Where the Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are Image
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Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 329 Ratings

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  • Starring: , ,
  • Summary: The film tells the story of Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy who feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. Max lands on an island where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions. The Wild Things desperately long for a leader to guide them, just as Max longs for a kingdom to rule. When Max is crowned king, he promises to create a place where everyone will be happy. Max soon finds, though, that ruling his kingdom is not so easy and his relationships there prove to be more complicated than he originally thought. (Warner Bros.)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    100
    Jonze has filmed a fantasy as if it were absolutely real, allowing us to see the world as Max sees it, full of beauty and terror. The brilliant songs, by Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the Kids, enhance the film's power.
  2. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    100
    What he’s (Jonze) ended up with strikes me as one of the most empathic and psychologically acute of all movies about childhood -- a "Wizard of Oz" for the dysfunctional-family era.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Josh Modell
    91
    Spike Jonze has recently said in interviews that his chief goal ...was to try to capture the feeling of being 9. By that measure--by just about any measure, really--he succeeded wildly.
  4. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    75
    This version of Where the Wilds Things Are isn’t about childhood at all but about childhood’s end and what’s gained and lost by it. That’s why very young kids, dull Disney princesses, overprotective parents, and self-serious grown-ups should probably stay away.
  5. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    63
    To their credit, the creative team has retained the handmade look and unruly spirit of Maurice Sendak's bedtime fable; to their discredit, they haven't added enough narrative or emotional dimension to make it an effective movie.
  6. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    50
    In their overly earnest attempt to flesh Sendak’s story out to 100 minutes, Jonze and his co-screenwriter, novelist Dave Eggers, have laboriously spelled out motivations (divorce is bad!), elaborated back stories -- and added reams of less-than-inspired dialogue.
  7. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    40
    When faced as a director with the rudderless screenplay he (Jonze) co-wrote with Eggers, he's been powerless to energize it in any involving way. Sometimes you are better off with 10 sentences than tens of millions of dollars, and this is one of those times.

See all 37 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 107 out of 182
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 182
  3. Negative: 61 out of 182
  1. AnonymousMC
    Oct 16, 2009
    10
    Classic Spike Jonze, very complex, introspective, and dark at times but equally sweet and warm, captures very much more than any film I can remember what it was like to be kid and in the final years before adolescence, it takes every emotion children feel and takes it as seriously as they would and does this in an understated way more in creating a tone and atmosphere than overwrought melodrama.… Expand
  2. LucaT
    Oct 20, 2009
    10
    Not a kids movie, but a movie for the kid in us all. Every line of dialogue was reminiscent of being a kid, if not word for word interactions I've had in my own past. Never once does it coddle. A true exploration of the ups and downs of our own emotions. Reminds me of what it was like to be a kid.… Expand
  3. joe1975
    Aug 17, 2012
    10
    A stunning, emotional , well acted and written movie. Although im glad many others give it a 10 i would disagree with any that state it not a childrens movie. Its for everyone that is or has ever been a child, and certainly some children ( just like the " adults " hear giving well thought out 0 reviews ) will find it boring but some will love it. It has a certain look like no other film . Everyone has differnt opinions on everything in life so dont listen to the ( incorrect ) bad review....know what your getting into and just watch it. U could be missing out on one of your new favs :)… Expand
  4. FilFestuccia
    Sep 7, 2013
    7
    Slow pacing does not hinder this enchanting movie, a story so innocent and at the same time so dangerous one cannot help but wonder if director Spike Jonze is secretly a ten years old kid. The integration between costumes and CGI looks beautiful the Wild Things show real emotions and are never clumsy. At one point the movie starts going nowhere, but its delicate allegories and interesting look keep the attention up. Soundtrack is spot-on.… Expand
  5. Tubie
    Nov 2, 2010
    4
    If you are a fan of this book, or if your kids are just now becoming fans of the book, please do not let them watch this movie, it will ruin the book for them. This movie does no justice to it. The only way you could watch this movie and maybe enjoy it a bit is if you had nothing better to do and you rented this movie. Otherwise stay way.… Expand
  6. DavidS
    Mar 17, 2010
    2
    First: Why did so many reviewers suggest this might be a kids' movie? It's a kid's movie for your wounded inner child. Spike Jonze said he wanted to capture how it was to be nine years old. Well, he succeeded, and maybe that's why I hate this movie so much. Nine for me meant divorce, yelling parents, separation, uncertainty and anxiety. I read books like "Wild Things" to imagine a place beyond all that. But the stressful home Max leaves (like mine) is Oz compared to the mopey, violent, joyless land of emo muppets he lands on. There is nothing bright or delightful about this world or this movie and Max is never in command of anything, but always fearful and sad. And yes, that was my nine, but that doesn't mean it makes a good movie. Especially when nothing happens, and for a long time. Masking the misery with indie-star voices and achy hipster tunes doesn't make it gold. "Wild Things" is painful and boring.… Expand
  7. SawyerC.
    Oct 17, 2009
    0
    DEPRESSING! DARK! AWFUL!

See all 182 User Reviews

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