Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Where the Wild Things Are is a 2009 American fantasy drama film directed by Spike Jonze and adapted from Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's book Where the Wild Things Are. It combines live action, performers in costumes, animatronics, and computer-generated imagery (CGI). The film stars Max Records, and features the voices of James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Lauren Ambrose, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O'Hara and Chris Cooper. The film centers around a lonely eight-year-old 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 settings, but development did not go past a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would work out. 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 animated version was replaced with a live-action concept in 2003, and Goldberg was dropped for Spike Jonze. The film was co-produced by actor Tom Hanks through his production company Playtone and made on an estimated budget of around $100,000,000. The film was released on October 16, 2009, in the United States, and on December 11, 2009, in the United Kingdom. The film was met with mostly critical acclaim and appeared on many year-end top ten lists. The film was released to DVD and Blu-Ray disc on March 2, 2010.

The film begins with Max (Max Records), a lonely eight-year-old boy with an active imagination whose parents are divorced, wearing a wolf costume and chasing his dog. 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 and destroys a frame that he had made for her. Max's teacher Mr. Elliot (Steve Mouzakis) teaches him and his classmates about the eventual death of the sun. His mother, Connie (Catherine Keener) invites her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) 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. The pond becomes an ocean. Max reaches an island. Still in his wolf costume, he stumbles upon a group of six large, monstrous creatures. One of them, Carol, is in the middle of a destructive tantrum caused by his girlfriend, a female wild thing called "KW", leaving while the others attempt to stop him. As Carol wreaks havoc Max tries to join the mayhem, but soon finds himself facing the suspicious anger of the Wild Things. When they contemplate eating him, Max convinces them that he is a "great king with magical powers" capable of bringing harmony to the group. They crown him as their king. Another Wild Thing named K.W. arrives and Max declares a "wild rumpus", in which the Wild Things smash trees and tackle each other. The Wild Things introduce themselves as Carol, Ira, Judith, Alexander, Douglas, Bernard and K.W., piling on one another before going to sleep, with Max at the center. Carol takes Max on a tour of the island, showing him a model Carol built depicting what he wishes the island looked like. Inspired by this, Max orders the construction of an enormous fort, with Carol in charge of construction. As Max bonds with Carol, K.W. brings her two friends Bob and Terry - owls - to the fort. Disagreement ensues as Carol feels the togetherness of their group is threatened by the outsiders. To release their frustrations Max divides the tribe into "good guys" and "bad guys" for a dirt-clod fight, but Alexander is hurt during the game. Tension mounts between the Wild Things as it becomes obvious Max favors some of the Wild Things over others. After an argument between K.W. and Carol, K.W. leaves. Max finds Alexander alone in the fort and has a conversation with him. Alexander reveals that he always suspected that Max is not a king with magical powers, but warns him to never let Carol know. Max's secret is exposed when Carol throws another tantrum and Douglas tries to make him accept the fact that Max was never a king. Carol becomes enraged and 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. Carol and K.W. have an argument over Carol's behavior. After Carol leaves, K.W. explains that their lives are difficult, with Carol's tantrums making things 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. He 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, and then all the other Wild Things join in. Carol looks at K.W. and she smiles kindly at him, as a sign of rekindled love between her and Carol. Returning home, Max is embraced by his distraught mother, who gives him a bowl of hot soup and a piece of cake and sits with him as he eats. He watches as she falls asleep.