30 years later, Macaulay Culkin’s first (and last) animated film is largely forgotten

If you were *around* in the early 90s, you already know – it was the golden era of Macaulay Culkin. With the exception of his Saturday morning animated series Wish child and a Michael Jackson music video, “Mack” appeared in over a dozen films over six years. He became the first child star to earn a million dollars. His face was one of the most recognizable in the country, and his Alone at home Scream was an inescapable part of the zeitgeist of ’90s pop culture, remaining iconic decades later. But in 1994, Macaulay shocked the world by announcing his retirement from acting at the age of 14.

His last year before his long break from the limelight proved to be his most productive and featured a trio of Macaulay pictures. Unfortunately, they all bombed – included Page masterthe then-child star’s first (and last, to date) animated film. Thirty years later, it is mostly forgotten.

Page master revisited

Played by Macauley, Tyler is a timid child who is afraid of everything. He is sent to buy his father a sack of nails to build a wooden house, which his father hopes will break his phobic habits. Tyler reluctantly embarks on his mission, avoiding hazards like traffic and thugs until an aggressively precise bolt of lightning knocks his bike out of commission. He finds himself stranded by the stairs of a library, where he seeks refuge from the pounding rain.

Inside, he meets eccentric librarian Dewey (Christopher Lloyd), who gives the pre-teen a library card – but all Tyler wants to do is call his parents. As he walks through the rotunda looking for a telephone, an elaborate mural of classic literary characters catches his eye and distracts him until he slips on a puddle made from his wet clothes.

In his concussed state, the fresco drips paint from the ceiling until it gushes out and forms a multi-colored dragon, crashing down on Tyler and transporting him into the comic book world. There, he meets a trio of books named Adventure, Fantasy, and Horror (Patrick Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, and Frank Welker, respectively), who offer to help him return home in exchange for taking them out of the library.

The group encounters Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Captain Ahab, Long John Silver and a dragon as Tyler learns to confront his fears in fiction and real life.

Paper clip

Despite a heavy marketing push that included a Pizza Hut tie-in and a video game that Macaulay never knew about before he played it for the first time in 2018, Page master was a huge flop. Critics were as unimpressed as moviegoers, unable to recoup half of its over-budget costs to create. Appropriate for a story about libraries, VHS copies of Page master was destined to sit indefinitely on Blockbuster shelves, only rented when better movies sold out.

Every actor in Tinseltown knows you make a few stinkers in your career, so Page master Being a dud didn’t make Macaulay step back from acting. But by 1994, he was burned out, not only from his inflexible schedule, but also from his overbearing and controlling father.

Kit Culkin became his son’s manager early in his career and quickly capitalized on his child’s skyrocketing Hollywood presence. In addition to the demanding job he buried his son in, there were abuse allegations from his wife and seven children. Kit also kept Macaulay in the dark about his finances and how much he earned. After three duds in a row, Macaulay reached his limit, but his father refused to let his golden goose stop.

“I was at this point where I really wanted to take a break … and I really didn’t get that opportunity,” Macaulay explained in an interview with Larry King in 2004. “I really didn’t feel like anyone was listening to me when I said those things and then when I was… put in a position where I could take control of my own life and my own destiny and make decisions that were solely was for my benefit and not for anyone else to make money off of… I did.”

Macaulay officially announced his retirement at 15, while his mother, Patricia, separated from Kit in 1995. The ensuing custody battle was a fight with Mack’s brother Kieran revealing“(Kit’s) main concern was that he could be our manager. He was okay with losing custody if he could still be our manager.”

As the conflict raged, Alone at home star learned his financial net worth and discovered that most of his wealth was tied up in a trust fund. Macaulay had his parents’ names removed from the trust and secured complete financial control to help his family, who ultimately distanced themselves from Kit. This was interpreted as Macaulay “liberating” or “divorcing” his parents, but the truth is that his relationship with his mother and siblings was fine – it was his father who was the problem.

Leaving Page master in the past

Gene Siskel described it in 1994 as a flimsy film, and 30 years later that description holds up. The story is dull, punctuated by jump scares sprinkled unevenly throughout the film, which may frighten younger viewers. The CGI was a breakthrough in 1994, and the art direction flirts with sophisticated moments like Captain Ahab’s whaling or Mr. Hyde’s colorful rampage. Still, it’s mostly a vanilla affair that’s easy to forget… as many have been for the last three decades.

The moral of the story is to find courage with a side of friendship, but the film missed its mark by not focusing more on another theme – not judging a book by its cover. Tyler is at first frightened by the horror book, but finds that he is a good friend, while people they initially trust, like Dr. Jekyll, turns out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. The seeds were planted for this concept to be more impactful than the generic “face your fears” lesson.

Every good book has a happy ending, and for Macaulay, his story remains a positive one. After some tumultuous years as a young adult, Macaulay found peace and happiness. He acts when (and if) he feels like, created one comedy side and podcast, and found love with his wife, Brenda Song.

As for Page masterlet’s just say the library won’t be missing this volume on their shelves any time soon.

Page master is available at Amazon, Apple TVand Google Play.