Coffee Break with Liz and Kate

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Rating: PG [See Full Rating] for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language.

Genre: Childrens

Starring: Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener

Director: Spike Jonze

Plot: Innovative director Spike Jonze collaborates with celebrated author Maurice Sendak to bring one of the most beloved books of all time to the big screen in “Where the Wild Things Are,” a classic… Innovative director Spike Jonze collaborates with celebrated author Maurice Sendak to bring one of the most beloved books of all time to the big screen in “Where the Wild Things Are,” a classic story about childhood and the places we go to figure out the world we live in. The film tells the story of Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy who feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. Max lands on an island where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions. The Wild Things desperately long for a leader to guide them, just as Max longs for a kingdom to rule. When Max is crowned king, he promises to create a place where everyone will be happy. Max soon finds, though, that ruling his kingdom is not so easy and his relationships there prove to be more complicated than he originally thought. –© Warner Bros

Running Time: 1:42

Kate says: 3 1/2 stars I liked this movie much more than I expected to.  From the previews, I thought the “monsters” were just going to seem ridiculous (kind of like the Banana Splits tv show from my childhood…boy am I dating myself now!) but was I ever wrong.  These “monsters” were completely believable, full of emotion and endearing.  The whole movie carries a  melancholy feel to it and is full of very powerful emotions.  It’s for this reason that I would not recommend this movie for very small children or children who are extra sensitive. Also, the smaller kiddies may be a little bored. I took my 9 year old son and his friend and they both gave it a big thumbs up, and my son embarrassingly admitted that he teared up in the movie. I wasn’t sure if kids would be able to put two and two together tying in the make believe story line to the real life story line, but through careful quizzing I discovered that the comparisons were not lost on these boys.

Ebert says: 3 stars “The movie felt long to me, and there were some stretches during which I was less than riveted. Is it possible that there wasn’t enough Sendak story to justify a feature-length film? …the film will play better for older audiences remembering a much-loved book from childhood, and not as well with kids who have been trained on slam-bam action animation.“

Reelviews says: 3 stars “It fulfills the #1 criteria of any family film: it involves viewers of all ages on different levels. Children will react viscerally (both positively and negatively, with delight and fear) to the creatures, pre-teens and young teens will connect with Max and instinctively relate to his experiences, and adults will recognize the allegorical nature of the experience and enjoy it for what it is. This is probably the best family film since Disney’s Up, and one of the most visually interesting pictures of the year.“

Rotten Tomatoes: 67 % “Some may find its dark tone and slender narrative off-putting, but Spike Jonze’s heartfelt adaptation of the classic children’s book is as beautiful as it is uncompromising.”

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