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Amazon.co.uk Review
Through his handcrafted ode to the trials of childhood, Spike Jonze puts his own unique imprint on Maurice Sendak's enduring classic. In the prologue, 9-year-old Max (Max Records) stomps around the house, feeling neglected. When his mom (Catherine Keener) sends him to bed without supper, Max runs away (something he doesn't do in the book). He finds a boat and sails to a distant land where fuzzy monsters are raising a rumpus in the forest. Since his wolf suit allows him to fit right in, he joins the fray, catching the eye of Carol (James Gandolfini), who notes, approvingly, "I like the way you destroy stuff. There's a spark to your work that can't be taught." With that, they pronounce the diminutive creature king, hoping he can bring cohesion to their fractured family. After Max comes across Carol's scale-model town, he decides they should build a real one, but the project stalls as Alexander (Paul Dano) and Douglas (Chris Cooper) mope, Judith (Catherine O'Hara) browbeats Ira (Forest Whitaker), and Carol pines for K.W. (Lauren Ambrose), who prefers the company of owls Bob and Terry. Max realises he has to make a choice: stay with the wild things or return home, where he has to keep his aggressive impulses in check.For readers of Sendak's slim tome, his decision won't come as a surprise, but Jonze ends the story on a lovely grace note. Until that time, the squabbling is a bit much--these monsters never stop talking--but Jonze, cowriter Dave Eggers, the Jim Henson Company, and singer/songwriter Karen O. have gone all-out to re-create the inner world of a child with as much empathy as was mustered for the inner adult world of Jonze's Being John Malkovich. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
My 10 year old loved it, and we both needed the tissue box when the boy had to leave his friends behind.
It was a rather strange story line. Very much a case of using your imagination, and I did like how the film was giving moral issues to think about. Not sure my son got the point about how you treat friends and how not to,it did make him think I'm sure. On the film alone, it was different, and we both loved the huge hairy characters, they were cute. Maybe younger viewers would like this film better than older ones, but generally a good family film.
It was a rather strange story line. Very much a case of using your imagination, and I did like how the film was giving moral issues to think about. Not sure my son got the point about how you treat friends and how not to,it did make him think I'm sure. On the film alone, it was different, and we both loved the huge hairy characters, they were cute. Maybe younger viewers would like this film better than older ones, but generally a good family film.
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
This film is for anyone who still has memories of their childhood, and it is a film that will bring those memories crashing back to the surface. This is not strictly a film for kids, which is why many parents were disappointed when they took their children to see it. As I am only 16 myself this film was highly poignant, bringing home to me the fact that the dull world of adulthood beckons and that there's no turning back to the past. To add to this I could relate very much to Max, his home life and his wild imagination so I left the cinema feeling pretty emotional!
People have said that the film is plotless and that nothing happens, but that isn't stricly true. Max runs away from home and sails to the island of the Wild Things who, fearing his "magic powers", make him their king. They feel it is up to Max to keep the sadness away, to make the island a better place, but things don't necessarily work out for the best. The film itself is beautifully done, with golden-brown cinematography that evokes the atmosphere of a sunny autumn day just before winter arrives. Jonze has a great eye for art direction: for example the the Wild Things' homes are constructed from sticks in an organic, Henry Moore-esque fashion. It's a visual look which I definitely haven't seen in any other film. You would think that the source material by Maurice Sendak, being only 10 sentences long, is not nearly enough to make for a 100 minute film but writers Jonze and Dave Eggers have done an excellent job in fleshing out a story and the characters. The absence of a father in the original story here means a divorce, and all 7 of the Wild Things represent a different aspect of Max's personality.
The voice cast is superb and gives the film life and humour (I was surprised to learn that James Gandolfini of The Sopranos voices Carol, the Wild Thing who is concentrated on most and who is shown on the DVD cover). The music by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is highly unusual, a mixture of folk acoustic and a group of children shrieking and barking during the wild rumpus scene.
What too makes this such an unorthodox "family film" is the darker side that Jonze has added which I won't reveal here in case you haven't seen it yet, and although the film ends on a (sort of) happy note it still leaves the viewer feeling a bit down (in my case anyway). But this actually ends up being one of the film's strong points -- it is more emotionally engaging that way. It does have a few morals in it though they aren't as in-your-face as Disney; that being wild like Max doesn't always have the desired consequences. But most of all it does make you want to wear a wolf suit and go rampaging through the forest, howling with your own Wild Things and forgetting the pressures of the everyday world, if only for a short while.
People have said that the film is plotless and that nothing happens, but that isn't stricly true. Max runs away from home and sails to the island of the Wild Things who, fearing his "magic powers", make him their king. They feel it is up to Max to keep the sadness away, to make the island a better place, but things don't necessarily work out for the best. The film itself is beautifully done, with golden-brown cinematography that evokes the atmosphere of a sunny autumn day just before winter arrives. Jonze has a great eye for art direction: for example the the Wild Things' homes are constructed from sticks in an organic, Henry Moore-esque fashion. It's a visual look which I definitely haven't seen in any other film. You would think that the source material by Maurice Sendak, being only 10 sentences long, is not nearly enough to make for a 100 minute film but writers Jonze and Dave Eggers have done an excellent job in fleshing out a story and the characters. The absence of a father in the original story here means a divorce, and all 7 of the Wild Things represent a different aspect of Max's personality.
