Where the Wild Things Are (film)
Encyclopedia
Where the Wild Things Are is a 2009 American fantasy drama film directed by Spike Jonze
and adapted from Maurice Sendak
's 1963 children's book Where the Wild Things Are
. It combines live action, performers in costumes
, animatronics
, and computer-generated imagery
(CGI). The film stars Max Records
, and features the voices of James Gandolfini
, Paul Dano
, Lauren Ambrose, Forest Whitaker
, Catherine O'Hara
and Chris Cooper
. The film centers around a lonely eight-year-old boy named Max who sails away to an island inhabited by creatures known as the "Wild Things", who declare Max their king.
In the early 1980s Disney
considered adapting the film as a blend of traditionally animated characters and computer-generated settings, but development did not go past a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would work out. In 2001, Universal Studios
acquired rights to the book's adaptation and initially attempted to develop a computer-animated adaptation with Disney animator Eric Goldberg
, but the animated version was replaced with a live-action concept in 2003, and Goldberg was dropped for Spike Jonze. The film was co-produced by actor Tom Hanks
through his production company Playtone
and made on an estimated budget of around $100,000,000.
The film was released on October 16, 2009, in the United States, and on December 11, 2009, in the United Kingdom. The film was met with mostly critical acclaim and appeared on many year-end top ten lists. The film was released to DVD and Blu-Ray disc on March 2, 2010.
), a lonely nine-year-old boy with an active imagination whose parents are divorced, wearing a wolf costume and chasing his dog. His older sister, Claire (Pepita Emmerichs), does nothing when her friends crush Max's snow fort
(with him inside) during a snowball fight. Out of frustration Max messes up her bedroom and destroys a frame that he had made for her. Max's teacher Mr. Elliot (Steve Mouzakis
) teaches him and his classmates about the eventual death of the sun. His mother, Connie (Catherine Keener
) invites her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo
) to dinner. Max becomes upset with his mother for not coming to the fort he made in his room. He wears his wolf costume, acts like an animal, and demands to be fed. When his mother gets upset, he throws a tantrum and bites her on the shoulder. She yells at him and he runs away, scared by what transpired. At the edge of a pond Max finds a small boat that he boards.
The pond becomes an ocean. Max reaches an island. Still in his wolf costume, he stumbles upon a group of seven large, monstrous creatures. One of them, Carol, is in the middle of a destructive tantrum caused by his girlfriend, a female wild thing named "K.W.", leaving while the others attempt to stop him. As Carol wreaks havoc Max tries to join the mayhem, but soon finds himself facing the suspicious anger of the Wild Things. When they contemplate eating him, Max convinces them that he is a "great king with magical powers" capable of bringing harmony to the group. They crown him as their king. Shortly after, K.W. arrives, and Max declares a "wild rumpus", in which the Wild Things smash trees and tackle each other.
The Wild Things introduce themselves as Carol, Ira, Judith, Alexander, Douglas, Bernard and K.W., piling on one another before going to sleep, with Max at the center. Carol takes Max on a tour of the island, showing him a model Carol built depicting what he wishes the island looked like. Inspired by this, Max orders the construction of an enormous fort, with Carol in charge of construction. As Max bonds with Carol, K.W. brings her two friends Bob and Terry - owls - to the fort. Disagreement ensues as Carol feels the togetherness of their group is threatened by the outsiders
. To release their frustrations Max divides the tribe into "good guys" and "bad guys" for a dirt-clod fight, but Alexander is hurt during the game. Tension mounts between the Wild Things as it becomes obvious Max favors some of the Wild Things over others. After an argument between K.W. and Carol, K.W. leaves.
Max finds Alexander alone in the fort and has a conversation with him. Alexander reveals that he always suspected that Max is not a king with magical powers, but warns him to never let Carol know. Max's secret is exposed when Carol throws another tantrum and Douglas tries to make him accept the fact that Max was never a king. Carol becomes enraged. Then he chases Max into the forest and threatens to eat him. Max is saved by K.W., who hides him in her stomach. Carol and K.W. have an argument over Carol's misbehavior. After Carol leaves, K.W. explains that their lives are difficult, with Carol's tantrums making things worse. Max realizes what his mother is going through, and decides to leave the island.
