Milo, a young school kid is lonely and board with life. One day after arriving home from school, he noticies a large box in his bedroom. This box is a tollbooth to a mysterious, albeit animated, land.
The magical land, populated by the most bizarre band of misfits this side of reality, is actually at war. On one side of the front is Dictionopolis, where King Azaz belives that words rule all. On the other side is Digitopolis, where the Mathmagician belives there can be nothing without numbers.
Soon after arriving, Milo, driving his little car, becomes stuck in the doldrums. However, with the help of Tock, the Watchdog, he escapes. Milo and tock becomes fast friends, and start to journey to one of the two kingdoms. However, on their way the encounter the "Whethere" Man, the Hum bug, the Spelling Bee, The Terrible Trivium, and more.
Soon, however, Milo finds out that it is up him and him alone (with the help of Tock, of course!) to rescue the Princesses of Rhyme and Reason in order to save the magical land from certain doom.
The Phantom Tollbooth, one of a host of children's films made in the late '60s and early '70s that embraced psychedelia to create memorable spectacles of nonsense absurdism, is one the best pieces of animation from the late great chuck Jones. No, it's not Myazaki quality, but it has its moments, and the script is funny, too. The film is chock full of adultisms like any Pixar film, and funny and memorable characters that child and adults alike will laugh themselves silly over.
This movie has been basically forgotten today, but it deserves a re-issue on DVD and Tim Burton could certainly do this film justice in a re-make. They could even reuse Mel Blanc's voice over and do it up right! What ever the case my be, do yourself a favour and check out this long forgotten classic today while you still can!
Plot: 
The movie is full of gibberish and non-senseical mumbo-jumbo, but it is very funny at certain points and great film to get lost - in if you are triing to escape reality.
Animation: 
No, the animation isn't as good as, say, Spirited Away, or even as good as something like The Jungle Book, but it does have it's moments.
Sound:
Mel Blanc is terrific as Tock, the Watchdog and the other characters he provides voices for. The voice soundtrack goes great with the several songs in the film, which are funny to boot.
Character Development:
Atmosphere:
This is a great film to get lost in if want to escape for 90 minutes. It's bizarre, wacky, crazy, and altogether different. But really, really, funny.
Not everyone is going to "get" the film, however, but that's OK. As long as some of us do, we are in for a really great treat courtesy of Mr. Chuck Jones.
Realism:
Warren’s Rating:
7.86/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
04-03-06
