If there is one book that has stuck with me from my childhood it is “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.” Now this is not a review of the recent movie; don’t even get me started on why I hate the idea of that movie. Another book that I remember vividly it is “Where The Wild Things Are.” This review is about the movie version of that amazing book. 
Max (Max Records) is a young boy with an active imagination. He lives with his mother (Catharine Keener) and his sister. Max craves attention and his mother does her best to keep him happy. One night after being sent to bed without his supper because of his actions, he runs away and into a forest. He gets in a boat and travels to a distant land where wild creatures live. They make him their king and he promises them to make them happy and protect them. 
I don’t want to say you are a horrible parent if you never read this book to your kids, but come on, how could you not. It is a book that has stuck with me. As soon as I saw the trailer I knew I was going to love it. It was everything I could have hoped for from a movie based on that book. The creatures looked exactly like they did in the book (Small side note the library at Seton had stuffed animals of each of the creatures so their images are burned into my brain,) Max’s wolf suit looks perfect and the land of the wild things is absolutely beautiful.
First and foremost I have to mention is Max Records. He was perfect as Max. He is just a little boy who wants to be noticed by his mother and sister. The only time he is truly happy is when he is in his own head. Whether he is building an igloo, making a fort out of blankets or just running around in his wolf suit, he is always looking for adventure. Records delivers an amazing performance. When he is sad, you feel it. When he is mad, you feel it. When he is happy, you feel it. I was absolutely blown away by what this 12-year-old boy was able to do. 
The creatures were a combination of actors in suits, animatronics and computer generated faces. There was a lot of expression used in the faces of the creatures. Seeing as the book is only 10 sentences long, they did not get much of a back story, but they movie has each of them flushed out with personalities and they all had motivations for their actions.
One change I noticed from the book that I really enjoyed was how Max gets to where the wild things are. In the book his room turns into a forest. The movie version might be better than the book. Having Max run away and into a forest was a great way to make this transition.
My nostalgia may have driven me to love this movie even before I saw it, but what I saw on screen was exactly what I wanted. It was a beautiful translation from book to movie. It retained all I loved about the book and added things to make a more full story with great characters. If you read this to your kids, if you had it read to you or if you read it just for fun, go see it. Heck, if you have not read it to your kid, take them to see it. It is worth every penny.
LET THE WILD RUMPUS START!!!!!
9 out of 10
Rated PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language.
101 min
The animation in movies these days is pretty amazing. Every summer Pixar releases a new movie that shows just how far they have come since Toy Story in 1995. This is not a review of a Pixar movie, or even a Dreamworks Animation Studio movie (the makers of Shrek and Kung Fu Panda). One of the keys to the success to these movies is the story. It is the combination of story and animation that make these movies what they are. Sadly “9” is has neither the animation nor the story to live up to the standards that have been set.
Based on director Shane Acker’s short film of the same name “9” is about a world here humans have been destroyed. The machines we created have wiped out the human race. Before humans met their end, a scientist (voiced by Alan Oppenhimer), created what he hoped would be the salvation of the world; 9 creations which he brought to life using bits of himself. The movie opens with 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood) coming to life and journeying out into the world. He comes upon the rest of the scientists creations and joins them. 1 (voiced by Christopher Plummer) just wants them to keep hiding from the machine the rules the world. 9 disagrees and with the help of a few of the others they go about doing their best to bring down the machine.
I do not know what I was expecting when I went to see “9.” All I do know is that I did not get what I wanted. The story is weak and leads nowhere. The machine that is hunting the sock puppets (that is the best way to describe them) and taking the spark of life out of them; to what end I could not tell you. 
The animation is not even good enough to make the movie worth watching. There is only so much bleak, post-apocalyptic animation that one can stand. In the grand scheme of things it is just plain boring to watch.
5 out of 10
PG-13 for violence and scary images
79 min