Max finds the crushed remains of Carol's model island, and leaves a token of affection for him to find. He finds Carol and tells him he is going home because he is not a king. The other Wild Things escort Max to his boat. Carol runs to join them after finding Max's token, and arrives in time to see him off. He starts to howl and Max howls back, and then all the other Wild Things join in. Carol looks at K.W. and she smiles kindly at him, as a sign of rekindled love between her and Carol. Returning home, Max is embraced by his distraught mother, who gives him a bowl of hot soup, a glass of milk and a piece of cake and sits with him as he eats. He watches as she falls fast asleep.
and John Lasseter
(who later moved on to Pixar
) had completed a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would work out, but the project proceeded no further.
Universal Studios
acquired rights to the book's adaptation in 2001 and initially attempted to develop a computer-animated adaptation with Disney animator Eric Goldberg
, but in 2003 the cartoon version was replaced with a live-action concept and Goldberg was dropped for Spike Jonze.
After years of interest from various producers, Sendak favored Spike Jonze
as director, noting he was "young, interesting and had a spark that none of the others had." The film was originally set for release from Universal
, and a teaser of the film was attached to the studio's 2000 adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Disagreements between Universal and Sendak over Jonze's approach to the story led to a turnaround arrangement where the film's production was transferred to Warner Bros.
In 2005, Jonze and Dave Eggers
completed a 111-page screenplay, expanding the original ten-sentence story. On July 8, 2006, production began open auditions for the role of Max. The process took months, but, eventually Max Records
was cast. Academy Award-winning make-up effects supervisor Howard Berger (The Chronicles of Narnia
) turned down offers to work on the film four times. Although the book inspired him as a child to work in special effects, he felt filming it was a "horrible idea." Jim Henson's Creature Shop
provided the animatronic suits for the Wild Things.
Filming began in April 2006 at Docklands Studios Melbourne
in Melbourne
, Australia
. According to Jonze, most of the film was shot with a handheld camera in order to complement the "evocative" "other-worldly" feel of the film. Adam Keenan and John Nolan are responsible for the animatronics. Jonze kept in close consultation with Sendak throughout the process, and the author approved creature designs created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. To make the set a more comfortable environment for child actor Max Records, Jonze encouraged the crew members to bring their children to the set. Some of them can be seen in the film's classroom scene.
Michelle Williams
was originally cast as the female Wild Thing, K.W., only to leave the project after her voice "didn't match the original vision of how the Wild Thing should sound". She was replaced by Lauren Ambrose, and filming continued.
In 2008, test footage was leaked onto the internet leading to mixed reactions. Jonze responded, "That was a very early test with the sole purpose of just getting some footage to Ben, our VFX supervisor, to see if our VFX plan for the faces would work." Following early fan outcry over the leaked video and rumored "scared children" in test audiences, Warner Bros. announced a year-long delay. On February 20, 2008, speculation emerged that Warner Bros. was considering reshooting the entire film.
WB president Alan F. Horn
responded, "We've given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film. We'd like to find a common ground that represents Spike's vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we're just trying to get it right." Producer Gary Goetzman followed, "We support Spike's vision. We're helping him make the vision he wants to make."
At the end of 2008 Spike got together with Framestore in London to complete his movie and work with them to bring to life the performances through their animation and visual effects team. Over the course of the next six months Spike spent time with the animators on the floor of the studio as they worked together to realise his intention for the performances that had started many years before with the voices, continued with the suit performances in Australia, and were completed in London's Soho.
There were fears, expressed by production company Warner Bros.
, that the film was not family friendly and may frighten children; however these fears were not shared by either Jonze or Sendak, and Jonze refused to compromise.
Maurice Sendak
said after having seen a completed cut of the film, "I've never seen a movie that looked or felt like this. And it's [Spike Jonze's] personal 'this.' And he's not afraid of himself. He's a real artist that lets it come through in the work. So he's touched me. He's touched me very much."
After seeing the finished product, a Warner Bros. executive stated, "He's (Jonze) a perfectionist and just kept working on it, but now we know that at the end of the day he nailed it."
It was released in Russia on February 4, 2010.
The film was released in North America in both conventional and IMAX
theaters on October 16, 2009. Early Friday box office estimates show the film earned about $32.7 million on its opening weekend in theaters. It grossed $77.2 million during its theatrical run in the U.S. and Canada plus $22.8 million internationally
from 230 reviews with an average score of 7/10. On the 'Top Critics' section of Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 68% "Fresh" Rating.
