Rejoice! They've Made a Documentary about The Phantom Tollbooth

If you were a child in America in the past so many years, you probably read or at least can acknowledge the existence of Norton Juster’s great children’s classic The Phantom Tollbooth. Though Juster may have written the book, it was equipped with equally important illustrations by Juster’s longtime friend Jules Feiffer. Sensing a cute opportunity, filmmakers Hannah Jayanti and Janice L. Kaplan made the film The Phantom Tollbooth: Beyond Expectations, which recaps the adorable years Juster and Feiffer spent living together as quasi-roommates in the same building in Brooklyn.

Originally, Feiffer wasn’t signed on to do the book’s illustrations, but as Juster would read chapters to out loud in an attempt to make revisions, Feiffer would sketch while he listened and there you have it! History was made, especially that map, which I’m convinced thousands of kids used in their own personal make-believe games. (No? Just me and my weirdo sister?)

Anyhow, I interviewed Jules Feiffer once and he is a very funny, very cool dude who seemed like he would only spend time with people of a similar breed so if you need something to do, you can download The Phantom Tollbooth: Beyond Expectations and watch it this very weekend.