Bottom Line: Where the Wild Things Are is a film about childhood, not necessarily a film for children. The movie contains some language and scenes that may be frightening, confusing or unsettling to young children.
MPAA Rating: PG, for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language
Guide Age Recommendation: 8 yrs +
Genre:Fantasy/Adventure
Runtime: Approx. 101 minutes
Starring: Catherine Keener, Max Records, Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Spike Jonze
Release Date: October 16, 2009
Where the Wild Things Are - Overview
Based on the famous children's book Where the Wild Things Are, the live-action movie follows the adventure of a slightly older Max. Max lives with his struggling single mother and his sister. He is a good kid, but feelings of loneliness and the difficulty of his family situation lead him to act out at times, taking his frustration out on both his family and their property. During one battle with his mother, Max reaches his breaking point and tears out into the street. He keeps running until he reaches a wooded area. He finds a boat and a body of water, and he sails away...to Where the Wild Things Are.
Max finds that he has some things in common with the Wild Things. They are childlike and sensitive, and they too sometimes take out their anger and fear in ways that are destructive or unproductive. The Wild Things live together as a family, and just like any other family, their different personalities sometimes clash mightily, but in the end, they all love each other.
When the Wild Things hear Max's tall tales about being a king and leading the vikings, they decide to make him their king. His promise as king is that he will take away their loneliness and sadness. Max's fun loving spirit, imagination, and energy take him far as he dwells with the Wild Things, but conflicts inevitably arise, and Max realizes that he has a lot to learn. Maybe his desire should not be finding a new family to lead, but to persevere in helping keep his own family strong.
Photo © Warner Bros. Pictures.
Where the Wild Things Are - Guide Review
When we read the book Where the Wild Things Are, the language and events come together to create a certain feeling -- a feeling that is magical with a touch of mischief, happy and at the same time a little bit sober. Maurice Sendak captures an element of childhood through Max's expression of childlike frustration, and we remember that sometimes it really is hard being a kid. Max then goes through the imaginative coping process that kids often go through, and after he has his roaring stomping fantasy in which he is in charge and he makes the rules for once, Maurice brings Max back home, happy to be in the comfort and safety of his own room.
Spike Jonze captures the beauty and complexity underlying the timeless story, but unfortunately, he makes it virtually inaccessible to the young children who love the book and could have loved the amazing film. The movie Where the Wild Things Are is a film about childhood, not for children, but it could have been both. Now the movie has the same audience problem as many other films about childhood -- who wants to see them? Adults don't usually pick films about childhood when they have a night out at the movies. Kids are the ones who would adore big furry monsters and a world where a kid rules them all, but the movie contains scenes that are way too weighty and some that might even frighten young children.
The Wild Things look great and have a lot of character, and the scenery and overall look of the film are amazing. Unfortunately, kids who see the film may leave the theater confused, saddened, or scared. Some scenes depict impromptu romps which turn to emotionally charged conflicts as suddenly as they began. Max has hurtful battles with his family and the Wild Things have hurtful conflicts with each other and Max. The resolution to all of this tension is apparent to adults through subtle facial expressions, language and events, but kids will have a harder time seeing any happy ending to the story.
Where the Wild Things Are - Content Overview
*May contain spoilers.- Violence (Medium): In the movie, Max's anger drives him to destroy his sister's room (which he later feels sorry for). He gets angry at his mother, yells at her, disobeys her, and then bites her (all in front of mom's boyfriend). Max runs away and finds the Wild Things, who display a similar tenancy to act out. We see a Wild Thing named Carol storming around destroying his and the other Wild Things' homes because he is angry that a friend went away. Most of the violence is similar to this and occurs due to characters feeling frustrated, jealous or scared. Characters also engage games such as snowball fights or dirt clod fights that seem fun at first but end up with someone getting hurt or very upset. One Wild Thing gets his arm pulled off (it doesn't seem to hurt too bad, but it's sad).
- Sex/Nudity (Low): Max' mother has a boyfriend over and they kiss briefly.
- Drugs and Alcohol (Low): Two adults drink wine.
Photo © Warner Bros. Pictures.
- Language (Low): The words "God," "damn" and "hell" are used once.
- Disrespectful/Imitative Behavior (High): Max and the Wild Things act out throughout the movie. Max runs away and causes his mother to be very worried. During a dirt clod fight, Max encourages some of the Wild Things to hit another one, even after he has been hurt and doesn't want to play.
- Scary Scenes (Meduim): When Carol the Wild Thing gets angry, he throws things (like boulders or trees), breaks things, and yells. His intense behavior may frighten young children. Young children may also fear for Max a couple of times during the movie when he could be in peril.
- Sad/Unsettling Scenes (High): Max's single mother is struggling and we overhear her on the phone stressed out about a work project. A teacher tells his class that the sun will die. Other tense scenes in the movie result mostly from conflicts and hurt feelings. Max feels upset and lonely, and many of the characters at times feel fearful about life and relationships. Max gets angry with his sister and his mother . The Wild Things get angry when one of them finds new friends, and in one scene Carol is very rude to the new friends. It is not necessarily the level of violence or severity of actions that creates tension in the scenes, but the way that the characters feel and how the movie portrays a roller coaster of intense emotions throughout.
Where the Wild Things Are Topics to Discuss
- After seeing Where the Wild Things Are, kids may have questions about: single parenthood, loneliness, running away, monsters, a parent dating, the sun dying.