Review aggregation website Metacritic
gave the film an average score of 71% based on 36 reviews.
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly
gave the film an A declaring "This is one of the year's best." Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote that Spike Jonze's "filmmaking exceeds anything he’s done" before, while also noting the imaginative visuals and otherworldly feel, along with the fantastic creature effects on the "Wild Things".
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone gave the film four stars saying, "For all the money spent, the film's success is best measured by its simplicity and the purity of its innovation."
Roger Ebert
gave the movie three stars out of four.
Some critics have noted the dark adaptation for children, such as David Denby
from The New Yorker
saying, "I have a vision of eight-year-olds leaving the movie in bewilderment. Why are the creatures so unhappy?"
Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com
criticized the film's visual aspect claiming, "Even the look of the picture becomes tiresome after a while — it starts to seem depressive and shaggy and tired." and complained, "The movie is so loaded with adult ideas about childhood — as opposed to things that might delight or engage an actual child."
The Globe and Mail
s Liam Lacey branded the production a "self-consciously sad film."
Critic A.O. Scott placed the film at number five on his list of top ten movies of the decade.
in the United States assessed a PG rating "for mild thematic elements, some adventure action, and brief language". A PG rating was also declared in the United Kingdom by BBFC
, citing "mild threat and brief violence". In Canada, the film also received a PG rating in Ontario with an alert for frightening scenes while Quebec awarded a General rating. British Columbia also assessed the film with a G rating with a proviso that it "may frighten young children". In the Republic of Ireland the film has been classified PG because of what is claimed as having "mild" violence Similarly in South Africa, the film received a PG rating with a consumer content Violence indicator, noting there were "moments of mildish menace and poignant themes." Australia also applied a PG rating to the film and noted "mild violence and scary scenes".
The movie's release generated conflicting views over whether it is harmful to expose children to frightening scenes. Jonze indicated that his goal was "to make a movie about childhood" rather than to create a children's movie. Dan Fellman, Warner Brothers' head of movie distribution, noted that the film's promotion was not directed towards children, advising parents to exercise their own discretion. In an interview with Newsweek, Sendak felt that parents who deemed the film's content to be too disturbing for children should "go to hell. That's a question I will not tolerate" and he further noted "I saw the most horrendous movies that were unfit for child's eyes. So what? I managed to survive."
/Digital copy
combo pack and on DVD on March 2, 2010. The home media release was accompanied by a Canadian-produced live-action/animated short film
adaptation of another Sendak work, Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
, produced especially for the Blu-ray edition.
, Xbox 360
, Wii
, and Nintendo DS
. The former three were developed by Griptonite Games
, and the latter by WayForward
. All were published by Warner Bros. Games.
, Arcade Fire provided a re-recorded version of the track "Wake Up
" from their album Funeral
.
The new version is not featured in the actual movie or the soundtrack.
During the film various songs can be heard such as "Hidaway", "Rumpus", "Worried Shoes" and "All is Love" by "Karen O and the Kids".
(which Jonze co-owns) came out with seven pro-model skateboards with the Wild Things as the board graphics. Lakai
shoes also re-designed most of their pro-model and stock shoes and added in different colors, adding in pictures of the Wild Things on the side and on others with Where the Wild Things Are printed on the side.
UGG Australia
also designed limited edition Where The Wild Things Are boots.
published The Wild Things
, a full-length novel based on the film adaptation.
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
and adapted from Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.-Early life:...
's 1963 children's book Where the Wild Things Are
Where The Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several times, including an animated short in 1973 , a 1980 opera, and, in 2009, a live-action feature film...
. It combines live action, performers in costumes
Suitmation
is a term originally used in Japan for a tokusatsu technique to portray a daikaiju using a suit actor in a monster suit.The term can be used when puppet does not apply, since the puppet is being worn by an actor, and when costume does not apply, since the costume is also being controlled by a...
, animatronics
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
, and computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
(CGI). The film stars Max Records
Max Records
Maxwell Records is an American child actor. Records is most notable for the role of Max in the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are. His earlier experiences in film include a minor role in Directions: The Plans Video Album, and an appearance in the music video for Cake's cover of "The Guitar Man"...
