Today we shall revisit an old post, as well. If anyone has either read The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and found it blissful amusement while at the same time likes, or at least doesn't mind, family friendly animation then I've a treated suggestion.
Now, assuming you can handle animation and films from the very late 1960s or 70s, have a slightly distorted view of what's funny or not and truly enjoyed the book then The Phantom Tollbooth film will really appeal to you. Its not the longest film, sitting at barely an hour of view, and starts off rather weakly typical for the era but whats great about the movie as a whole is the animation.
Chuck Jones, a personal favorite of my own, directed the animated portions of the film which take up about 90% of the film. The entire movie is a string of bad cartoon gags and plays on words. Okay music, considering what it is the music is actually right in tune. Some of the songs were a little brutal like when the kid decided he was an alto or one of the already funny sounding character decided to sing.
Some of my favorite parts from the book are not present in the movie or have been altered fro one reason or another but I hardly missed them. I believe they were cut due to time constraint more then anything. My only problem with the movie is its ending. The whole "Okay the quest is over now lets all be happy and sing a song about the events that passed" did not set well with me. Now, the book ends in a similar way (removing the music) and I had no problem. I think its just the last song that's rather brutal to listen to.
For those of you who would like to watch the film and do not wish to download I have provided a link to a playlist which contains the full film in 14 parts. It is also within the sidebar. I would, however, suggest looking for the film for download as that will be a much cleaner viewing and encourages you to actually watch the entire film.
The Phantom Tollbooth Movie - 14 Parts
Now, assuming you can handle animation and films from the very late 1960s or 70s, have a slightly distorted view of what's funny or not and truly enjoyed the book then The Phantom Tollbooth film will really appeal to you. Its not the longest film, sitting at barely an hour of view, and starts off rather weakly typical for the era but whats great about the movie as a whole is the animation.
Chuck Jones, a personal favorite of my own, directed the animated portions of the film which take up about 90% of the film. The entire movie is a string of bad cartoon gags and plays on words. Okay music, considering what it is the music is actually right in tune. Some of the songs were a little brutal like when the kid decided he was an alto or one of the already funny sounding character decided to sing.
Some of my favorite parts from the book are not present in the movie or have been altered fro one reason or another but I hardly missed them. I believe they were cut due to time constraint more then anything. My only problem with the movie is its ending. The whole "Okay the quest is over now lets all be happy and sing a song about the events that passed" did not set well with me. Now, the book ends in a similar way (removing the music) and I had no problem. I think its just the last song that's rather brutal to listen to.
For those of you who would like to watch the film and do not wish to download I have provided a link to a playlist which contains the full film in 14 parts. It is also within the sidebar. I would, however, suggest looking for the film for download as that will be a much cleaner viewing and encourages you to actually watch the entire film.
1 comment
That movie was great, I remember getting to watch it in school after we finished the book (a long long long time ago). The non-animated part is pretty crappy looking, and there's a lot of singing, but it's still great.
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