The Phantom Tollbooth (film)

The Phantom Tollbooth is a 1970 American live-action/animated film based on Norton Juster's 1961 children's book The Phantom Tollbooth. This film was produced by Chuck Jones at MGM Animation/Visual Arts. Jones also directed the film, save for the live action bookends directed by fellow Warner Bros. Cartoons alum Dave Monahan. The film was released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 7, 1970, and was the last MGM feature film release to include animated segments. MGM's United Artists subsidiary would release its first fully animated film The Secret of NIMH in 1982.

Completed by 1968, the film was held up for release by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer until late 1970 due to internal problems. The animation studio closed soon after the film's release, with MGM leaving the animation business for good. Juster had no input into the film adaptation, and has stated that he is not particularly fond of it.
Plot

Milo, a bored, lonely boy who lives in a San Francisco apartment block all by himself, is surprised by the sudden arrival of a large, gift-wrapped package. Inside is a tollbooth, which turns out to be a gateway into a magical parallel universe. As Milo passes through the tollbooth, the character moves from live action to animation, and his toy car transports him to the enchanted Kingdom of Wisdom and the cities of Digitopolis and Dictionopolis.

Accompanied by a watchdog called Tock (due to a large clock face embedded into his body), Milo has a series of adventures in places like the Mountains of Ignorance, the Doldrums, Dictionopolis, Digitopolis, and the Castle in the Air. Together they must rescue the Princesses Rhyme and Reason, who are being held captive in Castle in the Air, and restore order to the Kingdom of Wisdom. The many eccentric characters they meet include the noisy Dr. Dischord, the Mathemagician, King Azaz, the Senses Taker, and Officer Short Shrift.
Cast

Butch Patrick as Milo
Mel Blanc as Officer Short Shrift, The Dodecahedron, The Demon of Insincerity
Daws Butler as Whether Man, The Terrible Trivium, The Gelatinous Giant, Senses Taker
Candy Candido as Awful Dynne
Hans Conried as King Azaz, The Mathemagician
June Foray as Princess of Pure Reason, Faintly Macabre, voice of Ralph
Patti Gilbert as Princess of Sweet Rhyme
Shepard Menken as Spelling Bee
Cliff Norton as Kakofonous A. Dischord, Tollbooth Speaker, Chroma the Great
Larry Thor as Tock the Watchdog
Les Tremayne as Humbug
Thurl Ravenscroft, Mel Blanc as The Lethargians
Directed by Chuck Jones
Abe Levitow
Dave Monahan (live action)
Produced by Chuck Jones
Written by Norton Juster
Sam Rosen
Based on The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Starring Butch Patrick
Mel Blanc
Daws Butler
Candy Candido
Hans Conried
June Foray
Patti Gilbert
Shepard Menken
Cliff Norton
Larry Thor
Les Tremayne
Michael Earl
Music by Dean Elliott
Cinematography Lester Shorr
Editing by William Faris
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)

November 7, 1970

Running time 90 minutes
Country United States
Language English