By Daniel Dern: Having periodically done a web search for a comparison (usually for two competing products I’m considering buying), ITEM (5) in Pixel Scroll 5/18/24, “BWAH! Gizmodo’s James Whitbrook contends there are ‘25 Great Things About The Phantom Menace’” started me thinking about, of course, The Phantom Tollbooth. So here, off the top of my happily-haired-with-a-bald-spot head, and, having seen The Phantom Menace at least 1x but probably not more than 2.5x, and having reread The Phantom Tollbooth dozens of times (and a quick one-item lookup just now), we go (with, in some cases, allowing stuff in other Star Wars films to count):
| WHAT | THE PHANTOM MENACE | THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH |
| Weapons/tools | Light-saber | (Mathemagian’s) Pencil |
| Untall characters | Yoda | Officer Short Shrift |
| Princess(es) | Amidala, Leia | Sweet Rhyme, Pure Reason |
| Punishment | Carbonite | “I am” (shortest sentence from the judge) |
| Odd Food(s) | Blue milk | Subtraction Stew |
| Challenging Routes | Kessel Run | The Doldrums |
| Talking characters | C3PO, R2D2 | Tick (watchdog); Spelling Bee |
| Powers of mind | Force stuff | Car that goes without saying |
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Wait, you didn’t do evil characters. The Phantom Tollbooth has Senses Taker, the Gelatinous Giant, the Demon of Insincerity, the Terrible Trivium, the Everpresent Wordsnatcher, the Gorgons of Malice and Hate, the Overbearing Know-it-all, and many other demons from the Mountains of Ignorance. The Phantom Menace has Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, and other Empire functionaries. Hmmm, now I’m imagining a match up between the evil characters from Phantom Menace and Phantom Tollbooth. Who would win?…
@Dan My guess is the Empire baddies would all Jump to Conclusions and be stuck.
Whoops, I see I forgot the (intended) last line for the post:
The [fun] of Filing (sic) up the clicks/I gladly leave to you.