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| language = English
| language = English
| budget = $100 million<ref name="mojo">{{cite web | url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wherethewildthingsare.htm | publisher=Box Office Mojo | title = Where the Wild Things Are | accessdate=2009-10-31}}</ref>
| budget = $100 million<ref name="mojo">{{cite web | url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wherethewildthingsare.htm | publisher=Box Office Mojo | title = Where the Wild Things Are | accessdate=2009-10-31}}</ref>
| gross = $61,800,000<ref name="mojo" />
| gross = $62,650,379<ref name="mojo" />
}}
}}


Revision as of 01:12, 3 November 2009

This article is about the 2009 film. For the book, see Where the Wild Things Are.
Where the Wild Things Are
The monster (or Wild Thing) Carol towering over a small boy child against a desert background
Theatrical poster
Directed bySpike Jonze
Written byScreenplay:
Spike Jonze
Dave Eggers
Picture book:
Maurice Sendak
Produced byTom Hanks
Gary Goetzman
Maurice Sendak
John B. Carls
Vincent Landay
StarringMax Records
Catherine Keener
Mark Ruffalo
Voices of:
Lauren Ambrose
Chris Cooper
James Gandolfini
Catherine O'Hara
Forest Whitaker
CinematographyLance Acord
Edited byEric Zumbrunnen
Music byKaren O
Carter Burwell
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
October 16, 2009 (2009-10-16)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryTemplate:FilmUS
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million[1]
Box office$62,650,379[1]

Where the Wild Things Are is a Template:Fy American fantasy film directed by Spike Jonze and adapted from Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's book of the same name. The film combines live action, performers in costumes, animatronics, and computer-generated imagery (CGI).

Plot

Max (Max Records) is a lonely boy with an active fantasy life. When his sister Claire's (Pepita Emmerichs) friends carelessly crush his snow fort in a snowball fight, and she doesn't do anything about it, he goes into a rage and makes a mess of her bedroom. When his mother Connie (Catherine Keener) invites her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) to dinner, Max throws a tantrum in which he bites her, and runs out of the house, still in the wolf costume he likes to wear. At the nearby seashore, he finds an abandoned sailboat, and sets out in it.

He eventually reaches an island, where he finds several large talking wild things, vaguely humanoid in shape with features resembling those of various animals:

  • Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) - the most impulsive and charismatic of the wild things
  • Ira and Judith (voiced by Forest Whitaker and Catherine O'Hara) - A gentle pushover and his aggressive girlfriend
  • Alexander (voiced by Paul Dano) - a smaller goat-like thing who's mostly ignored
  • Douglas (voiced by Chris Cooper) - Carol's birdlike companion
  • KW (voiced by Lauren Ambrose) - A loner whom Carol is greatly attached to
  • The Bull (voiced by Michael Berry, Jr.) - a quiet and intimidating beast who mostly keeps to himself

Carol is in the middle of a tantrum over the departure of K.W. (Lauren Ambrose) to be with other friends. Not understanding what's going on, Max tries to join in on the mayhem, but soon finds himself facing the suspicious anger of the entire tribe. Bluffing his way out, he convinces them that he is a great king with magical powers capable of bringing harmony to the group. They promptly crown him as their new king. K.W. returns, and Max declares a "wild rumpus", in which the wild things smash trees and tackle each other, ending with them all piling on one another, then going to sleep, with Max at the center of the pile.

Carol takes Max on a tour of his new kingdom, ending at a model Carol has built, of what he wishes the island looked like. Inspired by this, Max orders the construction of an enormous and fantastical fort, with Carol in charge of the construction. When K.W. brings her owl friends Bob and Terry to the fort, another argument arises, as Carol feels the togetherness of their group threatened by these outsiders. Max's answer is to divide the tribe into "good guys" and "bad guys" for a dirt-clod fight as a distraction. But this only serves to increase tension between the wild things, and Alexander is physically hurt; K.W. leaves the group again.

Eventually, Max admits to Alexander that he is neither a king nor does he have magical powers. Alexander had suspected it all along, and warns Max to never let Carol know. But Max's secret is exposed to the whole group, and Carol goes wild, accidentally ripping Douglas' arm off, then chasing Max into the forest. Max is saved by K.W., who hides him from Carol in her stomach, then explains to him that their lives are already difficult, with Carol's tantrums only making it worse. Hearing this, Max finally understands what his mother is going through, and decides that it is time to leave the island. He looks for Carol, but only finds the model island, which Carol has destroyed, so Max leaves a token of affection for the wild thing to find. The other wild things escort Max to his boat, and he sets off for home. Carol, after finding Max's token and regretting his rage, arrives just in time to join his friends on the shore, and they all share one last group howl.

