Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

An adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's story, where Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world--a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures that crown Max as their ruler.

Director:

Spike Jonze

Writers:

Spike Jonze (screenplay), Dave Eggers (screenplay),

Stars:

Max Records, Pepita Emmerichs, Catherine O'Hara

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Max Records	...	Max
Pepita Emmerichs	...	Claire
Max Pfeifer	...	Claire's Friend
Madeleine Greaves	...	Claire's Friend
Joshua Jay	...	Claire's Friend
Ryan Corr	...	Claire's Friend
Catherine Keener	...	Mom
Steve Mouzakis	...	Teacher
Mark Ruffalo	...	The Boyfriend
James Gandolfini	...	Carol (voice)
Vincent Crowley	...	Carol Suit Performer
Paul Dano	...	Alexander (voice)
Sonny Gerasimowicz	...	Alexander Suit Performer
Catherine O'Hara	...	Judith (voice)
Nick Farnell	...	Judith Suit Performer

Storyline

A young boy named Max has an active imagination, and he will throw fits if others don't go along with what he wants. Max - following an incident with Claire (his sister) and her friends, and following a tantrum which he throws as a result of his Mother paying more attention to her boyfriend than to him - runs away from home. Wearing his wolf costume at the time, Max not only runs away physically, but runs toward a world in his imagination. This world, an ocean away, is inhabited by large wild beasts, including one named Carol who is much like Max himself in temperament. Instead of eating Max like they normally would with creatures of his type, the wild things befriend Max after he proclaims himself a king who can magically solve all their problems.

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Plot Keywords:

imagination | wolf costume | creature | igloo | king | 

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Taglines:

Let the wild rumpus start!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [fr] Warner Bros. [jp]

Country:

USA Australia Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Where the Wild Things Are: The IMAX Experience

Filming Locations:

Central City Studios, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£883,990 (UK) (11 December 2009)

Gross:

$77,222,184 (USA) (5 February 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Legendary Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Max is standing on a small pile of books in his room, the spine of one of them clearly says 'Where the Wild Things Are'.

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Goofs

When Max says, "Wow!" when he sees Carol's world built from sticks, an earpiece is visible in Max Records' ear.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Max: Hey, Claire. Wanna see something great?
Claire: [on the phone] Who else was there?
Max: It's an igloo! I made it.
Claire: Yeah, my brother.
Max: Hey, Claire!
Claire: I can't. We're supposed to go to my dad's that weekend.
Max: The snowplows left some snow across the street, and I dug a hole into it.
Claire: Go and play with your friends.

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Crazy Credits

The logos for Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, and Village Roadshow Pictures are covered with Max's scribblings.

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Connections

References The Waltons (1971)

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Soundtracks

"Building All Is Love"
Written by Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Tristan Bechet
Produced by Karen O and Tom Biller (as tbiller)
Performed by Karen O and the Kids
Courtesy of DGC/Interscope Records

User Reviews

These Things aren't Wild, they're just slightly troubled

Where the Wild Things are is a well written, intelligent, and very cold drama about the often challenging interactions within a closed group of people, the complexities of leadership and the cost of selfishness.

It's not a movie about imagination or childhood at all, and it's only vaguely concerned with themes of growing up, family or maturity.

It's not wacky or funny. Not colorful or exciting. There's only about 10 minutes of what I'd call "fun" in the whole 2-hour package.

That doesn't make Where the Wild Things Are a bad movie. It just makes it completely defiant of the viewer's expectations, and thus a rather confusing film to watch.

The first time I saw this I wasn't sure how I was supposed to be taking things. Was that supposed to be funny? Is she being sarcastic, or serious? Is Max in real danger now, or not? That's not because the movie is actually confusing, but because it all seems vaguely wrong and inappropriate. I left scratching my head saying "I guess that was good?"

In the end I decided I didn't like it. I felt that this was either the wrong script for this movie or the wrong movie for this script. Either way, it didn't click for me and felt awkward to the end.

Nevertheless there is quality here, and I recommend you watch it yourself and reach your own conclusion.