The Pagemaster | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

19% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 49% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings

A storm forces frightened Richard Tyler (Macaulay Culkin) inside a nearby library for shelter. Mr. Dewey (Christopher Lloyd), the librarian, sees that Richard needs an adventure and tries to give the boy a book, but all Richard wants is a phone. Before he can call his parents (Ed Begley Jr., Mel Harris), Richard slips on the floor, hits his head and passes out. When he wakes up, he finds himself in a fantasy land populated by famous literary characters.

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The Pagemaster

Critics Reviews

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The Pagemaster | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Barbara Creed The Age (Australia) As the cartoon characters took over, the storyline slid predictably into place as we watched Richie battle dragons and learn a lesson about the "meaning of life." Feb 10, 2024 Full Review The Pagemaster | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Christy Lemire ChristyLemire.com The Pagemaster is the kind of movie first-grade teachers would have popped into the VCR in the 1990s to kill time on a rainy afternoon. Rated: 1/4 Jul 15, 2018 Full Review The Pagemaster | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Brian Lowry Variety Built on a wispy premise better suited to the realm of TV, The Pagemaster plays like a slickly produced afternoon special. Dec 4, 2007 Full Review The Pagemaster | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Tom Ryan The Sunday Age The perfunctory prologue and epilogue, the unimaginative use of the literary sources, the mushy songs which Disney appears to have made obligatory and the lacklustre animation left me with little to do but bemoan missed opportunities. Rated: 1/4 Feb 12, 2024 Full Review The Pagemaster | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Sergio Benítez Espinof Narrated with a rhythm that prevents that one can get bored, the moral of 'The Pagemaster', which invokes the power of books and reading. [Full Review in Spanish] Aug 23, 2019 Full Review The Pagemaster | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Alex Orner Common Sense Media Weak Macaulay Culkin fantasy with some cartoon violence. Rated: 2/5 Jan 1, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Every single review for this movie has no clue what they are talking about. Awesome movie. One of my favorites growing up! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/04/24 Full Review The R One of the truly great movies of my childhood and 19% score is an absolutely atrocious score for this movie. It’s a classic and I won’t tolerate such slander! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/04/24 Full Review Rosana B Tão bonitinho, embora esquecido pelos cinéfilos, com Macaulay Culkin e grandes nomes por trás das vozes, uma animação graciosa e bonitinha, curtinho, com algumas poucas musiquinhas, gráfico simples e colorido, o misto de animação e pessoas reais deixa o mais magico e encantado, apesar de a trama desenvolvida é lenda, louca e quase monótona... Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/28/24 Full Review Steven D Terrific movie. Thoroughly enjoyed. Brings me back to my childhood days. Love the voice acting and story in general. Movie was a bit short for my liking but rewatchability level on this movie is high. Seen it a few times since I found it again. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/24 Full Review Simon S A childhood classic. Adventure awaits if you have the imagination for it! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/25/23 Full Review Sean M The Pagemaster honestly gets a bad wrap for what the creators put into it. For the creation of putting live action and animation together with actual good animation means something. And the cast is pretty remarkable when you actual look up who is in it and every cast member you can tell put their all into it as well. The story of course could've have been better, but you know what it gets it point across and shows how books can lead you to a while different life if you select the right ones. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Maurice Hunt Director Joe Johnston Director Macaulay Culkin Richard Tyler Christopher Lloyd Mr. Dewey and The Pagemaster Ed Begley Jr. Alan Tyler Mel Harris Claire Tyler
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The Pagemaster

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Synopsis A storm forces frightened Richard Tyler (Macaulay Culkin) inside a nearby library for shelter. Mr. Dewey (Christopher Lloyd), the librarian, sees that Richard needs an adventure and tries to give the boy a book, but all Richard wants is a phone. Before he can call his parents (Ed Begley Jr., Mel Harris), Richard slips on the floor, hits his head and passes out. When he wakes up, he finds himself in a fantasy land populated by famous literary characters.

Director
Maurice Hunt, Joe Johnston

Producer
Paul Gertz, David Kirschner

Screenwriter
David Kirschner, David Casci, Ernie Contreras

Distributor
20th Century Fox

Production Co
Turner Pictures, 20th Century Fox

Rating
G

Genre
Kids & Family, Fantasy

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 23, 1994, Original

Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 6, 2013

Box Office (Gross USA)
$12.0M

Runtime
1h 15m

Sound Mix
Stereo
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