Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

lcappa I walked out of this mess. I can't believe anyone can sit through this movie. It was so boring, no focus don't waste your time.

powermandan I have never read "Where the Wild Things Are" but that's fine. I initially got attracted to it after seeing some of the monsters. And after seeing some rave reviews, I figured it must be worth a watch. Not really.The movie seems to really either hate or not give a crap about the characters. If the film doesn't, why show we? I'm not saying that the characters need to be golden, just well-developed; give me a reason to root for them. Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull" is such a mean, despicable character; but we are all given reason to root for him, we feel bad when his family abandons him. In this film, the main character is a little #&%$ that I simply could not stand. I hated this kid! If he was well- developed and we were given reasons to like this kid, it would be different. There would have been the element of character complexity that I would have liked. Instead, the kid is a terrible person wrapped in an annoying outer layer.The kid's name is Max. He is very imaginative and wants to have fun. He makes an tiny igloo, but his older sister's friends smash it. He started a snowball fight with them and they were just having fun. He goes to hide in the tiny igloo hoping they will go away. He is in tears when they smash it and they are surprised to see his reaction. What do you expect!?!? He started the snowball fight! And the other kids were having fun too! Did Max really think that going inside his space would have stopped everything?? Max isn't a 3-year-old who is oblivious to things like these. There is a scene where Max is in class and his teacher is talking about the universe's expansion. So Max has got to be 10 at the bear-minimum. I know Max has an overactive imagination, but there's a huge difference between having an overactive imagination and sheer stupidity. He builds another fort inside his bedroom out of bedsheets and other household things. When he overhears his mother (Catherine Keener) has a date (Mark Ruffalo) in the living room, Max makes a huge scene. He has a bunny costume and is going nuts. His mother has never dated before? He has never had a talk about his mother dating? Believe it or not, this is where the move starts to go downhill.As his mother is trying to calm him down, Max bites her and runs away. He sails away on a boat where he meets the monsters that are the backbone of the film. When he come back home at the end, his mother is very happy to see him and they have some food together. Her clothes are not the same, so Max has clearly been gone for a few days, not just days in the world of the monsters. Any other parent would have grounded his ass and punished the hell out of him. This little runt gets off scot-free! I don't condone child abuse, but this kid needs serious discipline! If his mother did any kind of discipline or good parenting, Max would not have started the snowball fight and he would not have caused the ruckus in front of his mother's date.When Max ends up on the island with the monsters, he remains annoying and the monsters themselves aren't THAT special. I will admit, the monsters did look pretty cool. Was it a massive breakthrough or innovation in these creatures? Not at all. These are basically inferior muppets. Giant foam fury suits were made and the faces were cgi. Their land is rather generic, not enchanting in the slightest. Want enchanting land? Watch "Babe" or "Pan's Labyrinth." None of these monsters are interesting in the slightest. They are very monotone and naive. Max lies saying he is a powerful king and embellishes on some of his own experiences to make himself seem stronger. The only bits in this that aren't boring deal with the annoying kid that fool the monsters into thinking he is an invincible king. Some tensions arise that is beyond dull. I felt nothing."Where the Wild Things Are" seems to go into the mind of a boy with autism. That is how many people interpret Max. If so, they do a horrendous job and made him look like the worst person ever. It is obvious that the monsters are his own imagination, but he clearly runs away from home. Why not make it so that he enters fantasy land inside his own house? It would make Max more likable and the story richer. And if they actually made the monsters better and their land better, then that whole section of the film would have been a somewhat decent watch. But the fact of the matter is, there are no good qualities in this film. The monsters are sorta cool looking, but that's it! Max is one of the worst kids ever and the monster place is beyond dull. Not recommended at all!

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.

jessegehrig Just entirely too much stuff. The plot should have been the book, instead it's all this divorce crap, and childhood angst mess. Worse, all the monsters are stripped of their enigma and portrayed as boring ordinary creatures. I mean the drawings in the book are indelible and mysterious, the monsters are almost iconographic, then Spike Jonze gives the monsters girlfriends and hobbies. The book, Where The Wild Things Are, is a masterpiece, the drawings and the words are simple but every bit the stuff of genius. Its that simplicity that allows for the fantastic elements of Max's journey to easily flow. The movie complicates this simplicity with unnecessary dialog and additional plot, making for an inferior story.