, and features the voices of James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
, Paul Dano
Paul Dano
Paul Franklin Dano is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films such as L.I.E. , The Girl Next Door , Little Miss Sunshine , There Will Be Blood , and Where the Wild Things Are .-Early life:Dano was born in New York City, the son of Gladys and Paul Dano...
, Lauren Ambrose, Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
, Catherine O'Hara
Catherine O'Hara
Catherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest...
and Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper (actor)
Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
. The film centers around a lonely eight-year-old boy named Max who sails away to an island inhabited by creatures known as the "Wild Things", who declare Max their king.
In the early 1980s Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
considered adapting the film as a blend of traditionally animated characters and computer-generated settings, but development did not go past a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would work out. In 2001, Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
acquired rights to the book's adaptation and initially attempted to develop a computer-animated adaptation with Disney animator Eric Goldberg
Eric Goldberg (film director)
Eric Goldberg is an American animator and film director. He is best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He's also well known as the creator of Disney character Genie in Aladdin...
, but the animated version was replaced with a live-action concept in 2003, and Goldberg was dropped for Spike Jonze. The film was co-produced by actor Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
through his production company Playtone
Playtone
The Playtone Company is an American film and television production company and record label established in 1996 by actor Tom Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman....
and made on an estimated budget of around $100,000,000.
The film was released on October 16, 2009, in the United States, and on December 11, 2009, in the United Kingdom. The film was met with mostly critical acclaim and appeared on many year-end top ten lists. The film was released to DVD and Blu-Ray disc on March 2, 2010.
Plot
The film begins with Max (Max RecordsMax Records
Maxwell Records is an American child actor. Records is most notable for the role of Max in the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are. His earlier experiences in film include a minor role in Directions: The Plans Video Album, and an appearance in the music video for Cake's cover of "The Guitar Man"...
), a lonely nine-year-old boy with an active imagination whose parents are divorced, wearing a wolf costume and chasing his dog. His older sister, Claire (Pepita Emmerichs), does nothing when her friends crush Max's snow fort
Snow fort
A snow fort or snow castle is a usually open-topped temporary structure made of snow walls that is used for recreational purposes. Snow forts are generally built by children as a playground game or winter pastime and are used as defensive structures in snowball fights...
(with him inside) during a snowball fight. Out of frustration Max messes up her bedroom and destroys a frame that he had made for her. Max's teacher Mr. Elliot (Steve Mouzakis
Steve Mouzakis
Steve Mouzakis is an Australian actor who has had numerous television and film roles. He is best known for his roles as Theo Kallergis in Blue Heelers, Paolo in The Secret Life of Us and Rolf in Very Small Business.-External links:...
) teaches him and his classmates about the eventual death of the sun. His mother, Connie (Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
) invites her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...
) to dinner. Max becomes upset with his mother for not coming to the fort he made in his room. He wears his wolf costume, acts like an animal, and demands to be fed. When his mother gets upset, he throws a tantrum and bites her on the shoulder. She yells at him and he runs away, scared by what transpired. At the edge of a pond Max finds a small boat that he boards.
The pond becomes an ocean. Max reaches an island. Still in his wolf costume, he stumbles upon a group of seven large, monstrous creatures. One of them, Carol, is in the middle of a destructive tantrum caused by his girlfriend, a female wild thing named "K.W.", leaving while the others attempt to stop him. As Carol wreaks havoc Max tries to join the mayhem, but soon finds himself facing the suspicious anger of the Wild Things. When they contemplate eating him, Max convinces them that he is a "great king with magical powers" capable of bringing harmony to the group. They crown him as their king. Shortly after, K.W. arrives, and Max declares a "wild rumpus", in which the Wild Things smash trees and tackle each other.
The Wild Things introduce themselves as Carol, Ira, Judith, Alexander, Douglas, Bernard and K.W., piling on one another before going to sleep, with Max at the center. Carol takes Max on a tour of the island, showing him a model Carol built depicting what he wishes the island looked like. Inspired by this, Max orders the construction of an enormous fort, with Carol in charge of construction. As Max bonds with Carol, K.W. brings her two friends Bob and Terry - owls - to the fort. Disagreement ensues as Carol feels the togetherness of their group is threatened by the outsiders
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
. To release their frustrations Max divides the tribe into "good guys" and "bad guys" for a dirt-clod fight, but Alexander is hurt during the game. Tension mounts between the Wild Things as it becomes obvious Max favors some of the Wild Things over others. After an argument between K.W. and Carol, K.W. leaves.