Max returns home, apparently just a short time after he left. He is embraced by his distraught mother, who happily watches and smiles as he hungrily eats dinner.

Cast

Production

Where the Wild Things Are started its development life in the early 1980s, originally to be an animated feature by Disney that would have blended traditionally animated characters with computer-generated settings. Animators Glen Keane and John Lasseter (who later moved on to Pixar) had completed a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would work out, but the project proceeded no further.[2] Universal Studios acquired rights to the book's adaptation in 2001 and initially attempted to develop a computer-animated adaptation with Disney animator Eric Goldberg, but in 2003 the cartoon version was replaced with a live-action concept and Goldberg was dropped for Spike Jonze.[3]

After years of interest from various producers, Sendak favored Spike Jonze as director, noting he was "young, interesting and had a spark that none of the others had."[4] The film was originally set for release from Universal, and a teaser of the film was attached to the studio's 2000 adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.[5] Disagreements between Universal and Sendak over Jonze's approach to the story led to a turnaround arrangement where the film's production was transferred to Warner Bros.[6]

Spike Jonze: Check. Dave Eggers: Check. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Check. Where the Wild Things Are has all the ingredients to become the hipster equivalent of Star Wars.

NPR, All Things Considered [7]

In 2005, Jonze and Dave Eggers completed a 111-page screenplay, expanding the original ten-sentence story. On July 8, 2006, production began open auditions for the role of Max.[8] The process took months, but, eventually Max Records was cast. Academy Award-winning make-up effects supervisor Howard Berger (The Chronicles of Narnia) turned down offers to work on the film four times. Although the book inspired him as a child to work in special effects, he felt filming it was a "horrible idea".[9] Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the animatronic suits for the Wild Things.

Filming began in April 2006 at Central City Studios in Melbourne, Australia.[10] According to Jonze, most of the film was shot with a handheld camera in order to complement the "evocative" "other-worldly" feel of the film.[citation needed] Adam Keenan and John Nolan are responsible for the animatronics.[citation needed] Jonze kept in close consultation with Sendak throughout the process, and the author approved creature designs created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Michelle Williams was originally cast as the female Wild Thing, KW, only to leave the project after her voice “didn’t match the original vision of how the Wild Thing should sound.”[11] She was replaced by Lauren Ambrose, and filming continued.

In 2008, test footage was leaked onto the internet leading to mixed reactions. Jonze responded "That was a very early test with the sole purpose of just getting some footage to Ben, our VFX supervisor, to see if our VFX plan for the faces would work." Following early fan outcry over the leaked video and rumored “scared children” in test audiences, Warner Bros. announced a massive year-long delay. On February 20, 2008, speculation emerged that Warner Bros. was considering reshooting the entire film.[12] WB president Alan F. Horn responded, “We've given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film. We'd like to find a common ground that represents Spike's vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we're just trying to get it right.” Producer Gary Goetzman followed, "We support Spike's vision. We're helping him make the vision he wants to make."[13]

Maurice Sendak said after having seen a completed cut of the film, “I’ve never seen a movie that looked or felt like this. And it’s [Spike Jonze's] personal ‘this.’ And he’s not afraid of himself. He’s a real artist that lets it come through in the work. So he’s touched me. He’s touched me very much.”[14] After seeing the finished product, a Warner Bros. executive stated "He's (Jonze) a perfectionist and just kept working on it, but now we know that at the end of the day he nailed it."[15]

Release and reception

Jonze unleashes his considerable creativity. The beasts are recognizable from Sendak's pages, but Jonze gives them names and distinct personalities that connect to aspects of Max's psyche and to the people he loves. Freud would adore this movie. They are vast, feathered, horned, clawed, beaked and definitely wild — irrational and dangerous, even when showing affection — and Jonze uses their threatening bulk as well as their capacity for cruelty to remind us that Max's taming of them is only temporary. For any child, it is near impossible to stay king of anything, even in fantasy.

