The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)

Fruit snacks have all the fun and yumminess and prettiness of candy, but are a little more beneficial due to being made with real fruit. Same thing with this movie. A fun-filled, colorful, whimsical fantasy, with some educational benefits mixed in with the fun.The animation is beautiful, with bright candy colors and fun zingy patterns. Viewers feel that they are accompanying bored tween Milo on his adventure, and the music is awesome, especially the Bacharach-esque opening and closing theme sung by a band reminiscent of the 5th Dimension, the Cowsills, Spanky and Our Gang, and the Free Design combined.I put this in the pantheon of great contemporary fantasy films, right up there with The Point, The Neverending Story, and Labyrinth

I am a fan of animation and of Chuck Jones, and I really like The Phantom Tollbooth. I do prefer Gay Purr-ee and the book is better and even more intriguing, but I thought the film was terrific. Yes even with some heavy-handed moralising and one or two scenes in the middle that drag.I loved the story, it is a wondrous concept with some imaginative sequences and a live start and finish that set the tone nicely. I liked the music too, it isn't quite as charming or witty as Gay Purr-ee's, but the incidental music has a great atmosphere and the songs while not to everyone's tastes are in my view memorable with fun lyrics and nice melodies.The animation is in general quite good. Some of the secondary characters could have been less misconceived in the facial expressions and scope, but the colours are wonderfully trippy and the backgrounds have a sense of surrealism about them. The writing is clever and witty, with quotable puns, while the characters are likable and add to the sense of fun, even Milo I can identify with. Some of it might fly over young children's heads, but adolescents and adults would love it I think. The voice acting is also terrific, the immortal Mel Blanc does a brilliant job voicing his characters, while not a tour-de-force as such, it is a real treat, and Butch Patrick, Daws Butler, June Foray and Hans Conreid are also great.In conclusion, a terrific animated film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Turner Classic Movies presented this during a tribute to the legendary Chuck Jones.It is not regular Jones fare. But it is intriguing."Phantom Tollbooth" is apparently somewhat of an educational film, but it is not -- how could it be, coming from Jones? -- stuffy.Instead, it is whimsical, with some subtle humor for people not in need of education, for example the "senses taker." Part of the joy is in the performers. Hans Conried, for example, so often played a character who could be stuffy, who was so insistent on words and their correct pronunciation. To hear him as the MathemaGician and harping on the superiority of numbers -- How could there be Tea for Two without the Two? -- was funny-bone jarring.In the TV listings, the only stars mentioned were Butch Patrick and June Foray. Butch Patrick is still very busy but I bet he will always be best known for his "Munsters" portrayal.And that's really too bad, since he is, in fact, and without the garish make-up, a very handsome young man in this movie.June Foray, on the other hand, is known almost entirely as a voice (especially as -- Hokie Smokie -- Rocket J. Squirrel), even though she is and was a beautiful and funny and creative person, even without someone else's script -- and utterly charming.Her friends in Los Angeles loved to phone her home and hope she wouldn't be there ... so they could listen to her hilarious answering machine messages.Other voices included the extraordinary Mel Blanc and Daws Butler, the great radio star (who also did a few movies, though not enough to suit me) Les Tremayne, and others whom we've all heard even if we didn't realize it at the time.Purely as a theatrical experience, "Phantom Tollbooth" might not be for everyone, but surely every person who frequents IMDb will want to see it.I recommend it.

This movie is amazing. I'm 24 and I have just seen it for the first time. I've watched it now with a 29 year old and a 34 year old and they both adored it.Not only does it give a message that every person needs to here at many different stages in their life *not just childhood*, but it's fun and entertaining. The songs are well worded and fun, the script is amazing. The art is trippy. The characters have incredible voices that take you back to Saturday morning cartoons.It's a movie that parents can enjoy with their kids, teenagers can enjoy with friends, and all people should agree it's like a tiny mind trip without the drugs.Anyone that can't find joy somewhere in this movie is stuck in the Doldrums!