Max finds Alexander alone in the fort and has a conversation with him. Alexander reveals that he always suspected that Max is not a king with magical powers, but warns him to never let Carol know. Max's secret is exposed when Carol throws another tantrum and Douglas tries to make him accept the fact that Max was never a king. Carol becomes enraged. Then he chases Max into the forest and threatens to eat him. Max is saved by K.W., who hides him in her stomach. Carol and K.W. have an argument over Carol's misbehavior. After Carol leaves, K.W. explains that their lives are difficult, with Carol's tantrums making things worse. Max realizes what his mother is going through, and decides to leave the island.
Max finds the crushed remains of Carol's model island, and leaves a token of affection for him to find. He finds Carol and tells him he is going home because he is not a king. The other Wild Things escort Max to his boat. Carol runs to join them after finding Max's token, and arrives in time to see him off. He starts to howl and Max howls back, and then all the other Wild Things join in. Carol looks at K.W. and she smiles kindly at him, as a sign of rekindled love between her and Carol. Returning home, Max is embraced by his distraught mother, who gives him a bowl of hot soup, a glass of milk and a piece of cake and sits with him as he eats. He watches as she falls fast asleep.
Cast
- Max RecordsMax RecordsMaxwell Records is an American child actor. Records is most notable for the role of Max in the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are. His earlier experiences in film include a minor role in Directions: The Plans Video Album, and an appearance in the music video for Cake's cover of "The Guitar Man"...
as Max - James GandolfiniJames GandolfiniJames J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
as Carol, an impulsive Wild Thing - Lauren Ambrose as K.W., the loner of the group, and Carol's girlfriend
- Chris CooperChris Cooper (actor)Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
as Douglas, a bird-like peace-keeper who is Carol's best friend - Forest WhitakerForest WhitakerForest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
as Ira, a gentle-speaking pushover - Catherine O'HaraCatherine O'HaraCatherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest...
as Judith, Ira's aggressive girlfriend - Paul DanoPaul DanoPaul Franklin Dano is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films such as L.I.E. , The Girl Next Door , Little Miss Sunshine , There Will Be Blood , and Where the Wild Things Are .-Early life:Dano was born in New York City, the son of Gladys and Paul Dano...
as Alexander, a goat-like Wild Thing who is constantly ignored, belittled, and mistreated - Michael Berry, Jr. as The Bull, a quiet and intimidating beast who keeps to himself and rarely speaks
- Catherine KeenerCatherine KeenerCatherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
as Connie, Max's mother - Pepita Emmerichs as Claire, Max's sister
- Mark RuffaloMark RuffaloMark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...
as Connie's boyfriend - Steve MouzakisSteve MouzakisSteve Mouzakis is an Australian actor who has had numerous television and film roles. He is best known for his roles as Theo Kallergis in Blue Heelers, Paolo in The Secret Life of Us and Rolf in Very Small Business.-External links:...
as Mr. Elliott, Max's teacher
Suit performers
- Vincent Crowley as Carol
- Alice Parkinson and Garon Michael as K.W.
- John Leary as Douglas
- Sam Longley as Ira
- Nick Farnell as Judith
- Sonny Gerasimowicz as Alexander
- Angus SampsonAngus SampsonAngus Murray Lincoln Sampson is an Australian actor, voice-over artist, director and writer based in Los Angeles and Melbourne.-Early life:Sampson was born in Sydney, Australia. A former ward of the state, he was educated at the Trinity Grammar School in Sydney prior to winning a place at The...
and Mark McCrackenMark McCrackenMark McCracken is an American actor.McCracken was born in Greensboro, North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He appeared in the films We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson, Joe Dante's horror/comedy Matinee, and also portrayed Pumpkinhead in Pumpkinhead II: Blood...
as The Bull
Production
Where the Wild Things Are started its development life in the early 1980s, originally to be an animated feature by Disney that would have blended traditionally animated characters with computer-generated settings. Animators Glen KeaneGlen Keane
Glen Keane is an American animator, author, illustrator and director. Keane is best known for his character animation at Walt Disney Studios for feature films including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, and Tangled...
and John Lasseter
John Lasseter
John Alan Lasseter is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering....
