Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Director:

Spike Jonze

Writers (WGA):

Spike Jonze (screenplay) &
Dave Eggers (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

There's one in all of us.

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Crown | Forest | Creature | Sun | Tree

US Showtimes:

Culver Plaza Theatres

12:10pm | 2:20

(personalize)

Cast

Max Records	...	Max
Pepita Emmerichs	...	Claire
Max Pfeifer	...	Claire's Friend #1
Madeleine Greaves	...	Claire's Friend #2
Joshua Jay	...	Claire's Friend #3
Ryan Corr	...	Claire's Friend #4
Catherine Keener	...	Mom
Steve Mouzakis	...	Teacher
Mark Ruffalo	...	The Boyfriend
James Gandolfini	...	Carol (voice)
Paul Dano	...	Alexander (voice)
Catherine O'Hara	...	Judith (voice)
Forest Whitaker	...	Ira (voice)
Michael Berry Jr.	...	The Bull (voice)
Chris Cooper	...	Douglas (voice)

Also Known As:

Where the Wild Things Are: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #45516) | Finland:K-7 | Ireland:PG | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Japan:G | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Central City Studios, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

In July 2006, less than six weeks before the start of shooting, the Henson-built monster suits arrived at the Melbourne soundstage where Spike Jonze and his crew had set up their offices. The actors climbed inside and began moving around. Right away, Jonze could see that the heads were absurdly heavy. Only one of the actors appeared able to walk in a straight line. A few of them called out from within their costumes that they felt like they were going to tip over. Jonze and the production crew had no choice but to tell the Henson people to tear apart the 50-pound heads and remove the remote-controlled mechanical eyeballs. This meant that all the facial expressions would have to be generated in post-production, using computers.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After his igloo is destroyed, Max angrily goes to his sister's room and stomps around, scattering snow on the floor. Later, Max's mom goes to the same room and the carpeted floor is soaked through to the floor, requiring her to use multiple towels to clean it up. However, there was nowhere near enough snow on Max's jacket to create that much water once it melted. Max would have had to deliberately carry an armload of snow to make the floor that wet.

Quotes:

Max: Did you make this?
Carol: Yeah, yeah.
Max: It's very good.
Carol: We were gonna make a whole world like this. Now, everyone used to come here, but you know... you know what it feels like when all your teeth are falling out really slowly and you don't realize and then you notice that, well, they're really far apart. And then one day... you don't have any teeth anymore.
Max: Yeah.
Carol: Well it was like that.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Duplicity/Knowing/I Love You, Man (#1.4)" (2009)

Redefining the adaptation

Where the Wild Things Are, one of the most beloved children's books, comes to the big screen in one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. Spike Jonze, the man responsible for Being John Malcovich, Adaptation, and several Beastie Boys music videos including "Sabotage", brings the tale to life. I must admit, I have been anxiously awaiting this film for several months, something I don't like to do too often as it sets up for a potential major let down.

Well, that didn't happen this time.

We follow Max (Max Records), a boy who is lonely and misunderstood. His sister doesn't pay attention to him, his mother is busy with work and her boyfriend, and he has worries at school. All he wants is attention and to belong. One night, he finally breaks and runs away. He makes his way to the woods and to the waters edge. There he finds a small boat and set out on the open sea, leaving everything behind him.

He comes across an island and goes ashore. There he finds a group of monsters in turmoil. Max seizes his opportunity and confronts the group. He tells them that he is a great king and help them solve their problems.

I don't want to give too much of the story away because I feel like telling it would ruin some of the magic. This is one of the most visually pleasing films I have seen in a long time. Jonze filmed in Australia. We are given vivid landscapes of lush forests, arid deserts, and beautiful shorelines, culminating in an almost Lord of the Rings like experience. These spectacular settings would rarely be beaten in magnificence in another film, but here they come second to the unbelievable special effects used for the monsters.

There are seven monsters on the island. Carol, Ira, Judith, KW, Douglas, Alexander, and The Bull. They all have unique features and are of massive size. Jonze could have gone two ways here. He could have completely made them all CG or he could have gone Jim Henson and turned them into Muppets. Instead, he carved a third path and combined the other two options. Max is able to interact extremely well with the gigantic puppet/suits, but the faces are edited with computer graphics, giving them startlingly realistic features and expressions. Making these monsters any different way would have been disastrous.

Another key aspect of the monsters is giving them a voice. Jonze chose excellent voice actors with James Gandolfini, Forrest Whitaker, Catherine O'Hara, Lauren Ambrose, Paul Dano, and Chris Cooper. They each have their own personality that compliments their physical and emotional characteristics.

Aside from the monsters, I was very impressed with Max. He is asked to do a very demanding thing: be a kid. That sounds easy, but it is very easily messed up. I'm interested in finding out how much freedom Jonze gave Records in certain scenes that called for him to go "wild". I can imagine directing young actors is not the easiest thing to do, but sometimes you catch a break when you get a talented one.

Giving life to these characters is a spectacular screenplay by Jonze and Dave Eggers (who wrote Away We Go). Their writing speaks to both kids and adults, using language that is meaningful and easy to understand. The things Max goes through every child feels growing up: loneliness, fear, belonging, etc.

There is so much to love about this movie. It speaks to the heart. But before you head out with the whole family, heed this warning. Some parts of this film might be too intense for younger audience members. Certain scene involving the monsters might be a bit too overwhelming. Yes, these monsters are friendly, but they are monsters, meaning they are large, intimidating, and somewhat scary.

Where the Wild Things Are will satisfy, entertain, and open your eyes. Spike Jonze poured everything he had into this film and the wait was well worth it. I hope you will fall under its spell just as I did.