The Phantom Tollbooth to be a Feature Film

Posted on August 10, 2016

Tracking Board reports the children's classic The Phantom Tollbooth. Norton Juster wrote the book in 1961; it was illustrated by Jules Feiffer.

Michael Vukadinovich is attached to the project to write the script will reportedly be a "fresh take" on the story. That may mean that the story will be set in the present day, rather than the 1960s. Or it may mean he will be updating the story for modern audiences.

The story follows the adventures of Milo, a very, very bored young boy who gets a mysterious present. A tollbooth appears in his bedroom. Milo eventually gets into his toy car and drives through the tollbooth. The next thing he knows he is an entirely different place called the Kingdom of Wisdom.

The kingdom has quite a few unusual destinations, such as the Island of Conclusions which you arrive at by jumping and the Mountains of Ignorance. Milo meets some interesting people (and we use the word loosely). He also picks up a watchdog named Tock who has alarm clock body and sets out to rescue the two princesses named Rhyme and Reason. The entire novel is witty and droll and endlessly entertaining. We can't wait to see what Vukadinovich comes up with.