(who later moved on to Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
) had completed a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would work out, but the project proceeded no further.
Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
acquired rights to the book's adaptation in 2001 and initially attempted to develop a computer-animated adaptation with Disney animator Eric Goldberg
Eric Goldberg (film director)
Eric Goldberg is an American animator and film director. He is best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He's also well known as the creator of Disney character Genie in Aladdin...
, but in 2003 the cartoon version was replaced with a live-action concept and Goldberg was dropped for Spike Jonze.
After years of interest from various producers, Sendak favored Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
as director, noting he was "young, interesting and had a spark that none of the others had." The film was originally set for release from Universal
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, and a teaser of the film was attached to the studio's 2000 adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Disagreements between Universal and Sendak over Jonze's approach to the story led to a turnaround arrangement where the film's production was transferred to Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
In 2005, Jonze and Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
completed a 111-page screenplay, expanding the original ten-sentence story. On July 8, 2006, production began open auditions for the role of Max. The process took months, but, eventually Max Records
Max Records
Maxwell Records is an American child actor. Records is most notable for the role of Max in the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are. His earlier experiences in film include a minor role in Directions: The Plans Video Album, and an appearance in the music video for Cake's cover of "The Guitar Man"...
was cast. Academy Award-winning make-up effects supervisor Howard Berger (The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia (film series)
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of English fantasy films from Walden Media that are based on The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of novels written by C. S. Lewis...
) turned down offers to work on the film four times. Although the book inspired him as a child to work in special effects, he felt filming it was a "horrible idea." Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets, and Frank Oz.It was originally created as a result of the observation that the team that had been put together for The Dark Crystal was extremely hard to recreate for Labyrinth, since the...
provided the animatronic suits for the Wild Things.
Filming began in April 2006 at Docklands Studios Melbourne
Docklands Studios Melbourne
Docklands Studios Melbourne is a major movie and film complex located in Melbourne’s redeveloped docklands precinct. The studios opened their doors in 2004 under the former name . The site is located approximately 1.5 km from the city of Melbourne’s Central Business District...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. According to Jonze, most of the film was shot with a handheld camera in order to complement the "evocative" "other-worldly" feel of the film. Adam Keenan and John Nolan are responsible for the animatronics. Jonze kept in close consultation with Sendak throughout the process, and the author approved creature designs created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. To make the set a more comfortable environment for child actor Max Records, Jonze encouraged the crew members to bring their children to the set. Some of them can be seen in the film's classroom scene.
Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams (actress)
Michelle Ingrid Williams is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003...
was originally cast as the female Wild Thing, K.W., only to leave the project after her voice "didn't match the original vision of how the Wild Thing should sound". She was replaced by Lauren Ambrose, and filming continued.
In 2008, test footage was leaked onto the internet leading to mixed reactions. Jonze responded, "That was a very early test with the sole purpose of just getting some footage to Ben, our VFX supervisor, to see if our VFX plan for the faces would work." Following early fan outcry over the leaked video and rumored "scared children" in test audiences, Warner Bros. announced a year-long delay. On February 20, 2008, speculation emerged that Warner Bros. was considering reshooting the entire film.
WB president Alan F. Horn
Alan F. Horn
Alan F. Horn is the President & COO of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Horn also sits on the board of directors of Univision.Prior to Warner Bros., Horn served in various positions at 20th Century Fox and at Norman Lear's television production company, Tandem Productions...
responded, "We've given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film. We'd like to find a common ground that represents Spike's vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we're just trying to get it right." Producer Gary Goetzman followed, "We support Spike's vision. We're helping him make the vision he wants to make."
At the end of 2008 Spike got together with Framestore in London to complete his movie and work with them to bring to life the performances through their animation and visual effects team. Over the course of the next six months Spike spent time with the animators on the floor of the studio as they worked together to realise his intention for the performances that had started many years before with the voices, continued with the suit performances in Australia, and were completed in London's Soho.
There were fears, expressed by production company Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, that the film was not family friendly and may frighten children; however these fears were not shared by either Jonze or Sendak, and Jonze refused to compromise.
