"Pleasantville" is a 50s sitcom watched religiously by David (Maguire), a teenager who takes refuge from the realities of his life in the 90s within the world of "Pleasantville", a black and white domestic paradise. When fighting for the TV remote with his sister Jennifer (Witherspoon) they are magically transported into the shoes of Bud and Mary Sue Parker, the two children of Betty (Allen) and George (Macy) in the show "Pleasantville". In order to preserve the world of Pleasantville they decide they must follow what the two characters did on the show. However, Mary Sue/ Jennifer does not abide by the rules as she tries to live her 90s lifestyle in this 50s "perfect" world. They discover that beneath the well-ordered surface is a terrible nothingness. Sex is unknown (even to parents apparently) and bathrooms have no toilets; books have blank pages and the fire brigade's only duty is rescuing cats from trees. Pleasantville, quite literally, is a world without colour.

As Mary Sue/ Jennifer and Bud/ David expose the inhabitants of Pleasantville to the outside world and all that it entails traces of colour begin to appear. First, patches of grass, or a flower, until it begins to affect the people as well. Some would say that colour is the metaphor for enlightenment and is a symbol of liberation. With this enlightenment comes tension as the ugliness of the real world is exposed for all to see and feel. Although the real world has its ugly sides the message is that diversity is something to be embraced not feared. Of course, even without the messages within the film this is still good quality entertainment.