Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Adventure, Drama, Family |
Where the Wild Things Are is a fantasy 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 centers on a lonely boy named Max who sails away to an island inhabited by creatures known as the “Wild Things,” who declare Max their king.
In the early 1980s, Disney 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. In 2001, 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 Spike Jonze.
8-year-old Max, a lonely boy with an active imagination whose parents are divorced, is wearing a wolf costume and chasing his dog. 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. At school, Max’s teacher teaches him and his classmates about the eventual death of the sun. Later his mother, Connie, invites her boyfriend Adrian to dinner. Max becomes upset with his mother for not coming to the fort he made in his room. He wears his wolf costume, acts like an animal, and demands to be fed. When his mother gets upset, he throws a tantrum and bites 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.
Director: Spike Jonze
Writers: Spike Jonze (screenplay), Dave Eggers (screenplay), Maurice Sendak (book)
Stars: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Lauren Ambrose, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O’Hara, Chris Cooper
►Cast:
| Max Records | … | Max |
| Pepita Emmerichs | … | Claire |
| Max Pfeifer | … | Claire’s Friend |
| Madeleine Greaves | … | Claire’s Friend |
| Joshua Jay | … | Claire’s Friend |
| Ryan Corr | … | Claire’s Friend |
| Catherine Keener | … | Mom |
| Steve Mouzakis | … | Teacher |
| Mark Ruffalo | … | The Boyfriend |
| James Gandolfini | … | Carol (voice) |
| Vincent Crowley | … | Carol Suit Performer |
| Paul Dano | … | Alexander (voice) |
| Sonny Gerasimowicz | … | Alexander Suit Performer |
| Catherine O’Hara | … | Judith (voice) |
| Nick Farnell | … | Judith Suit Performer |
| Forest Whitaker | … | Ira (voice) |
| Sam Longley | … | Ira Suit Performer |
| Michael Berry Jr. | … | The Bull (voice) |
| Angus Sampson | … | The Bull Suit Performer |
| Mark McCracken | … | The Bull Additional Suit Performer |
| Chris Cooper | … | Douglas (voice) |
| John Leary | … | Douglas Suit Performer |
| Lauren Ambrose | … | KW (voice) |
| Alice Parkinson | … | KW Suit Performer |
| Garon Michael | … | KW Additional Suit Performer |
| James Epinfaniou | … | Additional Max Performer |
| Joshua Evans | … | Additional Max Performer |
| Tess Grimshaw Lloyd | … | Additional Max Performer |
| Lucas Haynes | … | Additional Max Performer |
| Nathan Veal | … | Additional Max Performer |
| Spike Jonze | … | Bob / Terry (voice) |
| Brian La Rosa | … | Douglas |
| Kalia Prescott | … | Max’s Classmate |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia