With credits including Being John Malkovich and a raft of off-the-wall music videos, director Spike Jonze is synonymous with everything wild and wacky. His take on Maurice Sendak's much-loved children's book does offer plenty of wildness and wackiness, although it's also unusually sombre. Young hero Max, played by cherubic newcomer Max Records, is a bit of a terror - he's introduced wrestling to his dog and generally driving mum (Catherine Keener) crazy. But Jonze has a Spielberg-like ability to engage us with a child's point of view, so Max is never overbearing. The same can't be said for Carol, a bad-tempered giant beast who befriends Max after he runs away to a magical realm. Carol crowns him the king of this world, which is populated by other fuzzy, fantastical creatures (created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop) that look great set against a rugged landscape. The problem is that Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) is just not endearing. And the story of his friendship with Max, and how the boy overcomes his rage, is handled rather subtly, meaning this is more likely to appeal to older children than those who the book is really aimed at.

Max imagines running away from his mom and sailing to a far-off land where large talking beasts—Ira, Carol, Douglas, the Bull, Judith and Alexander—crown him as their king, play rumpus, build forts and discover secret hideaways.