Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Micransix Crappy film

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Jesper Brun Why such a low rating? A movie with such good intentions and well made characters deserve more love. I was so into the idea from the start, and the message about facing your own fear was well woven into a classic fairy-tale trope of going through 3 tests. Of course you'll get the most out of the movie if you know all the references to classic books like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Moby Dick, etc., but I think that's what makes The Pagemaster a good family movie. Kids can get entertained by the lively animated characters and relate to Macauly Culkin's role while adults can enjoy the clever use of historic literature. The different segments of literary genres could've been both deeper and wider had the movie been just fifteen or so minutes longer, because honestly, it was a little rushed at times, but that's my only complaint about it. The segments were fine as they were, but could've made more out of its source material. The animation was pretty good at times. Also a little dated sometimes, but the horror segment and that of fantasy actually had a grand feel to it. The dragon was my favorite simply because of the massive presence it had. It really felt BIG. The anthropomorphic books were also cute and clever in their interactions. Some may find them annoying, but Whoopi Goldberg,Patrick Stewart and Frank Welker brought them to life with exellence. An underated family movie which deserves more attention. Entertaining, educational and heartwarming

Gavin Cresswell (gavin-thelordofthefu-48-460297) Hello. This is gavin.thelordofthefuture and this would be a review of a film that I've seen twenty years ago when I was a kid. The story about an 11 year old boy with statistics named Richard Tyler who stumbles upon a library during a thunderstorm and enters it. After meeting an old librarian, he goes to the fiction section and sees a mural with four pictures, but little did he realized that he gets transported to a world where every fiction story comes to life and sees a wise old sorcerer called the "Pagemaster". Then, his adventure begins and meets three fiction books named Adventure, Fantasy, and Horror and together, they must encounter haunted houses, pirates, and monsters in order to help get Richard back home.Why am I reviewing this in the middle of a Christmas break? Well, let's just say that I've been watching this since I was a child and seeing how it has been 20 years, that's why I made that risky decision. Now, is there anything that I don't like about The Pagemaster? Well, let's just say that the only nitpick I do have is the animation. Don't get me wrong. It's beautiful and is very creative in it's making of the world of literary including Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, the pirates led by Captain Long John Silver, and the Dragon in the climax of the film, but as time went by, it became a little dated to me.Anyway, everything else still holds up. The story is very engaging with very clever writing and the morals about facing your fears and using your imagination doesn't preach on you as it is done perfectly. Also, it has some very good characters and they still hold up to this day. Macaulay Culkin is likable as Richard Tyler, Christopher Lloyd relishes his role as the librarian Mr. Dewey and The Pagemaster, and the three talking books, Adventure, a swashbuckling pirate book with Patrick Stewart's solid pirate accent, Fantasy, a sassy, but caring fairy tale book who pulls off some nice humorous moments while being wise thanks to Whoopi Goldberg, and Horror, a fearful Hunchbook and also has some funny bits with the famous Frank Welker, known for voicing animal creatures in other animated films. The other characters are also good with cameos from Leonard Nimoy as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Phil Hartman as one of the pirate crew members Tom Morgan and Jim Cummings as Long John Silver.The pacing is very brisk and doesn't come to the point where it would bore me to death, but the best part about The Pagemaster is the music score from James Horner, one of my favorite music composers. To some, it does copy music elements from his other scores from Star Trek II and others, but to me, it has a nostalgic value to it. Why, you may ask? Well, the reason why I brought this up is because it does a solid job interpreting the theme song "Whatever You Imagine" that plays throughout the movie and has been stuck with me since my childhood ended. That piece of music alone is what made me watch this film over and over again.Overall, The Pagemaster became one of my childhood films and today, it still holds up. It has an engaging story, some likable characters, some clever writing, and some really beautiful music. As those aspects stayed with me in my memory, this deserves a gold trophy of recommendation as a film that is worth watching to some who hasn't seen it yet. Check it out and relive your imagination!

lookslikeiwin I'm not sure what exactly pulled me into the world of books - perhaps it was mostly Harry Potter - but I am absolutely certain that The Pagemaster had its hand in introducing me to the idea of stories. I read a few reviews complaining that movies shouldn't be telling kids to read more books, but I would argue that it isn't exactly the point of this film.As a very shy and anxious child myself, I identified with Richard Tyler (the main character). This story is about overcoming your fears. It is also about stories - not just books, but stories overall. Perhaps this is just my belief, but I think stories influence a person's life more than any other form of media. Movies are fast forms of stories (and not at all as deep as books), but that doesn't make them bad forms.Moreover, I don't know if anyone else noticed, but the plot moved from a place of fear - the horror section - to fantasy, plus they had to go through adventure to get there. Personally, I think this is a great message.Regarding the animation, it isn't as terrible as everyone is saying. No, it isn't Disney quality, but it serves its purpose just fine. Its no worse than watching a lot of older Disney movies. If people dislike the movie due to the animation, then I would counter that they aren't paying much attention to the quality of the story itself. One thing I did not like about this film was the cheesy song when they enter the fantasy world. If you think you can bear one potentially annoying song then you'll be fine. As it is a cartoon, they must have their LSD moment in there somewhere.

TheLittleSongbird The Pagemaster in my opinion, was a wonderful film, and I do think the 4.8 rating is too low. I have seen much worse movies, that are rated higher than that. Sure it's not Disney, but it is a good family film that I guarantee if you give it a chance that the whole family will love. The animation is not so bad, perhaps a little dated and rushed, but I've seen worse, and the dragon was excellent. The music by James Horner was beautiful, very fitting with what was going on on screen, very reminiscent of Land Before Time and Once Upon a Forest, and Whatever You imagine was amazing. The story tells of a young boy named Richard, who is serious and fearful of everything, until an unexpected visit to the library changes his life forever. I loved the story and the clever and diverse references to the literary giants, like Treasure Island, Jekyll and Hyde and Moby Dick, and the message of the film about facing your fears that doesn't preach. Macaulay Culkin is excellent here as is Christopher Lloyd, and Patrick Stewart (rousing and witty), Whoopi Goldberg (sugar and starch) and Frank Welker (in a fine Igor impression) expertly bring the snappy screenplay to life. I loved the witty banter between Adventure and Fantasy, and the librarian's rant about the different literary genres. And I don't think it is Macaulay Culkin or Christopher Lloyd's worst film, Culkin's was Richie Rich, Lloyd's was My Favourite Martian. All in all, a terrific film, with a 10/10. Bethany Cox