Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
84%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 7 wins & 54 nominations
Some may find its dark tone and slender narrative off-putting, but Spike Jonze’s heartfelt adaptation of the classic children’s book is as beautiful as it is uncompromising
Where the Wild Things Are” is a movie that will make you feel like a kid again, but not in a creepy way like when you try to fit into your old clothes from middle school. It’s a heartwarming and funny reminder of the power of imagination and the importance of facing your fears. Plus, the wild things are pretty cool looking, even if they do have some emotional baggage. Overall, it’s a great movie for anyone who wants to escape reality for a little while and remember what it’s like to be a kid.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Flinders, Victoria, Australia
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital SDDS DTS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 41m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 2009 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 2, 2010
Genre(s)
Fantasy/Adventure
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $100,140,916
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $138,405,834
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 874
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 15,093,330
US/Canada gross: $77,233,467
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $106,745,203
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 706
US/Canada opening weekend: $32,695,407
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $45,188,673
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 264
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $100,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $138,211,072
Production budget ranking: 250
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $74,426,662
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$74,231,901
ROI to date (est.): -35%
ROI ranking: 1,598
Max Records – Max
Mark Ruffalo – Boyfriend
James Gandolfini – Carol (Voice)
Lauren Ambrose – KW (Voice)
Chris Cooper – Douglas (Voice)
Director(s)
Spike Jonze
Writer(s)
Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers
Producer(s)
Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Maurice Sendak, John B. Carls, Vincent Landay
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
7 wins & 54 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (268) | Top Critics (75) | Fresh (195) | Rotten (73)
It’s a quiet reminder of the power of scary-ish stories, and it’s made with warmth, humor, and wisdom.
September 25, 2018
Alissa Wilkinson
Vox
TOP CRITIC
It is bewildering but not in an emotionally complex or troublesome way. It’s bewildering in a narratively confused, narratively lost, we-never-figured-out-what-we-wanted-all-this-extra-stuff-to-add-up-to sort of way.
August 30, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
The minus I give this children’s story pains me…If I had seen this film when I was eight, I would have been terrified.
January 17, 2018
Ed Koch
The Atlantic
TOP CRITIC
Distorts Sendak’s core emotional truths via rough-‘n’-tumble Jackass Jr. spectacle.
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 2/5
Keith Uhlich
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A film for anyone who’s ever climbed trees, grazed knees or basked in the comfort of a parent’s sympathy as they’ve pulled you off the ground crying. It’ll make your inner child run wild.
December 11, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
‘Where the Wild Things Are’ stands out for its unusually potent evocation of the timbre of childhood imagining, with its combination of the outré and the banal, grand schemes jumbled up with delicate feelings and the urge to smash things up.
December 11, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
Ben Walters
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
There’s plenty of amazing, surreal imagery and a brooding atmosphere, but little magic brightens this fantasy world.
November 29, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Where the Wild Things Are isn’t designed to distract children, but rather to celebrate them.
September 27, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
A moving, thoughtful look back at a time in our lives when we didn’t understand the way the world works.
October 11, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
A mood piece, a wholly transporting and wonderful film that exists in that special realm where the young and the young at heart meet.
June 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Here’s a film that manages to stay true to its roots, while expanding it into new depths that will surely please all the book’s fans.
May 11, 2019
Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News
It’s a brilliant film in how it gives our character an opportunity to confront himself and his mother and realize they are both imperfect but trying.
May 4, 2019 | Rating: A+
Rachel Wagner
rachelsreviews.net…
Plot
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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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