Product Details

• Actors: Macaulay Culkin, Canan J. Howell, Alexis Kirschner, Jessica Kirschner, Guy Mansker
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Live, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: September 9, 2000
• Run Time: 76 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004YA4Z
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #360,680 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A blend of live-action and animation, this film centers on a fearful young boy (Macaulay Culkin) afraid to experience life because he's calculated the odds of an accident for every known activity. Chased by bullies, he winds up at the local library, where a bump on the head sends him into an animated universe, where his best friends are walking, talking books voiced by, among others, Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg. The Pagemaster (Christopher Lloyd) points the way to the exit, but the boy must first traverse the adventures of literary history, encountering everyone from Dr. Jekyll to Captain Ahab to Long John Silver. The animation is middling, but a worthy message makes this better children's entertainment than you'd expect. How can you fault a movie that encourages kids to pick up a book? --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This movie is for people who love books, January 25, 2005

By 

M. Fisher (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Pagemaster (DVD)

This is the first movie I remember seeing as a kid. I LOVED it. It was my favorite. Then, I didn't get to see it again for several years (stupid Blockbuster!) When I finally saw it again, I STILL liked it. I like it as I write this very day. The music is good (the background music behind the movie that nobody really conciously listens to, but helps the mood anyway). The animation's good, too. And I ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! (How often does that happen?) See, what happens a lot of the time, is that people blame colors they don't like, or designs that are annoying, or WHATEVER on the animation. But it isn't the animation's fault! The way the thing on-screen MOVES is the only thing the animators do, mostly. So, if you really want to criticize the animation, look at how they MOVE, not what they look like. Do you see?
I think that, really, most of the reason that this is one of my favorite movies is that it is about BOOKS. When I was little, my dad read me "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and "The Hobbit"; things like that. So, naturally, I loved books and stories. This is practically the only movie I've seen that encourages reading so much while still being sincere. It's obvious that the filmmakers themselves (or at least, a lot of the people working on it) actually like to read. THAT'S really why I like the Pagemaster.

So, if you like to read, watch this movie. If you don't (you utter nincompoop), stay away, and don't criticize what you have no comprehension of.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching: A Great literature tool!, June 7, 2005

By 

Melissa Valentine "Book Enthusiast" (Camdenton, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pagemaster [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have been a reading specialist for two years and a classroom teacher for one. I found this movie a great asset to enhance the understanding of book genres. I also found it to be very interesting for those who have read or are familiar with many classics. There are so many references to the classics in this movie. It was a great visual tool for students to understand types of books and develop an excitement for books!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Story!, July 21, 2000

By 

T. Young - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pagemaster [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first saw this movie with my own Mom when it first came out into the theatres. I am now 14-and I don't care what you think- and I absolutely loved this movie.

I agree with the review by amazon.com which declares the "animation to be middling, but what can you say about a movie that encourages a kid to pick up a book?" That is so true. In a way, this story reminds me of myslef...no, I'm not overprotective of myself or obsessed with statistics...but I do love to read...fantasy for that matter, and this pulls me back into another fantasy realms that I cannot explain.

Only other people who are like me in this way will enjoy this at older ages, but this is a must-see for all young children! They will love this! I personally think that it in itself is much better that some of Disney's stuff. Enjoy!