Voices of Butch Patrick, Daws Butler, Mel Blanc, and Larry Thor
Directed by Chuck Jones, Abe Levitow, and Dave Monahan
Music by Lee Pockriss; Lyrics by Norman Gimbel, Norman L. Martin, and Paul Vance
Chuck Jones moved to MGM in 1963 and took over making their Tom & Jerry shorts. He read the Norman Juster book The Dot & the Line and adapted it into an Oscar-winning short. With that success, MGM decided to give another Juster work a shot, this time as a feature-length film. Juster's fantasy novel The Phantom Tollbooth debuted to great acclaim in 1961. MGM picked it up for a feature in 1966; it was completed in 1968, though thanks to MGM's troubled finances, it didn't make it out until two years later. Was it worth the effort, or should this animation/live action hybrid be stuck in the doldrums? Let's begin with Milo (Patrick) in live-action as he strolls through San Francisco, bored and not much interested in anything...but that will change with a gift when he gets home...
The Story: Milo finds a large box in his bedroom. Pulling the tab turns it into a toll booth. He drives through it in his toy car and finds himself in animation. Once he gets used to the change, he finds himself in the Kingdom of Wisdom. Thanks to a rift between the King of Words (Hans Conried) and the Wizard of Mathematics (Conried), the kingdom was split into Dictionopolis and Digitopolis. Milo and his friends Tock the Watchdog (Thor) and The Humbug (Les Tremayne) have to rescue the Princesses of Pure Reason (June Foray) and Sweet Rhyme (Patti Gilbert) from the Castle in the Air and return sense and sanity to Wisdom and its wacky citizens.
The Animation: If you've ever seen Jones' Tom & Jerry shorts or some of his other work in the late 60's, you have an idea of what this is like. Limited and sketchy, but with Jones' trademarked expressive faces (especially eyebrows) and wide eyes, and some absolutely glorious color effects and designs when Chroma does his work and they find the Princesses.
The Song and Dance: Thor takes top honors as the ever-ticking dog who keeps Milo on track and Conried as the two stubborn rulers who are more alike than they want to believe. It's in the same vein as Wizard of Oz or Alice In Wonderland with a kid wandering through a strange, nonsensical world filled with eccentric characters; there's even witches and princesses. Here, the emphasis is on education, learning, and developing our curiosity to stay out of those sticky doldrums.
Favorite Number: The chorus opens and closes the film with "Milo's Song" in the live-action sequences, as they encourage the boy to enjoy life to the fullest. "Don't Say There's Nothing To Do In the Doldrums" when Milo's kicking back there with the Lethargics (Thurl Ravenscroft), sticky critters who keep his car trapped and not thinking. Tock reminds him as they travel across the countryside that "Time Is a Gift," and he shouldn't waste it. Dr. Kakafonus A. Dischord (Cliff Norton) revels in "Noise, Noise, Beautiful Noise" as he creates the loudest sounds he possibly can for Tock and Milo in his cart.
What I Don't Like: The educational aspect is sometimes pushed a little too hard, especially towards the end when Milo's battling the demons. It can really feel preachy at times. Other times, the animation and familiar voice artists makes it feel like a slightly more pretentious Saturday morning cartoon of the late 60's-early 70's stretched to feature length. The songs aren't terribly distinguished, either.
The Big Finale: Worth checking out of you're a fan of Jones and his work, if you or your kids have read the book, or if you have fond memories of seeing it on cable or during children's matinées.
Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives.
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