The Phantom Tollbooth

Like Chuck Jones' earlier "Gay Purr-ee," this is a good film for those who are looking for something good, if decidedly different, in family entertainment. Mel Blanc, June Foray, Shepard Menken, etc., contribute their usual outstanding voice work (The scenes with Blanc as "Officer Short Shrift," especially, are a howl!), and the visuals, as one would expect from Jones, are consistently outstanding and imaginative.

Not that the film is without its' faults, by any means. The songs, by veterans Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, range from the clever ("Don't Say There's Nothing to Do in the Doldrums," "Time Is a Gift") to the treacly ("Henceforth and Forthwith"). The moralizing, more pronounced here than it was in the original Norton Juster book, gets to be a bit heavy-handed at times. And, finally, Butch Patrick (Best known as "Eddie Munster" on "The Munsters") plays Milo, the central character, as such a whiney little jerk, at least in the beginning, that it's hard to work up much sympathy for him as the story goes on. Plus, even though he was still short for his age, there was no disguising the fact that he was, in every other way, a fast-maturing fifteen year old, and, thus, just a bit too old for the procedngs.

But, and I have to emphasize this again, don't let you stop you from seeing this movie. The result is more than the sum of its parts, and good, alternative family entertainment is what you get.

Growing up I thought the movie was fascinating (HELLO! He goes into another WORLD that is CARTOON!). The songs are awesome too, and the whole film is a mystery. Now that I am older I am noticing how very clever the movie is too, including the use of language (you'd have to see it to understand). I also find a bit creepy now that I'm older, it gives me the willies. May it's the old animation, I don't know, but some of the scenes are really scary! It's a good show, watch it with a ten year old...and enjoy! You could also watch it with a 7-11 year old too. Like I said, it's a great show for kids. Especially if they're at that age where they want to be a little creeped out.

A simple fantasy tale, mostly animation with some live action at the beginning and end. Milo is a "latchkey kid" living a somewhat isolated life in an apartment block in the big city. While complaining on the phone to his friend that he is bored stiff, he is startled by the sudden arrival of a strange package which, when unwrapped, unfolds into a gateway into a magical world...

Like all of Chuck Jones' work, this movie is great for children and doesn't seem dated at all. My two kids aged five and six were enchanted by it just as I was when I first saw it at the age of ten.

The characters are colorful and entertaining. Milo is easy for any child who has ever been bored or lonely to identify with. The avuncular "Watch Dog" Tock will look fairly familiar to any regular viewer of Chuck's work on Warner Brothers' short cartoons. The Humbug and the Spelling Bee are reminiscent of Dr Seuss characters; Officer Short Shrift is somewhat more surreal but that only makes him stick in your mind all the more. The songs are lots of fun and you'll probably be humming them for a long time afterwards.

All in all a great movie for kids, and Mums and Dads too. Pass the popcorn!

I feel bad for a lot of underrated movies, mostly because the people who'd like them the most have probably never heard of them. I argue that Chuck Jones is the most important of the animation directors of the Golden Age of Cartoons, and this is his only full-length feature. If you like his cartoons, you should definitely hunt for this charming adaptation of Norton Juster's charming (if pedantic) novella.

Here's the interesting thing about "Phantom Tollbooth". Neither the book nor the movie strike me as a children's' story. Don't get me wrong, kids will probably like this movie, particularly older kids, but it's more for adults who can get the puns and such. Adult will also probably appreciate the psychedelic artwork from longtime Jones collaborator Maurice Noble. The amoebic Doldrums are a highlight as is the Awful DYNN, a manic crayon scrawl, and the cities of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis; they look like a riot at the Avant-garde Graphic Design class. Adorable and very, VERY sixties.

The Phantom Tollbooth is warped movie from the warped mind of the great Chuck Jones.

Milo, an ordinary boy, is bored with life. One day he receives a tollbooth as a present. This Tollbooth will supposedly take him out of his boredom.

Milo enters the Tollbooth and is instantly changed into a cartoon character. From here on in, he journeys to the "Whether" man, into the doldrums, meets tock, the watchdog, and onward to Dictionopolis and the Kingdom of Numbers in order to save Rhyme and Reason.

The movie is twisted in every which way; there are plenty of songs the make no sense but make you laugh out loud. The Animation is typical "Looney Tunes" style but works very well with the quirky plot.

The Phantom Tollbooth is a lost gem the deserves DVD treatment in the worst way. Lets hope one day soon that this diamond in the rough will find a new generation of children!