Reception and Release
The film was a production by Turner Pictures. Fox handled U.S. distribution, while Turner Pictures Worldwide handled international and worldwide television distribution. Turner Broadcasting handles telecast rights of the film to be aired on their variety of television networks (including Cartoon Network). Warner Bros. now handles international and worldwide television distribution to the film as a result of the Turner/Time Warner merger in 1996 since Network.
The film grossed $13,670,688 in theaters, making it a box office bomb, from its $21 million budget. Film merchandise was sold, bendable figures and soft toys of the main characters, t-shirts, and a Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and SNES game of the same title as well as a PC game. A behind-the-scenes documentary was produced, hosted by Christopher Lloyd playing his character of Mr. Dewey. The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc worldwide on April 4, 1995 (by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; internationally by Turner Home Entertainment or Columbia TriStar Home Video), but the international DVD release of the film is unknown until it hit the future with the Blu-ray release.
The film received mixed to negative reviews, scoring an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times criticized the way the film's message came across, calling it a "sad and dreary film," adding that its message seemed to be that "books can be almost as much fun as TV cartoons and video arcade games." Brian Lowry of Variety said that the film's principal appeal for adults would be its abbreviated running time, and that it did not do enough with its famous fictional characters, although he noted that, "A more inspired moment has Richard using a book, 'Jack and the Beanstalk,' to escape from the belly of a dragon. Unfortunately, such moments are few and far between." Rita Kempley of The Washington Post, however, gave the film a positive review, calling it a "splendidly original children's fantasy about the world of books." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave another positive review, calling it a "clever, often engaging, and always fast-paced motion picture" that "uses the visual medium to encourage its viewers to reach out with their imagination."
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