The Pagemaster

Mediocre, really, this mixture of real actors and animation. Richard (Culkin) is a kid who learns courage after being exposed to the world of books. Sheltering from a storm in the library, Richard encounters the Merlin-like librarian (Lloyd), slips and is knocked unconscious, after which he's conducted on a tour of Adventure fiction (voice of Patrick Stewart), Horror (Frank Weller) and Fantasy (Whoopi Goldberg). These three are books with arms, and are as imaginatively drawn as Mr Sugar Lump. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Moby Dick and Ahab, Long John Silver and Alice in Wonderland thrust their more visceral moments at the lad, forcing him to overcome his fear of heights and confrontation.