Underplayed Gems

The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)

The Phantom Tollbooth poster
Directed by
Abe Levitow, Chuck Jones
Genre
fantasy film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 30m
Rated
G
Rating
6.9 of 10 from 84 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A bored boy named Milo receives a mysterious tollbooth that transports him to a magical world. He journeys through fantastical lands and meets colorful characters while learning about the importance of knowledge and curiosity.

whimsicalthoughtfulplayfuldreamlikeadventurousanimatednostalgicimaginative

What happens

The Phantom Tollbooth (also known as The Adventures of Milo in the Phantom Tollbooth) is a 1970 American live-action/animated fantasy film based on Norton Juster's 1961 children's book of the same name. Produced by Chuck Jones at MGM Animation/Visual Arts, the film stars Butch Patrick as Milo, alongside the voice talents of Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Candy Candido, Hans Conried, June Foray, Patti Gilbert, Shepard Menken, Cliff Norton, Larry Thor, and Les Tremayne. Jones also co-directed the film with Abe Levitow, while Dave Monahan directed the live-action segments. Completed in 1968, the film was held up from release by MGM until late 1970 due to internal studio problems. The animation studio closed soon after the film's release, with MGM having no further involvement in the animation business until 1993 with the startup of their new Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation studio. Upon release, The Phantom Tollbooth received positive reviews but was a box-office disappointment. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.