Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are is a 2009 fantasy adventure drama 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 stars Max Records, Catherine Keener, and Mark Ruffalo, and features the voices of Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Paul Dano, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara and Forest Whitaker. The film centers on a lonely young 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, The Walt Disney Company 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 1999, 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 Jonze. The film was produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Sendak, John Carls, and Vincent Landay, and made with an estimated budget of $100 million. Where the Wild Things Are was a joint production between Australia, Germany, and the United States, and was filmed principally in Melbourne. Where the Wild Things Are was released on 16 October 2009, in the United States, on 3 December in Australia, and on 17 December in Germany. Despite concerns from within Warner Bros. and news outlets leading up to release over whether or not Jonze's approach to the film was suitable for children, the film was met with positive reviews and appeared on many year-end top ten lists. However, the film was a financial disappointment, grossing just $100 million against a production budget of $100 million. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 2 March 2010. Plot Max is a lonely 9-year-old boy with an active imagination and divorced parents. 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. Later, his mother, Connie, invites her boyfriend Adrian to dinner. Max becomes upset with her for not spending time with him that evening as they had agreed.