Mary Pols, Time magazine[16]

Box office

The studio decided not to position the film as a children's movie and spent 70% of the advertising on broad-based and adult-driven promotion.[15] The film was released in North America in both conventional and IMAX theaters on October 16, 2009.[17] Early Friday box office estimates show the film earned about $32.7 million on its opening weekend in theaters.[18]

Critical response

Reception to the film has been generally favorable. The film holds a 70% "Fresh" rating on review website Rotten Tomatoes from 174 reviews with an average score of 6.9/10.[19] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating of 100 reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 71% based on 36 reviews. [20]

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A declaring "This is one of the year's best."[21] Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote that Spike Jonze's "filmmaking exceeds anything he’s done" before,[22] while also noting the imaginative visuals and otherworldly feel, along with the fantastic creature effects on the "Wild Things". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film four stars saying, "For all the money spent, the film's success is best measured by its simplicity and the purity of its innovation."[23] Roger Ebert gave the movie three stars out of four.[24]

Some critics have noted the dark adaptation for children, such as David Denby from The New Yorker saying, "I have a vision of eight-year-olds leaving the movie in bewilderment. Why are the creatures so unhappy?".[25] Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com criticized the film's visual aspect claiming, "Even the look of the picture becomes tiresome after a while — it starts to seem depressive and shaggy and tired." and complained, "The movie is so loaded with adult ideas about childhood — as opposed to things that might delight or engage an actual child."[26] The Globe and Mail's Liam Lacey branded the production a "self-consciously sad film."[27]

Classification

Film classification agencies have tended to assign "parental guidance" ratings rather than general or family ratings. MPAA in the United States assessed a PG rating due to "mild thematic elements" and elements of language and adventure.[28] A PG rating was also declared in the United Kingdom by BBFC, citing "mild threat and brief violence".[29] In Canada, the film also received a PG rating in Ontario with an alert for frightening scenes[30] while Quebec awarded a General rating.[31] British Columbia also assessed the film with a G rating with a proviso that it "may frighten young children".[32] In the Republic of Ireland the film has been classified PG (Parental Guidance) because of what is claimed as having "mild" violence[33] Similarly in South Africa, the film received a PG rating with a consumer content Violence indicator, noting there were "moments of mildish menace and poignant themes."[34]

Internationally, the film will be released in Australia on December 4, 2009,[35] in Russia on February 4, 2010,[36] and in The UK and Ireland on December 11, 2009.[33]

Merchandise

Video game

A video game based on the film was released on October 13, 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS. It was developed by Griptonite Games and published by Warner Bros. Games.

Soundtrack

Untitled

The soundtrack of Where the Wild Things Are was released on September 29, 2009.[37]

  1. "Igloo" – 1:48
  2. "All Is Love" – 2:49
  3. "Capsize" – 2:38
  4. "Worried Shoes" – 4:12 (Daniel Johnston)
  5. "Rumpus" – 2:43
  6. "Rumpus Reprise" – 1:53
  7. "Hideaway" – 5:10
  8. "Cliffs" – 2:59
  9. "Animal" – 4:10
  10. "Lost Fur" – 1:06 (Carter Burwell)
  11. "Heads Up" – 2:55
  12. "Building All Is Love" – 3:32
  13. "Food Is Still Hot" – 2:44
  14. "Sailing Home" – 1:02

Spike Jonze's ex-girlfriend Karen O, the vocalist of the New York art rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, wrote the film's soundtrack. Karen O's bandmates Brian Chase and Nick Zinner and former touring guitarist Imaad Wasif, Deerhunter's Bradford Cox, Liars' Aaron Hemphill, The Dead Weather's Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence from The Raconteurs all also contributed.[45]

The first single of the soundtrack, titled "All Is Love," was released on August 25, 2009 and featured in the credits of the film.[46]

Reception

Initial critical response to the soundtrack was generally favorable. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 78, based on 13 reviews.[47]

Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" (Trailer Song)

For the film's trailer, Arcade Fire provided a re-recorded version of the track "Wake Up" from their album Funeral.[48] The new version is not featured in the actual movie or the soundtrack.

Skateboards and limited edition shoes

To coincide with the release of the movie, Girl Skateboards (which Jonze co-owns) came out with seven pro-model skateboards with the Wild Things as the board graphics.[49] Also, Lakai shoes also re-designed most of their pro-model and stock shoes and added in different colors, adding in pictures of the Wild Things on the side and on others with Where the Wild Things Are printed on the side.[50] Ugg Australia also designed limited edition Where The Wild Things Are boots. [51]

