Culkin! Lloyd! Between the combined star power of these two 90's movie pillars, it's a wonder The Pagemaster isn't more of a mainstay in our collective memory. Perhaps the "Macaulay mystique" had waned by 1994, or maybe kids just don't go to the movies for reminders to visit their local library. A love letter to the written word, the live-action animated hybrid paints a shared universe of anthropomorphic books and familiar literary characters (strictly those in the public domain) in a rare cinematic attempt to encourage reading.
It turns out we both could stand a re-read, having remembered this 80-minute breeze more for the associated promotional content than the actual film itself. So get your library card ready and join us as we determine if this short story is a classic, or if it has us longing for that giant floating exit sign in the sky. When in doubt, look to the books!
The Pagemaster (1994)
Directed by Joe Johnston and Maurice Hunt
Produced by David Kirschner and Paul Gertz
Screenplay by David Casci, David Kirschner, and Ernie Contreras
Starring Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Ed Begley Jr., and Mel Harris; and the voices of Patrick Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Welker, and Leonard Nimoy