The voice cast is superb and gives the film life and humour (I was surprised to learn that James Gandolfini of The Sopranos voices Carol, the Wild Thing who is concentrated on most and who is shown on the DVD cover). The music by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is highly unusual, a mixture of folk acoustic and a group of children shrieking and barking during the wild rumpus scene.
What too makes this such an unorthodox "family film" is the darker side that Jonze has added which I won't reveal here in case you haven't seen it yet, and although the film ends on a (sort of) happy note it still leaves the viewer feeling a bit down (in my case anyway). But this actually ends up being one of the film's strong points -- it is more emotionally engaging that way. It does have a few morals in it though they aren't as in-your-face as Disney; that being wild like Max doesn't always have the desired consequences. But most of all it does make you want to wear a wolf suit and go rampaging through the forest, howling with your own Wild Things and forgetting the pressures of the everyday world, if only for a short while.
29 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Spike Jonze's take on the classic "Where the wild things are" by Maurice Sendak is a truly uplifting experience. When Max is sent to bed without any dinner for misbehaving by his mother, played by Catherine Keener (40 Year Old Virgin), he retreats into a kingdom of his own making, full of monsters and games. The character models are fantasticly well animated, they really do look like big animals!! This, doubled up with great voice acting; James Gandolfini provides a perfectly moody, flouncy rendition of Carol and is well supported by the other cast; his interplay with KW (Lauren Ambrose) will have you itching to find out what has gone on between them.
The locations in the film are breathtaking yet not too distracting, the desert is a textbook desert, the forest a textbook forest and so on, true to the pictures in the book. Spike Jonze has paid true homage to Sendak's milieu with this attention to detail.
Children will love the whimsical nature of Where the Wild Things are's world, taking it purely on face value, adults will find much more depth to the film. The characters all represent elements of Max's psyche; his anger, his insecurities, his curiosity, his relationship with his mother and sister. Once you have pinned down who is who, it adds another level to the back and forths of the characters as you realise it is the inner workings of Max's mind battling for control, more often than not being dominated by his petulant and moody self (Carol). You can read a lot into this film, as you could with the book, but ultimately it is a story about a child controlling his inner emotions and returning to reality by his own choice after having got over his tantrum and worked a few things out. The final scene is a tear-jerker!!
The locations in the film are breathtaking yet not too distracting, the desert is a textbook desert, the forest a textbook forest and so on, true to the pictures in the book. Spike Jonze has paid true homage to Sendak's milieu with this attention to detail.
Children will love the whimsical nature of Where the Wild Things are's world, taking it purely on face value, adults will find much more depth to the film. The characters all represent elements of Max's psyche; his anger, his insecurities, his curiosity, his relationship with his mother and sister. Once you have pinned down who is who, it adds another level to the back and forths of the characters as you realise it is the inner workings of Max's mind battling for control, more often than not being dominated by his petulant and moody self (Carol). You can read a lot into this film, as you could with the book, but ultimately it is a story about a child controlling his inner emotions and returning to reality by his own choice after having got over his tantrum and worked a few things out. The final scene is a tear-jerker!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant!
We just love this transformation of a superb, (apparently) simple child's book (where every page and sentence contain a world of complex experiences) into a complex, rich and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by chris_hampstead
An exciting adventure into the mind of a child
A great coming of age story, based on the books of Maurice Sendak, expressing a greater complexity and wider appeal than the books perhaps allowed or intended (that is not to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. James Dickson
A film about lost childhood innocence...
Simply the best film about the forgotten experiences and coming of ages of childhood, as you are ever likely to see. Forget the negative reviews you might have seen (! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rusty
All angles
Having read through the bad reviews for this film, I can see where the issue is: turning the simple book into a complex moral and emotional drama. Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. T. Brunetti
good
very good film kids loved it and thats all that mattera they were glad i baught it so am i
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Paul A. Dance
Some Very Sanctimonious Reviews. The Film is Actually Quite Good.
Firstly, a lot of the negative reviews on here are laced with sanctimonious attitudes about "mental health problems" and "dysfunctional people" which I find a bit unsettling. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. M. T. Potter
Good but not brilliant
I bought this for my children after hearing great reviews but I found it quite slow and difficult to get into. It doesn't compare well to the book but enjoyable all the same. Read more
Published 5 months ago by MrsH26
Not what I expected and I don't think children will sit through this
I am a big fan of the book, I think it's wonderfully illustrated - one thing I did like about the film was the scenery and the puppetry is true to the original works. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Louise Roberts
Serious but good
Just watched it with my 8-year old, and glad I did, though maybe the message went over her head in places. Read more
Published 7 months ago by S. Sinclair
Don't waste your time
Got this film for my 3 yr old after she loved the book and the creatures looked so lovable and adorable in the film, yet the characters couldn't be more the reverse with their... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Ej
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