The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Wes Anderson (written by) &
Owen Wilson (written by)

Release Date:

14 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Family Isn't A Word... It's A Sentence.

Plot:

An estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when one of their member announces he has a terminal illness.

Plot Keywords:

Terminal Illness | Child Prodigy | Genius | Dog | Animal Killing

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 27 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Gene Hackman	...	Royal Tenenbaum
Anjelica Huston	...	Etheline Tenenbaum
Ben Stiller	...	Chas Tenenbaum
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Margot Tenenbaum
Luke Wilson	...	Richie Tenenbaum
Owen Wilson	...	Eli Cash
Bill Murray	...	Raleigh St. Clair
Danny Glover	...	Henry Sherman
Seymour Cassel	...	Dusty
Kumar Pallana	...	Pagoda
Alec Baldwin	...	Narrator (voice)
Grant Rosenmeyer	...	Ari Tenenbaum
Jonah Meyerson	...	Uzi Tenenbaum
Aram Aslanian-Persico	...	Young Chas Tenenbaum
Irene Gorovaia	...	Young Margot Tenenbaum

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some language, sexuality/nudity and drug content.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut) | Iceland:12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:14A (Ontario) (video rating: 2004) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #38556) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

144th Street & Convent Avenue, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

American Empirical Pictures

Trivia:

After Margot tells Richie that Eli has told her of Richie's letter to Eli that he dictates whilst on the Cote D'Ivoire ship in which he confesses his love for Margot, Richie goes to Eli's house to confront him. Having knocked on Eli's door, the sound of a bird is heard and Richie looks up to see if he can see the bird, it is implied that the bird that made the noise is Richie's recently released bird Mordecai, who comes back to Richie later on in the film

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kumar and Royal are in the game closet, there is an shot of one of the Dalmatian mice running across a shelf filled with games. The games in this shot are arranged in a completely different order than in the rest of the scene (and the previous game closet scene).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator:Royal Tenenbaum bought the house on Archer Avenue in the winter of his 35th year. Over the next decade, he and his wife had three children, and then they separated.

Movie Connections:

References The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Soundtrack:

Rock The Casbah

hilariously freaky, yet heartrendingly poignant

I've watched The Royal Tennenbaums 3 times so far and just ordered the DVD. How can you beat the cast, the plot, and the humanity of this film?

I dare you to find a better cast than Gene Hackman, Angelica Huston, Danny Glover, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, and the rest of the crew.

The chemistry between them works magic on the screen.

Without giving away too much of the plot, it revolves around the family of Royal Tennenbaum, a lovable rascal whose family hasn't forgiven him for transgressions of the past. When his estranged wife decides she may want to remarry, the games begin -- and oh what fun games they are. You have to laugh.

Emotionally speaking, you will feel like you're riding a roller-coaster with no dead space. If you are into quirky characters, intelligent humor, and aren't afraid to stare painful aspects of human nature eye to eye, you will love The Royal Tennenbaums.