The Phantom Tollbooth

1970 • 89 minutes

About this movie

What could possibly be inside that gigantic, wrapped-and-ribboned box? A tollbooth, a toy car...and adventure! Ride with young Milo through the phantom tollbooth and into a world that combines the enchantment of Norton Juster's classic children's book with sheer visual joy spearheaded by animation immortal Chuck Jones. Bookended by live-action sequences and featuring a stellar voice cast, The Phantom Tollbooth engages youngsters' minds and imaginations in a magical musical tale of warring kingdoms (one favors words, the other numbers), fabulously weird creatures, demons, princesses and a tick-tick-ticking dog named Tock. He's a watchdog, you see!

Ratings and reviews

I'm a big fan of the work Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc did on Looney Tunes, but while the animation and voice acting in this film are very similar to those cartoons; it's simply not as entertaining. I do get what's going on here and I applaud their efforts. After making as many (somewhat) mindless cartoons as they did, it seems like they wanted to use their talents for the betterment of children and that's what they tried here, but it's so bogged down in lessons that it's just not very fun.

Long before Roger Rabbit there was this film. Parents today should have their kids watch this. I just hope it never gets remade. It's perfect the way it is....

Like any movie, it doesn't follow the book exactly, but it's a wonderful movie all the same. Chuck Jones animates this wonderful award winning story, and you may recognize the voices of Mel Blanc and Butch Patrick (Munsters kid). Mostly cartoon, a bit of live action, and all fun! Highly recommended!