The Pagemaster is a 1994 American live-action/animated fantasy adventure film starring Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Whoopi Goldberg, Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy, Frank Welker, Ed Begley Jr., and Mel Harris. The film was produced by Turner Pictures and Hanna-Barbera and released by 20th Century Fox on November 23, 1994. Culkin stars as a timid boy who uses statistics as an excuse to avoid anything he finds uncomfortable in life, but after reluctantly undertaking an errand for his father gets caught in a storm which forces him to seek refuge in a library. He then finds himself trapped inside the library, where he must battle his way through literary classics come to life if he is to find his way home.
The film was written for the screen by David Casci, based on a six-page pitch by writer Charles Pogue entitled "Library Days", presented to Casci by producer David Kirschner. The film was directed by Joe Johnston (live-action) and Pixote Hunt and Glenn Chaika (animation), and produced by David Kirschner and Paul Gertz. The film received negative reviews and grossed $13.7 million from a budget of $34 million. The film's poor box office performance, along with Cats Don't Dance (1997), set back other animated films for the animation studio, Turner Feature Animation.
Plot[]
Pessimistic 10-year-old Richard Tyler lives life based on statistics and fears everything. His exasperated parents have tried multiple ways to build up his courage to little success. Richard is sent to buy a bag of nails for building a treehouse. However, Richard gets caught in a harsh thunderstorm and takes shelter in a library. He meets Mr. Dewey, an eccentric librarian who insists that he is in need of a special book and gives him a library card, despite Richard's protests. Searching for a phone, Richard finds a large rotunda painted with many famous literary characters. He slips on water dripping from his coat and falls over, knocking himself out. Richard awakens to find the rotunda art melting, which washes over him and the library, turning them into illustrations.
He is met by the Pagemaster, the mythical Keeper of Books and Guardian of the Written Word. Richard asks for directions to the exit, so the Pagemaster sends him through the fiction section toward the green neon exit sign. Along the way, Richard befriends three anthropomorphic books: Adventure, a swashbuckling pirate-like book; Fantasy, a sassy but caring fairy tale book; and Horror, a fearful "Hunchbook" with a misshapen spine. The three agree to help Richard if he checks them out using his new library card. Together, the quartet encounters classic-fictional characters. They meet Dr. Jekyll who turns into Mr. Hyde, driving them to the open waters of the Land of Adventure. However, the group is separated after Moby-Dick attacks, following the whale's battle with Captain Ahab. Richard and Adventure are shipwrecked and picked up by the Hispaniola, captained by Long John Silver. The pirates go to Treasure Island, but find no treasure except for one gold coin, nearly causing a mutiny between the captain and the crew. Fantasy and Horror return and defeat the pirates. Silver attempts to convince Richard to leave with him but surrenders when Richard threatens him with a sword.
In the fantasy section, Richard sees the exit sign on the top of a mountain. However, Adventure's bumbling awakens a dormant dragon. Richard tries to fight the dragon with a sword and shield, but the dragon swallows him. Richard finds books in the dragon's stomach and uses a beanstalk from Jack and the Beanstalk to escape through the dragon's mouth. He and the books climb the beanstalk to reach the exit. They enter a large dark room where the Pagemaster awaits them. Richard accuses the Pagemaster of causing the horrors that he suffered, but the Pagemaster reveals the journey was intended to make Richard face his fears. Dr. Jekyll, Captain Ahab, Long John Silver, and the dragon reappear in a magical twister and congratulate him. The Pagemaster swoops Richard and the books into the twister, sending them back to the real world.
Richard awakens, finding Adventure, Fantasy, and Horror lying next to him as real books. Mr. Dewey finds him, and, even though the library policy only allows a person to check out two books at a time, lets him check out all three books "just this once".
Richard returns home a braver boy, sleeping in his new treehouse with his books, where his parents find him after searching all over town believing him to be missing.
Cast[]
Live-action[]
- Macaulay Culkin as Richard Tyler, a young 10-year-old boy who seems to have a fear of everything and runs his life based on safety statistics. Culkin is the only actor in the film to portray his character in both live-action and animation.
- Christopher Lloyd as Mr. Dewey, the unconventional librarian and caretaker of a seemingly abandoned library
- Ed Begley Jr. and Mel Harris as Alan and Claire Tyler, Richard's supportive parents. Alan considers himself a bad father due to his continuous failed attempts to help Richard get over his fears.
Voice cast[]
- Christopher Lloyd as the Pagemaster, the Keeper of the Books and Guardian of the Written Word. He is implied to be Mr. Dewey's alternate form.
- Patrick Stewart as Adventure, a swashbuckling gold adventure fiction book resembling a stereotypical pirate with an eyepatch, a hook, and a peg leg
- Whoopi Goldberg as Fantasy, a fairy-styled lavender fairy tale book. She can be opprobrious, aggressive, and hotheaded.
- Frank Welker as Horror, a turquoise horror fiction book. Despite his name, he is quite the opposite of horrific.
- Welker also provides the sound effects of the dragon, Moby Dick, and the other creatures.
- Leonard Nimoy as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the mad scientist who turned into the horrific monster
- George Hearn as Captain Ahab, an almost psychotic whale hunter who is out to kill the white whale Moby Dick
- Jim Cummings as Long John Silver, the ruthless usurper Captain of the Hispaniola
- Phil Hartman as Tom Morgan, a slender and violent pirate on the Hispaniola
- Ed Gilbert as George Merry, an obese pirate on the Hispaniola
- B.J. Ward as the Queen of Hearts, the tyrannical ruler of Wonderland who appears in the Alice in Wonderland book in the dragon's stomach
The Pirates of the Hispaniola are voiced by Richard Erdman, Fernando Escandon, Dorian Harewood, and Robert Picardo.