The Phantom Tollbooth

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smelly refrigerator

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Does anyone remember this movie? It came out around 1969, and was directed by Chuck Jones.
I really enjoying this film as a kid, and I still regard it as one of my favorite animated movies of all time. I love the songs especially, "Milo's Song" and "Rhyme and Reason Reign".

What do you guys think of the movie?
 
I loved the living daylights out of this movie as a kid. It's very 1960's, but it adds to it's charm for me. Why is it so hard to find now? I'm surprised nobody tried to remake this movie. Perhaps a blessing in disguise or a missed opportunity?
 
Only saw it once at school, but I loved it. We read the book one year in class (I'd already read it though and had my own copy :D) and one day they showed the movie. I loved every whimsical second of it.
 
If you get the Turner Classic Movies channel, it turns up once in awhile.

Warner Bros. holds the original negative and is currently in the process of restoring it for a future DVD or Blu-ray release, but it's not one of their top priorities.:sad: Also, the original negative is so badly faded that it needs extensive work to fix up and that's probably why the restoration project has been taking years. I haven't heard any news of it recently.
 
This should be in the RETRO CLASSIC CARTOONS section!

Does Time Warner or MGM own this? Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Turner Classic Movies still air it in occassion, but I thought since it was an MGM made movie it would appear on THIS TV with the other MGM movies.
 
I remember this movie. I watched it in my sixth grade class after we read the book. I remember a few differences between the book and the movie, but I thought that both were enjoyable. I might have enjoyed the book more, but I haven't read it in a long time, so I don't remember much other than I really liked the ending.

I didn't think that Chuck Jones directed the movie. That's pretty cool. Considering how well the book has done, it is surprising that they haven't given the film a DVD release or try a remake for a new audience.
 
It's an MGM film that Turner inherited as part of the pre-1986 catalog of MGM titles. Turner is under the Time-Warner corporate umbrella.
Warner Bros. owns the distribution rights to the film as a result, just like they do for some other MGM titles made before 1986.

They are not connected with the current MGM company who has dealings with THIS TV.
 
You know, as annoying and wearisome that this remake stuff has become, I kind of don't mind a remake of the movie despite having had seen (and owning) the Chuck Jones version. It's said that Norton Juster doesn't particularly care for that version, so maybe he'll be happy with the remake. It should be a lot closer to the book than the older movie, and at least we'll actually get a version of The Phantom Tollbooth that makes it to Blu-ray (and DVD, provided it's still around by then). Even so, I'd still like for the original to make it to DVD. I managed to score a fresh unopened copy of it six years ago from someone on half.com, and it didn't have to sacrifice my entire bank account to get it.
 
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