As a 90s baby, I grew up watching this. The Pagemaster and a whole slew of other fun kiddie movies were the bomb. Now that I am an adult with a vast knowledge of movies, I have come to the conclusion that lots of the cool things I grew up watching really weren't that good. Compared to nowadays things, the stuff I grew up with are all epic masterpieces. When not compared and when not tying into any bit of nostalgia, I can understand why movies like The Pagemaster was not very well received.
In one of Culkin's most underrated roles, he plays a total geeks who is afraid of everything. Nothing wrong with that. His parents are worried about him and will do anything to make him grow out of his shell. Nothing wrong with that. His dad (Ed Begley Jr.) sends him to a hardware store to buy nails. He wants his son to go alone to get some guts. Nothing wrong with that (I found). He takes his bike where he encounters a group of school bullies doing bike tricks on unfinished road construction with no workers around. Red light! How unrealistic is that!? He decides to take another route which lands him in the middle of a rain storm. I highly doubt a smart kid in the suburbs would not know another way. He goes into a library for shelter and meets a freaky librarian (Christopher Lloyd). This is where the problems subside. One thing leads to another and finds himself a cartoon with real life literary characters and book genres. He gets himself with Fantasy, Horror, and Adventure involved in different classic novel scenarios such as Moby Dick. Most of the movie is Culkin as a cartoon and the animation is good. The movie is supposed to make books seem like a ton of fun and it succeeds and turn a wuss into a daredevil (slight exaggeration). I was just very under-welmed with how everything was undertaken. The movie is 75 in length, but it feels like a lot longer. There were set-ups and aftermaths of each of his tasks like there should be, but they are all just weak. Wendy Moten composes a tremendous tune called "Whatever You Imagine" that I love and that plays a few times in this, but does not do much to help.
I love everything that came out between 1990 and 2000. The fashion, music and movies are all near and dear to my heart. I don't care that The Pagemaster was not what I remembered because it takes me back anyway to a better time in my life.
I may not always like this. This is so dull and droned for a 75 minute film. The only good bits are the live-action parts.
2.5/4
In one of Culkin's most underrated roles, he plays a total geeks who is afraid of everything. Nothing wrong with that. His parents are worried about him and will do anything to make him grow out of his shell. Nothing wrong with that. His dad (Ed Begley Jr.) sends him to a hardware store to buy nails. He wants his son to go alone to get some guts. Nothing wrong with that (I found). He takes his bike where he encounters a group of school bullies doing bike tricks on unfinished road construction with no workers around. Red light! How unrealistic is that!? He decides to take another route which lands him in the middle of a rain storm. I highly doubt a smart kid in the suburbs would not know another way. He goes into a library for shelter and meets a freaky librarian (Christopher Lloyd). This is where the problems subside. One thing leads to another and finds himself a cartoon with real life literary characters and book genres. He gets himself with Fantasy, Horror, and Adventure involved in different classic novel scenarios such as Moby Dick. Most of the movie is Culkin as a cartoon and the animation is good. The movie is supposed to make books seem like a ton of fun and it succeeds and turn a wuss into a daredevil (slight exaggeration). I was just very under-welmed with how everything was undertaken. The movie is 75 in length, but it feels like a lot longer. There were set-ups and aftermaths of each of his tasks like there should be, but they are all just weak. Wendy Moten composes a tremendous tune called "Whatever You Imagine" that I love and that plays a few times in this, but does not do much to help.
I love everything that came out between 1990 and 2000. The fashion, music and movies are all near and dear to my heart. I don't care that The Pagemaster was not what I remembered because it takes me back anyway to a better time in my life.
I may not always like this. This is so dull and droned for a 75 minute film. The only good bits are the live-action parts.
2.5/4