Where the Wild Things Are is a 2009 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 imagination. His
older sister, Claire (Pepita Emmerichs) does nothing when her friends crush
Max's snow fort (with him inside) during a snowball fight. Out of frustration
Max messes up her bedroom, specifically destroying a special card that Max had
made for her. His mother, Connie (Catherine Keener) invites her boyfriend (Mark
Ruffalo) to dinner. Max wears his wolf costume, acts like an animal and demands
to be fed. When his mother gets upset, Max throws a tantrum and bites her. She
yells at him and he runs away. Max finds a small boat in a pond, which he gets
into and departs.
Sailing across the ocean, Max eventually reaches an island. Still in wolf
costume, he explores the island and stumbles upon a group of six large
creatures. One of them, Carol, is in the middle of a destructive tantrum while
the others attempt to stop him. As Carol wreaks havoc Max tries to join in on
the mayhem but soon finds himself facing the suspicious anger of the wild
things. When they contemplate eating him, Max convinces them with a lie that he
is a great king with magical powers capable of bringing harmony to the
distraught group. They promptly crown him as their new king and introduce
themselves:
- 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-speaking pushover and his aggressive,
"downer" girlfriend.
- Alexander (voiced by Paul Dano), a
goat-like wild thing who is constantly ignored, belittled, and mistreated.
- Douglas (voiced by Chris Cooper), a
bird-like peace-keeper who is Carol's best friend.
- The Bull (voiced by Michael Berry
Jr.), a quiet and intimidating beast who mostly keeps to himself.
K.W. (voiced by Lauren Ambrose) comes
back, the loner of the group whose constant departures irritate Carol greatly as
he wants all of them to stay together. 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 the island, showing him an intricate model Carol built
out of sticks, depicting 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. As Max bonds with Carol, K.W. brings her
owl friends Bob and Terry to the nearly completed fort. Another argument ensues,
as Carol feels the togetherness of their group is threatened by these outsiders.
Max has the tribe divide into "good guys" and "bad guys," for a dirt-clod fight
to release their frustrations, but Alexander is hurt during the game. Tension
mounts between the wild things as it becomes increasingly obvious Max favors
some of the wild things over others.
Eventually, Max admits to Alexander he is neither a king nor does he have
magical powers. Alexander suspected it and warns Max to never let Carol know,
though quickly Max's secret is exposed. Carol becomes enraged and accidentally
rips Douglas' arm off, though only sand pours out of the wound. Carol then
chases Max into the forest and threatens to eat him. Max is saved by K.W., who
hides him in her stomach. Max eavesdrops on K.W. explaining to Carol that their
lives are already difficult, with Carol's tantrums only making things worse.
Hearing this, Max decides to leave the island.
Max seeks Carol out but only finds the crushed remains of his model island. Max
leaves a token of affection for him 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 but is unable to speak, so they howl
to one another. 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.Production
Where the Wild Things Are
was originally set for release from Universal, and a teaser of the film was
attached to the 2000 film The Grinch. However, disagreements between
Universal and Jonze led him to take the film to Warner Bros.
Filming began in April 2006 at Central City Studios in Melbourne, Australia.
According to Jonze, most of the film was shot with a handheld camera in order to
compliment the "evocative" "other-worldly" feel of the film. Adam Keenan and
John Nolan are responsible for the animatronics. The film is currently in
post-production.
The cast includes Catherine Keener, Max Records, James Gandolfini, Angus
Sampson, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O'Hara and Paul Dano.
The seven creatures are portrayed by actors in suits up to nine feet tall made
of foam, with computer-generated faces.
The film score is written by film composer Carter Burwell and Karen O of the
Yeah Yeah Yeahs with songs by Arcade Fire.
On February 20, 2008, rumors emerged that Warner Bros. was considering
re-shooting the entire film. Producer Gary Goetzman responded, "We support
Spike's vision. We're helping him make the vision he wants to make."
