It's also too adult in its concerns to be fully understood by most children. And paradoxically, it's also too child-like in its construction to be appreciated by most adults.
2 Comments
12/07/09
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
73
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:234
Fresh:171
Rotten:63
Average Rating:6.9/10
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.
Australian Rating: TBC
Genre: Childrens
Australian Theatrical Release:
Dec 3, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $77,222,184
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
Reviews for Where the Wild Things Are
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticImagination is the real star of Sendak's classic and Jonze and his co-writer, Dave Eggers, have expanded on its brief text to spin a story in which the tough and the tender smoothly coalesce.
12/03/09
Top CriticIt’s a strange thing that this story has had such a hold over generations of children, it’s quite a dark tale. And that darkness is in the film.
12/02/09
Top CriticYoung actor Max Records gives a terrific performance that captures both the uncertainty and the rampaging energy of his character.
12/02/09
Top CriticJonze has succeeded splendidly in making a movie about the challenges of childhood, and it's likely the material will resonate more with the adults who read Wild Things to their children rather than delight the children themselves.
12/02/09
Top CriticThose hoping for a fun-lovin' romp through the kooky world of Max and his zany monster pals are likely to be disappointed.
12/02/09
Top CriticThe real beauty of Where The Wild Things Are comes with its simplicity. With only minimal plot to work with, Jonze instead makes this a weird, funky mood piece, finding an odd but highly effective rhythm on which the film joyously floats.
12/01/09
Top CriticThis 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
Top CriticA 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
Top CriticWhere the Wild Things Are imaginatively evokes the childhood fears and wonders experienced when trying to make sense of the world.
01/31/10
Uma espécie de "Anticristo" Jr., o filme abraça o universo psicológico de seu protagonista como estrutura narrativa, levando o espectador para uma viagem por vezes perturbadora - mas sempre tocante - à psique de Max.
01/15/10
The conversations and interactions [Jonze] orchestrates, whether real, imaginary, spoken with an inner voice, or cried aloud, are delivered with the unmistakable rhythm and in the grandiose rubber and glue terminology of children.
01/06/10
Bring the Prozac . . .
12/29/09
It's a divisive and sometimes difficult film, but if you let it into your heart, you'll end up grateful.
12/22/09
Exploring the mind of an angry little boy, Where the Wild Things Are is an psychological exploratory fantasy of intriguing depth.
12/12/09
A film for anyone who’s ever climbed trees, grazed knees or basked in the comfort of a parent’s sympathy as they’ve pulled you off the ground crying. It’ll make your inner child run wild.
12/11/09
Top Critic‘Where the Wild Things Are’ stands out for its unusually potent evocation of the timbre of childhood imagining, with its combination of the outré and the banal, grand schemes jumbled up with delicate feelings and the urge to smash things up.
12/11/09
Don't go expecting joyous escapism, but if you're interested in seeing melancholic auteur filmmaking, complete with a lush soundtrack... you won't see a more compelling film this year.
12/11/09
It’s all very charming and quirky... But it’s also, ultimately, a little flimsy and unlikely to achieve anything like the iconic status of its source material.
12/11/09
Top CriticJonze's Wild Things is an altogether darker, colder picture: a film about the way children can lose their fear of the world only by losing their innocence.
12/11/09
Top CriticLatest News for Where the Wild Things Are
December 11, 2009:
The Effects of Where the Wild Things Are
Spike Jonze's eagerly-anticipated adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are was initially supposed to use entirely practical effects, but the director soon... More...
December 07, 2009:
Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things Are
It has taken Being John Malkovich and Adaptation director Spike Jonze more than five years to bring Where the Wild Things Are to the big screen. Maurice Sendak, the writer and... 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...
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