Such a frustrating disappointment

Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

This was my favourite film as a kid. Being born the year it came out, I think i spent the majority of 1998 watching it as that is when my brain developed enough to remember a movie. I honestly remember sitting there in my lounge room literally wishing there would be a sequel or a longer version somewhere out there because even as a toddler there were still parts of the film frustrated the hell out of me. I wanted to see Richard at school, get better sense of his lack of friends and worried, overly cautious nature. I wanted him to have a girl he liked, or someone he wanted to impress, that he could after his adventures with the books. I wanted more Christopher Lloyd. I wanted the areas of the journey he embarked upon to go longer than about 15 minutes each, I wanted more jokes and maybe a few more characters for them to meet along the way. I also would have liked more books to pop up, maybe like action or something like that. Even just a little cameo would have been cool.All that being said, what I was left with, I loved. More than anything. James Horner's score is easily my favourite of all time and summarises my awesome childhood. Macaulay Culkin was always my hero. I was delighted he was the star of this. It was a hell of a lot better than richie rich. Yeesh. The visuals were terrific and it really did have a sense of wonder. The very short runtime however, stopped it from being a real classic. Man oh man that was a small tragedy as a kid. It filled me with a rich sadness, because I didn't want the story to end. It did make me feel as hard as i think i ever felt as a child though, and for that, I cant fault it. Plus the bike scene made me want to jump 10 feet in the air with happiness.

it has a beautiful idea - introduce the young people in the great books universe.than, it is nice, not extraordinary but decent, amusing option for each age. it is a common film but few moments, the different way to discover the books, crumbs from another films, dust of other characters for actors, the soft feeling of a animation movie are good ingredients for not rejected it. the mixture between actors and animation is not really inspired but it is not boring or deep unrealistic. and, more important, Culkin is himself. so, not surprises. or great expectations. a film about books can not be an error. at least, the good intentions are precious. this film is an example.

The whole makeup of this film is an absolute bore-fest, you might as well sleep through the whole lot because it would be no different if you put the effort in to watch this film. I mean it's meant to be adventurous and epic, but the way it goes about it is enough to make you cringe. On top of that, it features many different characters of famous literature including Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Captain Ahab, The Tiny People of Gullivers Travels and Long John Silver, but the problem with all these cameo's is, it doesn't explain who these people are or why they're famous. They just appear and disappear without a word to the audience of who these people are or what they're known for. Worse still, it features the uselessly bland expression that is McCauley Caulkin, who was the eldest in a line of three brothers who continue to keep up the family tradition of blank emotionless faces and acting that makes you want to cry or question whether or not you have a soul left.The film begins with Richard Tyler, a young nervous bookworm of a boy who lives his life by statistics which means he hasn't the confidence to do fun things like most kids do without scrutinising them endlessly (if I had a child that bland I'd be very worried). Whilst building him a tree-house (which he most likely wont use), his father asks him to get some nails from the hardware store. Whilst on his way, Richard gets lost in a storm and finds his way to an old Library, where Christopher Lloyd is the strange Librarian who wants to enchant Richard into taking out some books from three categories, Horror, Adventure and Fantasy (treating them like they were the only three forms of book in existence, forget Sci-fi and Romantic Comedy, it's looks like there's only three in the world). But Richard only wants to use a phone. Whilst searching for the phone, he slips and falls, knocking himself out. When he comes to, the ceiling begins to drip on him and before long he is engulfed in a huge animated flood that transforms him into an illustration. He is soon confronted by the Pagemaster (a name that sounds dull to begin with, founder of the written word? More like founder of the most boring subject matter award!) He is soon sent off on a voyager (By way of supersonic library cart) and comes across his first booky friend, Adventure, a Scurvy Dog of a Book who wants Richard to check him out of the Library. It's not long before his second friend of the books arrives named Fantasy, a stuck up fairy like book. After escaping the Hounds of the Bascavilles, the trio becomes a quad as they bump into Horror, a simple minded book which is raggedy. Together, the group must find the Exit, but they must first face the various fictional monsters that lie ahead. Will Richard make it home? Will they ever find the Exit? Will Richard ever get his dad's nails? Set your alarm clock for 45 minutes time and you'll find out soon enough...Again, very boring subject matter which has no reference to any of the famous characters that are featured in the movie. There are only three categories of literature that are explored and there is no reference to any other category so for viewers who are not fully embalmed in the world of literacy, they'll only believe that these three categories exist. Big shocker when they bump into Sci-fi, Non-Fiction or Heavily Indulged Romance (I'm talking to you "50 Shades of Grey"). Granted the animation can be quite enjoyable and I really do see that a lot of effort was made into making this film, but if only their time and effort was put into something that wouldn't have viewers snoring away merrily within the first 5 minutes. Good for a watch on a wet Saturday afternoon, but other than that, a real turn off...

The Pagemaster in my opinion, was a wonderful film, and I do think the 4.8 rating is too low. I have seen much worse movies, that are rated higher than that. Sure it's not Disney, but it is a good family film that I guarantee if you give it a chance that the whole family will love. The animation is not so bad, perhaps a little dated and rushed, but I've seen worse, and the dragon was excellent. The music by James Horner was beautiful, very fitting with what was going on on screen, very reminiscent of Land Before Time and Once Upon a Forest, and Whatever You imagine was amazing. The story tells of a young boy named Richard, who is serious and fearful of everything, until an unexpected visit to the library changes his life forever. I loved the story and the clever and diverse references to the literary giants, like Treasure Island, Jekyll and Hyde and Moby Dick, and the message of the film about facing your fears that doesn't preach. Macaulay Culkin is excellent here as is Christopher Lloyd, and Patrick Stewart (rousing and witty), Whoopi Goldberg (sugar and starch) and Frank Welker (in a fine Igor impression) expertly bring the snappy screenplay to life. I loved the witty banter between Adventure and Fantasy, and the librarian's rant about the different literary genres. And I don't think it is Macaulay Culkin or Christopher Lloyd's worst film, Culkin's was Richie Rich, Lloyd's was My Favourite Martian. All in all, a terrific film, with a 10/10. Bethany Cox