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.-Early life:...
said after having seen a completed cut of the film, "I've never seen a movie that looked or felt like this. And it's [Spike Jonze's] personal 'this.' And he's not afraid of himself. He's a real artist that lets it come through in the work. So he's touched me. He's touched me very much."
After seeing the finished product, a Warner Bros. executive stated, "He's (Jonze) a perfectionist and just kept working on it, but now we know that at the end of the day he nailed it."
Release and reception
International release
Internationally, the film was released in Australia on December 4, 2009; in the UK and the Republic of Ireland on December 11, 2009; and in Germany on December 17, 2009.It was released in Russia on February 4, 2010.
Box office
The studio decided not to position the film as a children's movie and spent 70% of the advertising on broad-based and adult-driven promotion.The film was released in North America in both conventional and IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theaters on October 16, 2009. Early Friday box office estimates show the film earned about $32.7 million on its opening weekend in theaters. It grossed $77.2 million during its theatrical run in the U.S. and Canada plus $22.8 million internationally
Critical response
Reception to the film has been generally favorable. The film holds a 73% "Fresh" rating on review website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
from 230 reviews with an average score of 7/10. On the 'Top Critics' section of Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 68% "Fresh" Rating.
Review aggregation website Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the film an average score of 71% based on 36 reviews.
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the film an A declaring "This is one of the year's best." Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote that Spike Jonze's "filmmaking exceeds anything he’s done" before, while also noting the imaginative visuals and otherworldly feel, along with the fantastic creature effects on the "Wild Things".
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone gave the film four stars saying, "For all the money spent, the film's success is best measured by its simplicity and the purity of its innovation."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the movie three stars out of four.
Some critics have noted the dark adaptation for children, such as David Denby
David Denby (film critic)
David Denby is an American journalist, best known as a film critic for The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A...
from The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
saying, "I have a vision of eight-year-olds leaving the movie in bewilderment. Why are the creatures so unhappy?"
Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
criticized the film's visual aspect claiming, "Even the look of the picture becomes tiresome after a while — it starts to seem depressive and shaggy and tired." and complained, "The movie is so loaded with adult ideas about childhood — as opposed to things that might delight or engage an actual child."
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
s Liam Lacey branded the production a "self-consciously sad film."
Critic A.O. Scott placed the film at number five on his list of top ten movies of the decade.
Awards and recognition
Warner Bros. submitted the film for consideration for the 2009 award season.Top ten lists
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2009.- 1st – A.O. Scott, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- 1st – Tasha Robinson, The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
- 1st – Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleThe Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
- 2nd – Michael Phillips, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
- 3rd – Keith Phipps, The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
- 3rd – Joe Neumaier, New York Daily NewsNew York Daily NewsThe Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
- 4th – Kimberly Jones, Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleThe Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
- 5th – Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
- 5th – Mike Scott, New Orleans Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Times-PicayuneThe Times-Picayune is a daily newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.-History:Established as The Picayune in 1837 by Francis Lumsden and George Wilkins Kendall, the paper's initial price was one picayune—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ .Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the...
- 6th – Peter Travers, Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
- 8th – Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly (tied with Fantastic Mr. FoxFantastic Mr. Fox (film)Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American stop-motion animated film based on the Roald Dahl children's novel of the same name. This story is about a fox who steals food each night from three mean and wealthy farmers. The farmers are fed up with Mr Fox's theft and try to kill him, so they dig their way...
) - 9th – Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
- 9th – Dan Jolin, EmpireEmpire (magazine)Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
- 10th – Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
- No Order – Manohla Dargis, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Suitability for children
Film classification agencies have tended to assign "parental guidance" ratings rather than general or family ratings. MPAAMotion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
in the United States assessed a PG rating "for mild thematic elements, some adventure action, and brief language". A PG rating was also declared in the United Kingdom by BBFC
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
, citing "mild threat and brief violence". In Canada, the film also received a PG rating in Ontario with an alert for frightening scenes while Quebec awarded a General rating. British Columbia also assessed the film with a G rating with a proviso that it "may frighten young children". In the Republic of Ireland the film has been classified PG because of what is claimed as having "mild" violence Similarly in South Africa, the film received a PG rating with a consumer content Violence indicator, noting there were "moments of mildish menace and poignant themes." Australia also applied a PG rating to the film and noted "mild violence and scary scenes".