References

  1. ^ a b "Where the Wild Things Are". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
  2. ^ Price, David A. (2009). The Pixar Touch. Random House. p. 53. ISBN 9780307278296. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  3. ^ Etherington, Daniel. "Where The Wild Things Are Preview". Channel 4.
  4. ^ Bowles, Scott; Minzesheimer, Bob (2009-10-15). "Spike Jonze bravely sails into 'Where the Wild Things Are'". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-10-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Mark Hooper (2008-02-25). "Catch of the day: Where the Wild Things Are". Guardian Film Blog. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  6. ^ Snyder, Gabriel (2006-01-08). "'Wild' ride for Warner". Variety. Retrieved 2009-10-17. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ How A Kid's Movie Became A Hipster Happening NPR audio report, October 17, 2009
  8. ^ Henriksen, Erik (2006-06-30). "Re: Roaring Terrible Roars, Gnashing Terrible Teeth, Rolling Terrible Eyes, Showing Terrible Claws". The Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2009-10-17. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Mike Szymanski (2008-11-25). "Berger On Why He Said No To Wild Things". SCI FI Wire. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
  10. ^ "Credits". Melbourne Central City Studios. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  11. ^ Jankiewicz, Pat (2009-10-16). "Where the Wild Things Are (Monster Times review)". Fangoria. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  12. ^ Stephenson, Hunter (2008-02-20). "Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are to Be Entirely Reshot?!". Slashfilm.com. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  13. ^ Barna, Daniel (2008-07-24). "Spike gets final cut". JoBlo.com. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  14. ^ Lee, Chris (2009-09-22). "When Spike met Maurice: Bringing 'Where the Wild Things Are' to the screen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  15. ^ a b Where The Wild Things Are Runs Up $33M by Nikki Finke, Deadline Hollywood, October 17, 2009
  16. ^ Pols, Mary (2009-10-14). "Where the Wild Things Are: Sendak with Sensitivity". Time. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  17. ^ Sperling, Nicole (2008-09-11). "'Where the Wild Things Are' gets long-awaited release date". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-09-12. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ Smith, Grady (2008-09-11). "'Friday Estimates: Where The Wild Things Are On Top; Law Abiding Citizen Actually Does Well!". The Box Office Junkie. Retrieved 2009-10-17. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  20. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  21. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  22. ^ Dargis, Manohla (2009-10-16). "Movie review: Where the Wild Things Are". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  23. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are". Rolling Stone. 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  24. ^ http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091014/REVIEWS/910149993
  25. ^ Denby, David (2009-10-19). "Naughty Boys: Where the Wild Things Are". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  26. ^ "Where the wild things aren't". Salon.com. 2009-10-16. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  27. ^ Lacey, Liam (2009-10-16). "In a magical world, monsters teach a kid a lesson". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2009-10-19. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ "Ratings Search: Where the Wild Things Are (2009)". Motion Picture Association of America. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  29. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are". British Board of Film Classification. 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  30. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are (2000083670)". Ontario Film Review Board. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  31. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are (325783)". Régie du cinéma (Quebec). 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  32. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are". British Columbia Film Classification Office. 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  33. ^ a b Reviews of Where the Wild Things Are 6th October 2009 from Irish Film Classification Office. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
  34. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are". Film and Publication Board. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  35. ^ AAP (2009-10-19). "Monster hit: Where the Wild Things Are tops US box office". Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  36. ^ Where the Wild Things Are Russian release date February 4, 2010. Page in Russian.
  37. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Where the Wild Things Are: Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
  38. ^ Lukowski, Andrzej (September 30, 2009). "Karen O and the Kids: Where the Wild Things Are Motion Picture Soundtrack". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  39. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (2009-09-25). "Music review: Where the Wild Things Are". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  40. ^ Chinen, Nate (September 25, 2009). "Mature and Focused Sets, With Breaks for Playtime". New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  41. ^ Berman, Stuart (2009-10-8). "Pitchfork Album Reviews: Where the Wild Things Are". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2009-10-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  42. ^ Dolan, Jon (October 13, 2009). "Where the Wild Things Are Motion Picture Soundtrack: Original Songs by Karen O and The Kids". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  43. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (2009-10-4). "Karen O and the Kids: Where the Wild Things Are, music review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 13, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  44. ^ Kandall, Steve (October 10, 2009). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs diva cuts her inner tomboy loose". Spin. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  45. ^ "Karen O and the Kids: The Rockers of "Where the Wild Things Are"". Rolling Stone. 2009-08-19. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  46. ^ "Releases - 'All is Love'". Interscope. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  47. ^ "Where the Wild Things Are (OST)". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  48. ^ Montgomery, James (2009-03-26). "Arcade Fire Re-Record 'Wake Up' For 'Where The Wild Things Are' Trailer". MTV. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  49. ^ http://www.theworldsbestever.com/2009/01/20/girl-skateboards-where-the-wild-things-are-board-series/
  50. ^ http://www.lakai.com/product/08/SM08/footwear/series_ltd_eds/wtwta_series/
  51. ^ Where The Wild Things Are Limited Edition Boots - UGG Australia. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
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