I didn't have high hopes for this movie. How could you make a full length movie out of such a short book and keep it true.

I saw the movie in a special preview Tuesday night with my two kids, age 7 and 10. I loved it; probably a bit more than they did. It is more a movie about childhood than it is a children's movie. It combines wistfulness with melancholy. There are many parallels between Max and the monsters, especially the lead character, "Carol" voiced so wonderfully by James Gandolfini. My biggest disappointment was that they didn't end the film with the wonderful song "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire that was the music to the movie trailer. It was perfect.

I saw a special screening of this movie last night with my husband and 13-year old daughter. I absolutely, positively HATED this movie. I thought it was DARK, filled with angst and so much inexplicable aggression. I expected the book to be filled with the creative, inventive musings of a young boy -- I just didn't get it.

This is NOT the movie to take your young ones to on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Do NOT take SMALL children to see this film! It is very dark, overwhelming, intense, harsh, depressing and SCARY! There is NO uplifting moments to the movie as the previews portray. This movie only showed a VERY HARSH life, in Max's real world and his fantasy one.

They did a great job of making the "wild things" look like the characters from the book, but the movie was very sad and well....terrifying. The effect this movie would do to someone that has lived in an abusive household ......could be devastating.

This is an amazing movie for many reasons.
It is not at all scary for small children.I took a 3 year old that loved it!

THIS MOVIE SUCKS! Totally not upbeat...confusing and depressing...not a good kids show! Dont waste your money. Monsters costumes were cool but I think the story was written by some pessimistic childrens psychologist. Out of 4 of us...nobody liked it or would want to see it again.

This is a TERRIBLE movie! The Max from the book is a mischievous boy who uses his imagination to escape punishment, not a borderline psychotic confronting inner demons.
And besides all that, it is boring. Dull. Draggy. Lifeless. Interminable.

I can't believe Maurice Sendak had anything to do with this stinker. The story that was built around the picture book was disjointed and far from believable. There were many loose ends in the fantasy scenes. I think Jonze was trying to depict deep psychological symbolism, but the whole thing falls flat. Don't waste your money on this movie.

This movie is not for children. It was dark, scary and very angry. We had 5 children with us ranging from 6 to 10 years old- none of them liked it. No one understood what the movie was about- short of Max being angry with his mom and terrified of the Wild Things. Don't waste your time or money. Buy the book instead.

HORRIBLE movie... depressing, sad, and I couldn't even talk a 13 or 5 year old into sitting through the full movie... WALKED OUT.

Awful- how dare the screenwriter presume to ride on the coattails of this classic book to push his or her own ridiculously shallow and twisted agenda, obviously sourced from their pretentoious and artless college days which certainly ended recently.
I knew it was total shite when they 'named' the characters- the wild things do not have names. There were undertones of abuse laced throughout the story, which was just gross. I'm shocked that gandolfini wanted anything to do with this. He must be angry at children.

This movie sucked. They butchered a classic. The costumes were the only thing to resemble the book. For example, near the end of the original story all of the monsters are supposed to be *beggging* Max not to leave - "they love him so". But in the movie, that KW character (what an inspiring name, huh?) only whispered "Don't Go". Mind you, that's good advice when it comes to seeing this movie.

Hands down, this is the worst release of 2009.

I want my hour and a half back... plus my thirty bucks!

Ok, ok, the popcorn was good so just give $23.50

Wow, what a downer! I had really high expections for this movie, and truthfully it had potential to be fabulous. What was with the dark and depressing theme? Not at all written for children, nor what I would take away from the outstanding book. What about going the happy, creative, whimsical way and have it be upbeat, fun & funny. The costuming is very well done - but I really wish I hadn't seen the movie, almost ruins my feelings about the book.

THis Movie was RAD RAD RAD! The book was dark....so the movie was dark! It was completely emotional it portrayed kids and how they feel things and imagine things to be. I walked out of the theater in awe and amazed how much of a kid I felt in that exact moment. I love the movie...Loved the music....Loved the characters, for they looked like the book....Loved the kid they picked he was great! I recommend everyone to see it!!

After months of anticipation, I feel this was a major LET DOWN. I was initially impressed by the trailer (powerful visuals and the Arcade Fire), hopeful after Sendak's endorsement, but really - I saw this coming. How do you translate a classic children's book with only ten sentences? By blowing your massive budget on visuals and shorting people on substance.

The entire movie reeks of Jonze's effort to force the worst aspects of indie film down the throats of a mainstream audience. The film struggles to reach deep symbolic context and crumbles under its own weight. I had hoped for an enlightening and uplifting film about childhood and imagination, instead I found a pile of pseudo-psychological musings and little substance. All three of us left disappointed, amid grumblings from other patrons - please save your money. If youre truly curious, rent it later on netflix, but dont expect much.

Same on you Spike Jonze for ruining this classic story, and shame on Maurice Sendak for sitting idly with dollar signs in your eyes.

If i was younger, this movie would have given me nightmares... I don't understand how they thought this movie would be in any way appealing to kids

I'd not read the book before, but I was familiar with some of the monsters. I think this is a movie you either like, or you don't. I'll agree that there were some loose ends that weren't resolved. I think the message was that problems don't get solved just because you run away from them, and that conflicts will still arise in "utopia." My daughter and I liked the movie, but we were warned that it's not a "kid's movie" in advance.