ie8 fix
  • Starring: Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Max Records
  • 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
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 37
  2. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. 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. Not since Robert Altman took on "Popeye" a generation ago, and lost, has a major director addressed such a well-loved, all-ages title. This time everything works, from tip to tail.
  3. Where the film falters is Jonze and novelist Dave Eggers' adaptation, which fails to invest this world with strong emotions.

See all 37 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 60 out of 176
  1. "Where the Wild Things Are" is a movie campier than its original book source, but director Spike Jonze successfully transfers the unbiased, pure perspective of a child (Max) to the audience. Expand
    • 3 of 3 users said yes
  2. 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
    • 2 of 3 users said yes
  3. TedD
    3
    I just saw the film, Where the Wild Things Are, last night. There were moments that I really liked in the film but even in those moments I felt frustrated in that the movies main character had never been fully develope much less a sense of exceptionality in his life experience. Even when I tried to appreciate the setting and creation of the wild animals I was aware of my boredom. And as to the insights into childhood, I found those self-indulgent. One scene stood out to me. Before running away, the boy stands on the kitchen table saying "Feed me woman" and asserts more than he knows only to find that he is more terrified with his mothers remark, "What is wrong with you? Maybe he knows in a post Freudian world living with a single Mom and watching his Mom flirting with her boyfriend. His answer is to set sail and find a new family where he can be King and in becoming King he becomes tamed. I like the insight but a whole film? Expand
    • 3 of 3 users said yes

See all 176 User Reviews

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