin, is a hopelessly inept scaredy-cat. We know that he has to overcome his fears by "seizing courage", but the film doesn't go above or beyond that.
The most inspired scenes in the film involve a clever twist for fighting the dragon, and Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg are a lot of fun as the hero's talking book companions, but overall, THE PAGEMASTER is just an average, nothing special animated film that doesn't linger in one's mind as much as it should.
It's not a BAD movie by any means, but it's not great either. The message of imagination through reading IS a valuable one though.
This review of The Pagemaster (1994) was written by Jon T on 10 Oct 2013.
The Pagemaster has generally received mixed reviews.
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