“Where The Wild Things Are” is a great fantasy adventure, director Spike Jonze delivers an incredible world of fantasy focused on Max, a boy with a lot of energy and no friends… who falls into place in the world of the wild things.

While its based on Maurice Sendak’s children’s book, the movie may not be good for young children, as the monsters are very big, real, and scary… a credit to the filmmakers that the wild things were so believable, because if they weren’t this movie would have been hard to watch.

  (My spoiler-free review)

12 year old Max Records delivers a great performance as Max, a wild child with no friends and not even his mom will put up with him because he’s out of control.

Max is great as the crazy little monster who makes his way to an imaginative world, where being a rambunctious tall tale teller is acceptable.   The movie is dependent on the success of Max’s performance and its the best child performance of the year.

Jonze creates a very real fantastical world with convincing characters of Carol, Ida, Judith, K.W., and others… its easy to follow and fun to be immersed in.   The message is pretty clear, that Max needs to grow up and being such a problem child, but its encased in a fun story in a world of make believe.

If nothing else, the costumes in “Where The Wild Things Are” should put the movie up for an Oscar nomination this year.

THE BOTTOM LINE:  ”Where the Wild Things Are” is the best fantasy adventure since the “Chronicles of Narnia” movies (2005/2008), but it falls short of the majestic success of those movies as well as the magical “The NeverEnding Story” (1984) and the powerful and epic scale of the “Lord of the Rings” saga (2001, 2002, 2003)…. I give it 7.9 out of 10.

 “Where The Wild Things Are”

(2009) (rated: PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language)
(1 hr, 34 min)

Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Pepita Emmerichs,  James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Michael Berry Jr., Chris Cooper, Steve Mouzakis, Mark Ruffalo

Director: Spike Jonze  (“Adaptation” (2002), “Being John Malkovich” (1999))

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Family/Drama

The Plot: An adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s story, where Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world–a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures that crown Max as their ruler.

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

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“Where the Wild Things Are” poster courtesy Warner Brothers Pictures

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