A heartfelt expression of the blacks, whites, and greys of childhood emotions as Jonze understands it, and he does deserve credit for presenting them with an ugly realism.
Comment
11/28/09
Rate this Movie 
- Showtimes & Tickets
- Write a Review
- Read Reviews
- Add to List
- Get this Movie
- Buy Poster
- Visit Official Site
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
71
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:190
Fresh:134
Rotten:56
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: 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.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating]
Genre: Childrens
Theatrical Release:Oct 16, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $75,369,208
Synopsis: Innovative director Spike Jonze collaborates with celebrated author Maurice Sendak to bring one of the most beloved books of all time to the big screen in “Where the Wild Things Are,” a classic... [More]
Starring: Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener
Director: Spike Jonze
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "SAVE" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Reviews for Where the Wild Things Are
This film is not for me, but I do recognise its accomplishments and see how it appeals to the fan base, and how the young Max's journey connects with youngsters
11/28/09
A wildly mixed bag. With its mix of live action, computer animation and puppetry, there is plenty that is wonderful, yet there are some irritating aspects. Like the manic hand-held camera. However, young Max Records' performance is sensational
11/28/09
I think it's brave and smart and expects its audience to be the same: it refuses to spoonfeed what it's doing to anyone.
11/21/09
Wild Things might have been just another crass cartoon. Most filmmakers would have made the monsters' wild rumpus the film's raison d'être. Instead, Jonze and Eggers have crafted a poetic, personal interpretation.
11/20/09
Feelings of loss and frustration, acted out so loudly, raucously, and repeatedly, are at the center of Where the Wild Things Are.
11/19/09
Occasionally I will mitigate opinions when I reviewing a film I know carries an emotional charge for people... to impart a sense of fairness. This is not one of those times. Where The Wild Things Are made me want to punch someone in the face.
11/19/09
The emotionality that is aspired to doesn't rise to the occasion and leaves you as deprived of dramatic nourishment as the poor boy who went to bed without his supper.
11/15/09
Jonze creates perhaps the most artful film aimed at children since The Red Balloon, and one with unusually deep emotional resonance.
11/11/09
Jonze's choice to once again drain the color from the film and use hand-held camera amidst the surreal is what gives Where the Wild Things Are a strange naturalism different from all other films that tend to be aimed at children.
11/06/09
The book is about anger, while the film is as much about sadness. Here is a film broken-hearted over the messiness of the world. It is sad, and beautiful, and true.
11/06/09
When it's over you just want to sit there and sigh for awhile then go home and have a cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese and be tucked into bed and cry yourself to sleep. As long as mom is nearby.
11/03/09
Odd pacing nearly trips up Wild Things.
11/02/09
In many respects, a creative triumph. The film is visually stunning, and the writing is equally fresh.
10/31/09
What stays with you is the sadness. There's an almost unbearable undertow of melancholy in director Spike Jonze's awkward, arty adaptation of Maurice Sendak's 1963 picture book.
10/27/09
Jonze and Eggers do an admirable, and at times alchemic, job of transforming the slim volume into something decidedly weightier in terms of plot without sacrificing the essence of the book's focus on the darker edges of childhood
10/26/09
The fact that Jonze and Eggers are revealing so much of themselves in this emotionally crabbed tribute to the unending hell of childhood is itself reason to see the film.
10/26/09
They're all militantly dreary, like a Prozac-starved version of the seven dwarfs. (There's Lugubrious, Needy, Fretful, Disconsolate, Remorseful...)
10/26/09
Charming, affecting and heartbreaking. It could have gone wrong in any number of ways, but never does
10/25/09
An intimate epic, Jonze's film is nearly unique among modern kid fare for its total lack of condescension to the core audience.
10/25/09
Latest News for Where the Wild Things Are
November 29, 2009:
Win Tickets To Where the Wild Things Are
Here's your chance to win one of 40 double passes to Spike Jonze's long awaited adaptation of 'Where the Wild Things Are'. More...
November 22, 2009:
Win A Signed Where the Wild Things Are Poster
It's one of 2009's most anticipated films -- director Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's kids' classic, Where the Wild Things Are -- and it's almost, at long last,... More...
October 18, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Eat Up Wild Things
Three new releases hit the multiplexes while one indie sensation expands nationally hoping to strike gold and shake up the establishment. Leading the charge is the family film... More...
October 15, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Where the Wild Things Are Is A Wild Rumpus
This week, we've got a wild rumpus (Where the Wild Things Are, starring Max Records and Catherine Keener), a legal skirmish (Law Abiding Citizen, starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard... More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Animated Oscar?
Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.
TIME's Holiday Movie Preview
Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.
Scenic Routes
The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds