The Pagemaster

“The Pagemaster,” a 1994 children’s adventure intended to praise the enjoyment of reading, is lively enough that it may rescue a few young borderline nonreaders from playing too many video games. TV Guide said in their review, “Yet the film never grapples with the paradox suggested by its central conceit: if a large dose of high-tech Hollywood animation is required to persuade the average kid to open a book, hasn't the battle been lost already?”

Afraid of germs, terrified of heights, and not ranting to take any risks, Richie Tyler, played by Macaulay Culkin, is filled with childhood fears. When his parents, played by Mel Harris and Ed Begley Jr., send him to the store to buy nails for a treehouse he is scared to climb, a storm begins and he is forced to take shelter in the public library.

Inside, after he meets an enthusiastic librarian, played by Christopher Lloyd, he falls and hits his head, which causes a ceiling mural to come to life and transport him to a magically animated Book Realm. In order to return him, the Pagemaster, voiced by Lloyd, tells Richie that he must undergo three tests of courage. He’s to be judged by Adventure, Fantasy, and Horror, who are portrayed as talking books.

After he makes the friendship of boastful Adventure, voiced by Patrick Stewart, a force of water stemming from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea nearly drowns Richie. He’s rescued by Fantasy, voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, and the three get scared at a haunted house inhabited by both Horror (Frank Welker) and Dr. Jekyll (Leonard Nimoy), who changes to Mr. Hyde after drinking in front of the gang.

As he meets literary characters ranging from Captain Ahab (George Hearn) to Long John Silver (Jim Cummings), Richie fights his different fears and bonds with the books. Then a giant dragon cuts off the group’s escape route, and Richie must face his acrophobia in order to find a shield and sword. Taking signals from the great literature around him, Richie defeats the dragon and earns his freedom. In the end, Richie is seen resting warmly in the once-feared treehouse with the Adventure, Fantasy, and Horror books by his side.

“The Pagemaster’s” story has great potential, but the film rests on its main originality and fails to develop the concept in interesting or surprising ways. TV Guide ended by their review by saying, “The weird-looking book companions, voiced with self-mocking gusto by Stewart, Goldberg, and Welker, mark a welcome change from the usual Disney woodland fauna, but the rather mundane exploits they undertake lack the dashing originality that was needed. With hundreds of classics at their disposal, the filmmakers might have woven familiar tales into an imaginative retread with a contemporary spin; instead, they merely browse, plucking characters and story lines from children's literature and simply throwing them up on screen. It's a cartoon extravaganza by way of Cliff Notes. Resorting to his trademark Edvard Munch howl, Culkin makes a remote hero, more animated as a cartoon than in real life. He's become an icon, Garbo for grade-schoolers. Aloof and professional, he acts like visiting royalty deigning to grace this project with his presence.”

I saw this film at my cousin’s house since he owned it on VHS. I loved “Home Alone” so much, that seeing Culkin in this film, I saw it a lot when I was at my cousin’s house and we liked it. However, looking back now, I credit this film for not being really bad or a pain to watch, but this is easily forgettable. This is just a boringly dull film. Why would you want children to read when you gloss over such famous literary figures? Granted, there were some funny lines from the book characters, despite the book puns being bad. If you watch it, it won’t hurt, but it will be a waste of time with how boring and forgettable this is. My suggestion would be to just skip this over.

Next week we will end “Macaulay Culkin Month” with another ridiculous movie that was the last effort to exploit Culkin’s popularity while he was going through puberty.