Like most classic fairy tales, "Where the Wild Things Are" offers hints of danger and a few scary moments. ...
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10/18/09
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
71
%
Tomatometer
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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.
Australian Rating: TBC
Genre: Childrens
Australian Theatrical Release:
Dec 10, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $74,665,359
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
41 - 60 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
A 48-page, 9 sentence book like Where the Wild Things Are requires a lot of fill. Nine sentences leaves too much room for screenwriter Dave Eggers less-than-wild imagination.
10/18/09
Ever so slowly runs out of the story's magical ingredients.
10/18/09
All of the actors do incredible work, with Gandolfini giving a performance that is award worthy
10/18/09
Spike Jonze is an original cinematic voice but in the end you just wish he left this on the bookshelf where it belongs.
10/17/09
Like the wild things inhabiting Max's world, it's fascinating but also lumbering -- and (to paraphrase The Troggs) it's unlikely to make everyone's heart sing.
10/17/09
A perfect example of movie making at its best and is a crowd-pleasing adaptation that captures everything that initially made its source material so revered.
10/17/09
I truly hope I never turn into the kind of person who isn't able to enjoy a movie like this.
10/17/09
Where the Wild Things Are is too quirky for the kids and too scattered for grown ups, but boy does it come close to capturing the book's eternal appeal.
10/17/09
Disappointinly dull.
10/17/09
Sure, Where the Wild Things Are is darker than Dracula's sunset cup of Joe. And it may have a smaller potential audience than Lamaze'ing with the Stars. But I don't care.
10/17/09
Let's pronounce Spike Jonze the King of All Wild Things!
10/17/09
It has its problems to be sure, but then again so does Max... and like Max, it learns to makes peace with them before time runs out.
10/16/09
Spike Jonze's new film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's classic 'Where the Wild Things' Are is more admirable than enjoyable.
10/16/09
Jonze's 'Wild Things' is a masterpiece in direction and cinematography but needs work in the pacing department.
10/16/09
A fine conversation piece for gifted kids%u2014assuming parents willing to talk to their kids about their feelings...also a fascinating psychological study for adults looking back on the roiling emotions of childhood.
10/16/09
It's a coming-of-age fairy tale, delivered with remarkable subtlety, patience, and confidence in its young audience.
10/16/09
On a purely surface level, even the expanded story feels like the book.
10/16/09
[Jonze has] achieved with the cinematic medium what Sendak did with words and pictures: He's grasped something true and terrifying about love at its most unconditional and voracious.
10/16/09
Top CriticHas brilliant production values and inspiring messages, but it's ultimately too uneven, contrived and unimaginative while failing to thoroughly entertain adults and children simultaneously.
10/16/09
Latest News for Where the Wild Things Are
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...
October 08, 2009:
Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze's oft-delayed kiddies movie finally makes it to the big screen! 
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