The Phantom Tollbooth

Director: Jones Levitow

Overview

Master animator Chuck Jones has created this full length fantasy, his first since being name director of MGM's animation department. A young boy (Butch Patrick) is bored with his life in San Francisco and finds himself in a fantasy land where letters and numbers are at war with each other. He drives through the Phantom Tollbooth and into an animated fantasy land. The voices of Mel Blanc, June Foray and Daws Butler are featured in this story taken from the book by Norton Juster. The boy tries to rescue twin Princesses Rhyme and Reason, who have been banished to a castle suspended in mid air above the kingdom.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/16/2010
UPC:	0883316298978
Original Release:	1969
Rating:	G
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	23,550

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Butch Patrick	Milo
Mel Blanc	Officer Short Shrift
Daws Butler	Whether Man
Candy Candido	Awful DYNN
Hans Conried	King Azaz
June Foray	Ralph
Patti Gilbert	Princess of Sweet Rhyme,Voices Of
Shepard Menken	Spelling Bee
Cliff Norton	Kakofonous A. Dischord
Larry Thor	Tock The Watchdog
Les Tremayne	Humbug
Jon-Mikl Thor	Actor
Lee Pockriss	Composer

Technical Credits

Chuck Jones	Director,Producer
Abe Levitow	Director
Dave Monahan	Director

Editorial Reviews

The first full-length animated feature for both Chuck Jones (as a director) and MGM, The Phantom Tollbooth is a mostly faithful adaptation of the classic children's novel by Norton Juster -- but one that lacks the book's unique tone and spirit. The Juster original had an understated, quirky quality which added to the enjoyment of its complicated and entertaining wordplay. The film settles for a more conventional "cartoon" tone, going for easier laughs, softening some of the character design (of Milo in particular) and treating the story slightly too conventionally. The creators also opted to include some very poor Norman Gimbel-Lee Pockriss songs that do little more than slow down the story. While the voices are fine and certainly professional, they are not as special as the material demands. All of that said, the movie still has a number of pluses, not the least of which is the enormously clever original source material. The abundance of puns, fascinating concepts, and delightful ideas ensures that the movie has plenty of surprises. The animation, while not up to "Golden Age" standards, is well done, and obviously influenced by the then-current "psychedelia" craze, and Butch Patrick is very appealing. Not the enduring classic it could have been, Tollbooth will still entertain its target audience.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler