The Phantom Tollbooth

G

Released Nov 7, 1970

1h 30m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Animation

List

100%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

76%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

A delivery arrives at the home of young Milo (Butch Patrick), and at first the small tollbooth appears to be an ordinary toy. But when Milo steers his miniature car through the booth's gateway, he finds himself in a mysterious fantasy land. In Dictionopolis, Milo and his dog sidekick Tock encounter a city fixated on words, and draw the ire of Officer Short Shrift (Mel Blanc). Milo also treks through Digitopolis and over the Mountains of Ignorance, an adventure that teaches the boy vital lessons.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent The Phantom Tollbooth on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Judith Crist

New York Magazine/Vulture

The most satisfying post-revel feeling is in the realization that there are still those who care not only about fantasy and adventure but also about courage and ingenuity and, even more important, literacy and imagination.

Apr 20, 2022

Full Review

Stefan Kanfer

TIME Magazine

The youthful viewer and his parents should overlook Phantom Tollbooth's flaws and concentrate on the film's underlying moral.

Feb 8, 2018

Full Review

Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

It's not one that I'll probably ever watch again... [but] It was a fun one to finally explore.

Rated: 5/10

Feb 12, 2019

Full Review

Film4 Staff

Film4

More would have been acheived without the inclusion of the sappy pop songs, but the film still has infinitely more savvy than most of the Disney cartoons of the period.

Aug 4, 2014

Full Review

Tom Hutchinson

Radio Times

[The film] has some wonderful ideas, but they're likely to be a bit above the heads of very young children. The rest should enjoy it, especially the bits with the great Mel Blanc, Toonville's greatest-ever voice.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 4, 2014

Full Review

TV Guide

This fine adaptation of the children's book by Norton Juster was Chuck Jones's and MGM's first animated feature.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 4, 2014

Full Review

Read all reviews

Joel H

I'd heard of The Phantom Tollbooth before, but I'd never read the novel nor seen the movie. I didn't really know what to expect, to be honest. What I got was an odd mix of Looney Tunes and Sesame Street. This is an educational film first and foremost, which makes it feel a little bland. It also seems like an animated short that was stretched too thin as it tries to fill the runtime. The music was forgettable, too. Perhaps the book is better, but I found The Phantom Tollbooth to be a fairly dull drive through an after-school special. My kids liked, though, so maybe that's it's intended audience.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Over 50 years old. This is still one of the best film adaptations ever. I remember reading the book back in elementary school and watching the movie in class. Both are perfect. The movie never got the giant exposure when it was first released since MGM sold off their holdings. It made learning about words and numbers interesting. Even using proper use of grammar with the importance of rhyme or reason balancing out chaos. The animation is terrific being done by Chuck Jones of Looney Tunes fame. Learning can be overwhelming for any kid but the book and movie make education fun. The main character Milo perfectly conveys the audiences feelings.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/08/23

Full Review

Jeffrey M

The Phantom Toolbooth was an amazing movie. I finished the book kind of a long time ago, so I slightly forgot the book when I watched this earlier today. I remember the book was better than this movie. I watched this movie for free on YouTube. Like the book, The Phantom Toolbooth was a very interesting book. Also this movie had really good lessons from math to enjoying life. The Phantom Toolbooth also had really good classic animation. The Phantom Toolbooth was a really good movie. What a good movie. I give this a 75%🍅.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/06/23

Full Review

GEOMETRY D

Well I didn't see the movie but I read the book which was made almost a decade before the movie and I saw the trailer of this and based on what I saw, I can already tell it's a bad movie. For starters, in the book there was Milo, not this random red head whose name is like Richard or something (I can't remember). Then Tock, he was probably 2/3 the size of King Azaz in the book but in this, there's this puppy the size of Milo and I couldn't see a watch on his back like the book. And finally, the Humbug… this has got to be the worst one yet. The Humbug in the book is small, green I think, and wide, but in this he is tall, skinny, blue. The book is way better and the movie is the worst book recreation ever, and this is based on the TRAILER, not the movie so I bet the movie is far worse.😡

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/19/23

Full Review

Susan M

This movie is Like if Dr. Seuss was on some sort of drug and read an encyclopedia. 10/10 may never watch again on my own free will:)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/13/23

Full Review

michele a

So cute. A real gem.Was made in the 60's when I was a kid.Wish I had seen it then.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Chuck Jones

Director

Abe Levitow

Director

Dave Monahan

Director

Patrick Lilly

Milo

Mel Blanc

Officer Short Shrift

Daws Butler

Whether Man

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

66%

73%

The Sword in the Stone

100%

87%

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

77%

86%

The Last Unicorn

TRAILER

for The Last Unicorn

78%

80%

Peter Pan

93%

85%

The Secret of NIMH

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

A delivery arrives at the home of young Milo (Butch Patrick), and at first the small tollbooth appears to be an ordinary toy. But when Milo steers his miniature car through the booth's gateway, he finds himself in a mysterious fantasy land. In Dictionopolis, Milo and his dog sidekick Tock encounter a city fixated on words, and draw the ire of Officer Short Shrift (Mel Blanc). Milo also treks through Digitopolis and over the Mountains of Ignorance, an adventure that teaches the boy vital lessons.

Director: Chuck Jones, Abe Levitow, Dave Monahan
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Rating: G
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 7, 1970, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 30m

Most Popular at Home Now