Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

cricketbat Spike Jonze took a beloved children's book and turned it into an emo-tastic snore-fest! While the special effects are undeniably good (the "wild things" look very organic and realistic), the story is completely watered down with overly dramatic and pointless plot points. Don't see the movie - just read the book again.

katheliz Huggo's review on the home page starts telling the story halfway through, ignoring Max's desperate unhappiness about his parents' split, his wish to be acknowledged by his mother and sister, his lack of friends, and his fear that his world is splintering and the sun will die. Of course Max is acting out. Wouldn't you? The beasts he encounters are each a fraction of Max's conflicted feelings - love, loss, desertion, need for friends, anger - and themselves behave like both children and adults. The voices are marvelously done. As at least one reviewer discovered, this isn't a movie for little children. I scored it a 10 for being an intelligent movie for adults. If you have little kiddies, continue reading the book to them.

Tweekums Max is a lonely nine year old boy; he feels ignored by his busy mother and his older sister. After his sister's friends smash his snow-fort with him inside his anger gets the better of him. After an argument with his mother he bites her and runs away from home. He then sails away to an island where he discovers strange creatures. One of then seems rather like Max; he is a troll like creature named Carol who is smashing the houses of the other creatures. He is upset that female Wild Thing named KW has left. Max starts to help him and understandably the others aren't pleased and threaten to eat him. He tells them that he has powers and once was a king of the Vikings… this leads to them making him their king. As king they expect him to make things okay. Shortly afterwards KW returns which pleases Carol. He tries and initially things go well; they build a huge fort where they can all live and play games. Things don't go as planned though; feelings are hurt and jealousies emerge and KW leaves again; Carol blames Max.This film is quite delightful despite being distinctly downbeat at times. As it opens it looks as if Max will be an unlikeable protagonist as he is clearly out of control. The fact that he wears a wolf costume and bites his mother only emphasises this. Luckily once he gets to the island where the Wild Things live he gets more likable. The events on the island nicely mirror events in his life with Carol being the one out of control. The Wild Things are well designed; I like the fact that director Spike Jonze chose to use people in suits rather than the CGI that seems ubiquitous these days. This gives then a physical presence. Early on I thought this was very much a children's film but despite the young protagonist and the sort of creatures one finds in children's story's it does include grown up themes. There are moments that may scare younger viewers… most notably when Carol threatens to eat Max and he end up hiding in inside KW's stomach! The cast do a solid job; young Max Records does a fine job as Max and the Wild Things are voiced by a variety of well-known actors including James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O'Hara and Forest Whitaker. Overall this is a bittersweet film that I enjoyed far more than I expected.

SnoopyStyle Max is a rambunctious brat. He's imaginative and often wears a wolf costume. He plays around with his sister Claire's friends but they make him cry. He's angry at Claire and trashes her room. His mother Connie (Catherine Keener) is struggling and is dating Adrian (Mark Ruffalo). Feeling uncared for, he runs away wearing his wolf costume. He boards a small boat which then sails the high seas to an unknown land inhabited by large wild beasts. Max convinces the creatures that he is the king with magical powers who could even keep out the sadness.Director Spike Jonze has filled out a pretty thin story with a good sense of wonder and a lot of childhood angst. The kid fits the role quite well. I think the creatures are terrific especially as they smash things. It is the confused child's struggles that is the heart of the movie. It may not be for little kids but it is a fine movie about something deeper.