The movie's release generated conflicting views over whether it is harmful to expose children to frightening scenes. Jonze indicated that his goal was "to make a movie about childhood" rather than to create a children's movie. Dan Fellman, Warner Brothers' head of movie distribution, noted that the film's promotion was not directed towards children, advising parents to exercise their own discretion. In an interview with Newsweek, Sendak felt that parents who deemed the film's content to be too disturbing for children should "go to hell. That's a question I will not tolerate" and he further noted "I saw the most horrendous movies that were unfit for child's eyes. So what? I managed to survive."
Home media
The film was released as a Blu-Ray/DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
/Digital copy
Digital copy
Digital Copy provides consumers who purchase a film on DVD or Blu-ray Disc with an additional, digital copy of the movie for devices capable of operating with a file in contrast to a DVD.-Features:...
combo pack and on DVD on March 2, 2010. The home media release was accompanied by a Canadian-produced live-action/animated short film
Live-action/animated film
A live-action/animated film is a motion picture that features a combination of real actors or elements: live-action and animated elements, typically interacting.-History:...
adaptation of another Sendak work, Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life is a 2010 live-action/animated short film about the fictional adventures of Maurice Sendak's pet dog Jennie, based on his 1967 children's book of the same name...
, produced especially for the Blu-ray edition.
Video game
A video game based on the film was released on October 13, 2009 for the PlayStation 3PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. The former three were developed by Griptonite Games
Griptonite Games
Griptonite Games, is an American video game developer developer located in Kirkland, Washington. It is currently wholly owned by Glu Mobile, but was formerly a part of super-developer Foundation 9 Entertainment, where it was previously a studio of Amaze Entertainment.-History:Steve Ettinger opened...
, and the latter by WayForward
WayForward Technologies
WayForward Technologies is a game development company based in Valencia, California. Founded in 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis, as well as TV games and PC educational...
. All were published by Warner Bros. Games.
Music
For the film's trailerTrailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
, Arcade Fire provided a re-recorded version of the track "Wake Up
Wake Up (Arcade Fire song)
"Wake Up" is an indie rock song by Canadian rock band Arcade Fire. It was the fifth and final single released from the band's debut album, Funeral. The single was released as a one-sided 7" vinyl record on November 14, 2005.-Reception:...
" from their album Funeral
Funeral (album)
Funeral is the debut full-length album by the Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on September 14, 2004 in North America by Merge Records and on February 28, 2005 in Europe by Rough Trade Records...
.
The new version is not featured in the actual movie or the soundtrack.
During the film various songs can be heard such as "Hidaway", "Rumpus", "Worried Shoes" and "All is Love" by "Karen O and the Kids".
Skateboards and limited edition shoes
To coincide with the film's release, Girl SkateboardsGirl Skateboards
The Girl Distribution Company is a skateboarding distribution company based in Torrance, California, which houses several companies including Girl Skateboards, Chocolate Skateboards, Royal Skateboard Trucks, and Fourstar Clothing....
(which Jonze co-owns) came out with seven pro-model skateboards with the Wild Things as the board graphics. Lakai
Lakai Limited Footwear
Lakai Footwear Limited is a footwear company based in Torrance, California that creates shoes designed for and inspired by skateboarding. Lakai was founded by professional skateboarders and Girl Skateboards co-founders Mike Carroll and Rick Howard in 1999...
shoes also re-designed most of their pro-model and stock shoes and added in different colors, adding in pictures of the Wild Things on the side and on others with Where the Wild Things Are printed on the side.
UGG Australia
Ugg Australia
UGG Australia is an American footwear company and is a division of the Deckers Outdoor Corporation, Goleta, California.UGG Australia footwear is manufactured in China....
also designed limited edition Where The Wild Things Are boots.
Toys
A series of collectible vinyl dolls of the Wild Things and Max was released from the Japanese company MediCom Toys. Other releases include an eight-inch articulated figure of Max in wolf costume and smaller scale sets of the characters released under their Kubrick figure banner.Novelization
Dave EggersDave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
published The Wild Things
The Wild Things
The Wild Things is a 2009 full length novel written by Dave Eggers and published by McSweeney's. The book is based on the screenplay of Where the Wild Things Are which Eggers co-wrote...
, a full-length novel based on the film adaptation.