Where the Wild Things Are (film)

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 and features the voices of James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Lauren Ambrose, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O'Hara, and Chris Cooper. The film centers on a lonely pre-teenage 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 environments, but development did not go past a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would result. 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 CGI concept was replaced with a live-action one 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 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.
The film 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 Spike 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. 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.
Category:Films
Category:2009 Films