Where the Wild Things Are (film)
Where the Wild Things Are is a 2009 fantasy adventure drama film directed by Spike Jonze. Written by Jonze and Dave Eggers, it is based on Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's book of the same name. It combines live-action, performers in costumes, animatronics, and computer-generated imagery (CGI). The film stars Max Records, Catherine Keener, and Mark Ruffalo, and features the voices of Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, and Forest Whitaker. The film centers on a lonely young boy named Max who sails away to an island inhabited by creatures known as the "Wild Things", who declare Max their king.
Where the Wild Things Are
- Spike Jonze
- Dave Eggers
- Tom Hanks
- Gary Goetzman
- Maurice Sendak
- John Carls
- Vincent Landay
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Legendary Pictures
- Village Roadshow Pictures
- Wild Things Productions
- Playtone
- KLG Film Invest GmbH[1]
- The Worldwide Maurice International Company, Inc[2]
- Warner Bros. Pictures (Worldwide)
- Roadshow Films (Australia & New Zealand)
- 13 October 2009 (New York City)
- 16 October 2009 (United States)
- 3 December 2009 (Australia)
- 17 December 2009 (Germany)
101 minutes[3]
English
$100 million[3]
$100.1 million[3]
In the early 1980s, The Walt Disney Company considered adapting the film as a blend of traditionally animated characters and computer-generated environments, but development did not go past a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would result.[4] In 1999,[5] Universal Studios acquired rights to the book's adaptation and initially attempted to develop a computer-animated adaptation with Disney animator Eric Goldberg, but the CGI concept was replaced with a live-action one in 2003, and Goldberg was dropped for Jonze. The film was produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Sendak, John Carls, and Vincent Landay, and made with an estimated budget of $100 million.[6] Where the Wild Things Are was a joint production between Australia, Germany, and the United States, and was filmed principally in Melbourne.[7]
Where the Wild Things Are was released on 16 October 2009, in the United States, on 3 December in Australia, and on 17 December in Germany. Despite concerns from within Warner Bros. and news outlets leading up to release over whether or not Jonze's approach to the film was suitable for children, the film was met with positive reviews and appeared on many year-end top ten lists. However, the film was a financial disappointment, grossing just $100 million against a production budget of $100 million. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 2 March 2010.
Plot[edit]
Max is a lonely 9-year-old boy[8] with an active imagination and divorced parents. His older sister, Claire, 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 and destroys a frame he made for her. Later, his mother, Connie, invites her boyfriend Adrian to dinner. Max becomes upset with her for not spending time with him that evening as they had agreed. Wearing his wolf suit, he begins to wreak havoc among the house. As Connie scolds him, he lashes out by biting her on the shoulder. She yells at him and he runs away, scared by what transpired. At the edge of a pond, Max finds a small boat that he boards.
Eventually, Max reaches an island that is home to a group of seven large monsters called the Wild Things - namely, Carol, Ira, Judith, Alexander, Douglas, the Bull, and KW. Carol is in the middle of a destructive tantrum caused by the departure of KW. Max tries joining in on the mayhem, but finds himself facing the suspicious anger of the Wild Things. When they contemplate eating him, Max convinces them that he is a king with magical powers capable of bringing harmony to the group. They crown him as their new king. Shortly after, KW returns, and Max declares a "wild rumpus" in which the Wild Things smash trees and tackle each other, before going to sleep in a pile with Max at the center.
Carol takes Max on a tour of the island, showing him a model he built depicting what he wishes the island looked like. Inspired by this, Max orders the construction of an enormous fort. When KW brings her two owl friends, Bob and Terry, to the fort, a disagreement ensues as Carol feels they are outsiders. To release their frustrations, Max divides the tribe into "good guys" and "bad guys" for a dirt clod fight. However, Alexander is injured during the game, and Carol berates KW for jokingly stepping on his head, prompting the latter to leave once again.
Max finds Alexander alone in the fort, whereupon he reveals that he knows Max is not a king with magical powers, but warns him never to let Carol know. However, Douglas reveals the truth when Carol throws another tantrum in the middle of the night over the state of the fort and Max's failure to fulfill his duties as a king. Enraged, Carol rips off Douglas's right arm - though only sand pours from the wound - before chasing Max into the forest and attempting to eat him. Max is saved by KW, who hides him in her stomach. After Carol leaves, KW explains to Max how difficult their lives are, with Carol's tantrums only making matters worse. Max realizes what his mother is going through and decides to leave the island.
Max finds the crushed remains of Carol's model island and leaves a token of affection for him to find. Max finds Carol and tells him he is going home because he is not a king. The other Wild Things escort Max to his boat. Carol runs to join them after finding Max's token and arrives in time to see him off. He starts to howl and Max howls back; all the other Wild Things join in. Carol looks at KW, and she smiles kindly at him. Returning home, Max is embraced by his mother, who gives him a bowl of soup, a piece of chocolate cake, and a glass of milk. She sits with him as he eats and he watches as she falls asleep at the table.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Where the Wild Things Are started its development life in the early 1980s, originally to be an animated feature by Walt Disney Productions that would have blended traditionally animated characters with computer-generated settings. Animators Glen Keane and John Lasseter (who later moved on to Pixar Animation Studios) had completed a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would work out, but the project proceeded no further.[4] Sendak and producer John B. Carls later formed Wild Things Productions in 1992, with the intent to produce adaptations of Sendak's properties. Universal Studios and Playtone acquired rights to the book's adaptation in 1999, initially attempting to develop a live-action/CGI adaptation with Gore Verbinski attached to direct and Eric Warren Singer attached to write the screenplay.[5] In 2001, Universal replaced the live-action/CGI concept with a fully computer-animated adaptation, with Disney animator Eric Goldberg attached to direct.[9] However, in 2003, they reverted back to live-action, and Goldberg was replaced with Spike Jonze.[10]
After years of interest from various producers, Sendak favoured Spike Jonze as director, noting he was "young, interesting and had a spark that none of the others had".[11] The film was originally set for release from Universal; however, 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.[12]