Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

To me, this movie is perfection.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The Pagemaster is a live action/animation hybrid movie about a young boy (played by Macaulay Culkin) who worries a lot about the world, being obsessed with death statistics and thinking through things twice. One day the kid is sent out to the store, but runs into a thunderstorm on the way and has to seek shelter in a library, where Christopher Lloyd plays a creepy librarian that has no bearing on the plot. While waiting for the storm to stop, the kid goes on to look at the books when he slips and hits his head, and is magically transported into a alternate animated world where books come to life and he has to learn some sort of lesson about... something.Look, the plot doesn't really matter. This film is first and foremost an attempt to try and make children read more books more than it is a coherent story. Once the kid gets transported into the magical world, he meets three anthropomorphic books with paper-thin personalities who guide him through a theme park ride of various famous book characters, where nothing feels like a cohesive narrative and none of these characters are given any sort of weight to them.Dr. Jekyll, Ahab from Moby-Dick and Long John Silver appear but their inclusion in the story has no bearing on the plot, and gives no indication of who they are, why they do what they do or why these are considered to be classic books. Why would Dr. Jekyll drink this potion to make him into Mr. Hyde? Why is Ahab out to kill this whale? Why is Long John Silver such a legendary pirate? None of these questions are even acknowledged, it is assumed that the viewer will be so curious of these one-note displays of out of water characters that one would just go pick up the book on that alone, but I don't really feel inspired to read at all by this.Because on top of being a confused narrative with tons of plot holes, poor pacing and very little character or meaning behind it, it's also just a bad propaganda film. When I was a kid I didn't even think about the fact that these characters were from books or that I could go read about them while watching this because nothing they did affected me or made me curious to look closer, and as an adult all it makes me want to do is hunt down better cartoons.Then there is also the attempt at some sort of second moral about overcoming your fears or something, but it makes no sense what so ever. So, what, this kid who is already clearly suffering from anxiety hits his head and is either transported into a dimension where serial killer mad doctors, pirates, dragons and sharks are constantly trying to kill him; or suffered major brain injury and had one hell of a scary fever dream depending on how you look at it, all while his dad and other kids make fun of him for being a coward, and this is supposed to help him somehow? Or is it supposed to be about how escapism can help you cope with your fears, but only escapism in fiction books and nothing else? It's very muddled and to me at least comes off as somebody's grand-dad complaining about "them kids these days being sheltered, unlike in my day", which isn't all that inspirational.The best thing one could say about this movie is that it has a remarkable all-star cast (albeit with less than remarkable performances at times), some decent looking animation and some flashy colors to distract kids with. However, the lack of a proper story, the manipulative attempts at shaming kids for their taste in media and a confused tone that can't decide if it's supposed to be cynical, whimsical or thrilling makes this end up as a forgettable and mildly unpleasant watch. Only recommended for the nostalgia value or for hardcore Macaulay Culkin fans.

The setup: A cowardly boy who buries himself in accident statistics enters a library to escape a storm only to be transformed into an animated illustration by the Pagemaster. He has to work through obstacles from classic books to return to real life.The verdict: It solidified the comeback for Culkin as a unique presence in American cinema. Yes, this does remind me a lot of Dragon's Den. In some ways it is the most ridiculous thing I've seen in years. Some of the dialog could be better. The story is well told and gives you a good idea of how Culkin becomes the hero. My only problem with the film was the supporting cast, but it's still okay.

I loved this movie as a kid, and hell, I STILL do. Some of the cgi doesn't holdup as well, but then again, this is 2010 and that was 1994, so I'll cut that some slack. Yeah, maybe from an adult's POV this movie isn't so incredible, but then again, this is a movie made for kids, and I liked it as a child. It was a lot of fun, and It's still, easily, my favorite animated (slash live-action) film of all-time. I knock it down from a 10 because of the running time (about 75 minutes) but other than that, I see nothing bad about this film. A fantastic ride from start to finish, this epic tale of a young boy who is way to afraid of everything who's path leads him to courage is one I'll never forget. A Truly underrated movie.9/10

The Pagemaster in my opinion, was a wonderful film, and I do think the 4.8 rating is too low. I have seen much worse movies, that are rated higher than that. Sure it's not Disney, but it is a good family film that I guarantee if you give it a chance that the whole family will love. The animation is not so bad, perhaps a little dated and rushed, but I've seen worse, and the dragon was excellent. The music by James Horner was beautiful, very fitting with what was going on on screen, very reminiscent of Land Before Time and Once Upon a Forest, and Whatever You imagine was amazing. The story tells of a young boy named Richard, who is serious and fearful of everything, until an unexpected visit to the library changes his life forever. I loved the story and the clever and diverse references to the literary giants, like Treasure Island, Jekyll and Hyde and Moby Dick, and the message of the film about facing your fears that doesn't preach. Macaulay Culkin is excellent here as is Christopher Lloyd, and Patrick Stewart (rousing and witty), Whoopi Goldberg (sugar and starch) and Frank Welker (in a fine Igor impression) expertly bring the snappy screenplay to life. I loved the witty banter between Adventure and Fantasy, and the librarian's rant about the different literary genres. And I don't think it is Macaulay Culkin or Christopher Lloyd's worst film, Culkin's was Richie Rich, Lloyd's was My Favourite Martian. All in all, a terrific film, with a 10/10. Bethany Cox