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". The film is officially rated PG for mild
thematic elements, some adventure action and brief Language.
Cast
- Max Records as Max
- Catherine Keener as Connie, Max's Mother
- Pepita Emmerichs as Claire
- Mark Ruffalo as Connie's Boyfriend
- Steve Mouzakis as Mr. Elliott
Voices
- James Gandolfini as Carol
- Lauren Ambrose as KW
- Chris Cooper as Douglas
- Forest Whitaker as Ira
- Catherine O'Hara as Judith
- Paul Dano as Alexander
- Michael Berry Jr. as The Bull
- Frank Pugliese as The Wise Old Tree
Suit performers
- Vincent Crownley as Carol
- Alice Parkinson and Garon Michael as KW
- John Leary as Douglas
- Sam Longley as Ira
- Nick Farnell as Judith
- Sonny Gerasimowicz as Alexander
- Angus Sampson and Mark McCracken as The Bull
- Christie Ellis as The Wise Old Tree
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. 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.
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." 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. 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.
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. 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". 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.
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. Adam Keenan and
John Nolan are responsible for the animatronics, 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.”
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. 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."
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.” 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."
Release and reception
International releases
Internationally, the film will be released in Australia on December 4, 2009, in
Russia on February 4, 2010, and in The UK and Ireland on December 11, 2009.
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. The film was
released in North America in both conventional and IMAX theaters on October 16,
2009. Early Friday box office estimates show the film earned about $32.7 million
on its opening weekend in theaters.
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. 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.
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A declaring "This is
one of the year's best." Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote that Spike
Jonze's "filmmaking exceeds anything he’s done" before, 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." Roger Ebert gave
the movie three stars out of four.
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?". 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."
The Globe and Mail's Liam Lacey branded the production a "self-consciously sad
film."
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. A
PG rating was also declared in the United Kingdom by BBFC, citing "mild threat
and brief violence". In Canada, the film also received a PG rating in Ontario
with an alert for frightening scenes while Quebec awarded a General rating.
British Columbia also assessed the film with a G rating with a proviso that it
"may frighten young children". In the Republic of Ireland the film has been
classified PG (Parental Guidance) because of what is claimed as having "mild"
violence. 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."
The movie's release generated conflicting views over whether it is harmful to
expose children to frightening scenes. In an interview with Newsweek, Sendak
felt that parents who deemed the film's content to be too disturbing for
children should "go to hell. That's a question I will not tolerate" and he
further noted "I saw the most horrendous movies that were unfit for child's
eyes. So what? I managed to survive."
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
The soundtrack of Where the Wild Things Are was released on September 29, 2009.
- "Igloo" – 1:48
- "All Is Love" – 2:49
- "Capsize" – 2:38
- "Worried Shoes" – 4:12 (Daniel Johnston)
- "Rumpus" – 2:43
- "Rumpus Reprise" – 1:53
- "Hideaway" – 5:10
- "Cliffs" – 2:59
- "Animal" – 4:10
- "Lost Fur" – 1:06 (Carter Burwell)
- "Heads Up" – 2:55
- "Building All Is Love" – 3:32
- "Food Is Still Hot" – 2:44
- "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.
The first single of the soundtrack, titled "All Is Love," was released on August
25, 2009 and featured in the credits of the film.
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.
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. 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. 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.
Ugg Australia also designed limited edition Where The Wild Things Are
boots.
Marketing
The trailer of the film premiered on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and was
later seen in theaters with DreamWorks Animation's
Monsters vs. Aliens
and later with Universal Pictures'
Land of the Lost.
A second trailer, which didn't feature any new footage, premiered with
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
A full-length third trailer was released on the internet and was shown at
Paramount Pictures'
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The trailer showed new film footage and
dialogue.
All trailers feature a re-recorded version of the song "Wake Up" by Canadian
band Arcade Fire.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Where the Wild Things Are" and is licensed under the
GNU Free Documentation License.
