Where the Wild Things Are came out on Friday and was top at the box office with a $32 million take. (Gerard Butler’s Law Abiding Citizen came in second with $21 million.) People may have flocked to see the big screen version of the children’s classic, but many went away disappointed. The Spike-Jonze directed movie, rated PG, isn’t appropriate for the same audience as the book and many families found it too dark, scary and adult for kids.

ennifer O’Brien wasn’t in her theater seat 20 minutes when she realized she’d made a mistake bringing her daughter.
REVISIT THE REVIEW: Claudia Puig on ‘Wild Things’
O’Brien, 37, of Phoenix, took 7-year-old Eileen to Where the Wild Things Are on Sunday, hoping the girl would enjoy the movie as much as O’Brien loved the 1963 picture book.

Mom was wrong. “She was pretty scared,” O’Brien says at the AMC Century City in Los Angeles. “We spent most of the time in the lobby playing video games. This isn’t a children’s movie.”

Then what is it? Directed by art-house helmsman Spike Jonze, Wild is walking a precarious demographic line.

Though rated PG, the movie plays like a grown-up flick in parts. The film is dominated by dialogue, often about death. The threat of violence to the child hero, Max, is palpable. One Wild Thing has an arm ripped off.

Still, families made up more than half the audience, fueling Wild’s $32.7 million debut, which beat expectations.

“Parents who complain the movie isn’t for kids didn’t do their homework,” says Joseph Vargas, 41, of Fresno, who brought his 9-year-old son, Antonio. “He wasn’t bothered by anything in it,” including the kid being in danger. “If anything, he wanted more danger.”

Warner Bros., which released Wild, says the studio never misrepresented the tone of the movie, which has earned positive reviews. “We were very clear what this movie is,” says Dan Fellman, distribution chief for Warner Bros. “We were careful not to market it to young people. This is a choice parents should look into and make for themselves.”

Danielle Herrera wasn’t concerned whether her 10-year-old son, Carlos, could handle the movie’s mature themes.

“Have you seen what they show on TV?” says Herrera, 38, of Los Angeles. “It’s worse than anything they showed in this movie. Kids handle more than we think.”

For his part, Jonze is unapologetic about the film’s tone. “It was a dangerous, daring book,” Jonze said in an interview earlier this month. “The movie should reflect the emotions of the book.”

Whether those emotions are suitable for young children is splitting audiences, a schism that puzzles some film experts.

“This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone,” says film critic Scott Mantz of Access Hollywood. “You can’t hire a visionary director and expect his movie to be another Alvin and the Chipmunks.”

[From USA Today]

My five year-old cried during the main conflict scene in UP, so there’s no way I’d take him to see this movie or let him watch it until he’s much older. He asked about it as he loves the book, but I told him it’s not for kids. I’m not a real Spike Jonze fan. I found Being John Malkovich and Adaptation a little too strange to enjoy, although my husband loves his work. Of course no one would expect Jonze to make a movie for kids, so then why did they hire him for one? This is a movie based on a children’s book, and it seems like it should be suitable for children. I can’t judge, though, and have admittedly not seen it yet. It’s getting mixed but overall positive reviews, with some critics calling it “poignant,” and “innovative,” and citing the amazing visuals, and others saying it’s “emotionally lacking,” and “tiresome.” Several critics say that while it’s not a film for kids, it’s made from a kid’s point of view and captures that perspective well.

Did any of you see it over the weekend, and what did you think?

Photos via AllMoviePhoto