Reel Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Reels
MPAA Rating: PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language
Released in Theaters: Oct. 16, 2009
Genre: Fantasy, Children, Based on a Book
Runtime: 94 minutes
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Cast: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Paul Dano, Chris Cooper, Lauren Ambrose
Sex/Nudity: Max’s divorced mom has a man over for dinner; they kiss and drink wine while Max watches from outside the room.
Violence/Gore: Max acts out, trashes his sister’s room, yells at his mom and bites her, and runs away. On the island, Carol also acts out, burns the creatures’ homes and acts menacingly at one point. There’s talk of the creatures eating Max and other visitors. A “dirt-clod war” gets intense, with some characters ending up injured. There’s also a playful rumpus where characters are tossed willy-nilly into the air, trees knocked over, etc. On his way there, a storm comes up and Max falls into the water and struggles for a brief time until he reaches shore.
Profanity: Includes occasional mild language, including “damn,” “hell,” “God,” and insults like “stupid.”
Which Kids Will Like It? Kids eight and older who like fantasy tales, or who’ve read the book by Maurice Sendak.
Will Parents Like It? It’s somewhat intense for a PG movie, and definitely not for kids younger than eight. I actually think this movie is more geared for adults who read the book when they were younger.
Review: I may be one of the few people who hasn’t read the book by Maurice Sendak on which this movie is based. Or if I did, it was so long ago, I don’t remember it. At any rate, I liked the movie, not so much for the storyline, but for the incredible cinematography and CG animation of the Wild Things. They’re so expressive, and your eyes are just affixed to the screen every time they’re on. As for the storyline …
It follows a boy named Max (Max Records) who’s having some issues in life. He has a big imagination, but seems to have no friends. When his older sister Claire’s friends cave in Max’s snow fort, he bursts into tears, but they only drive away, and Claire (Pepita Emmerich) does nothing to help Max feel better.
Meanwhile, Max’s divorced mom (Catherine Keener) is seeing a guy (Mark Ruffalo, who so deserves more than 20 seconds of screen time), but Max is in no way onboard with this idea. Before dinner one night, he acts up, stands on top of the counter, yells at his mom and even succeeds in biting her. I was thinking at the time that she needs to get a better handle on this kid. But she seems to have no control over him at all, and he runs off into the night, embarks on a journey across the sea, and lands on a distant island inhabited by all these “Wild Things,” where he’s crowned “King.”
Whether all of this takes place in Max’s mind, or whether it really happens, it’s not clear in the movie. I mean, it’s a fantasy movie, so anything could happen, but I got the feeling that he must have fallen asleep somewhere after he ran away, and the creatures represented what was going on in his mind.
At any rate, the Wild Things are these fantastical creatures, rather large with large heads and, in some instances, large bodies, too. They have their own hierarchical system: insecure Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) is sort of the leader. (All I could think whenever I heard his voice was, “There’s Tony Soprano.”) Then there’s sarcastic Judith (Catherine O’Hara), sweet Ira (Forest Whitaker), misunderstood Alexander (Paul Dano), loving KW (Lauren Ambrose), wise Douglas (Chris Cooper), and The Bull (Michael Berry, Jr.). There’s some politics going on in the group, and they don’t all behave well.
So, my feeling is that Max created these creatures in his head, based on toys and things in his room, in order to deal with all the stuff in his life.
The story sort of meanders a bit; the creatures have little fall-outs and make-ups, and, like Max, Carol ends up being an emotional mess (really, both of these characters would probably benefit from a good therapist). As mentioned, for me the best part of this movie is the beautiful CG animation of the Wild Things. Their big faces are so expressive, and the lighting and settings (filmed in Australia) are simply gorgeous.
As for what ages this movie is appropriate for, there are a few scenes that might be scary for young kids: when Max gets out of control at his home, he trashes his sister’s room and yells at his mom, who angrily tries to grab him, but he gets out the door and runs down a dark street, leaving her calling for him.
When Carol gets out of control in the fantasy world, he smashes things, burns things and the whole group participates in an intense dirt-clod “war,” in which some characters are injured. There’s also a more playful scene where trees are uprooted and characters are launched to and fro. And on his way to the island, Max travels through a storm and falls into the water before making his way to shore.
Overall, even with the gorgeous landscape, Where the Wild Things Are is a bit dark and violent for very young kids. For all of these reasons, I think the movie is appropriate for ages eight and older.
Jane Boursaw is a family entertainment writer specializing in movies and TV. Visit her at Reel Life With Jane; follow her on Twitter; become a friend on Facebook; email jboursaw@charter.net.
