Where the Wild Things Are (film) Berger ("The Chronicles of Narnia") turned down offers to work on the film four times. Although the book inspired him as a child to work in special effects, he felt filming it was a "horrible idea." Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the animatronic suits for the Wild Things. Filming began in April 2006 at Docklands Studios Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia. Jonze kept in close consultation with Sendak throughout the process, and the author approved creature designs created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. To make the set a more comfortable environment for Max Records, Jonze encouraged the crew members to bring
Where the Wild Things Are (film) film "one of the year's best." Manohla Dargis of the "New York Times" wrote that Spike Jonze's "filmmaking exceeds anything he’s done" before, while also noting the imaginative visuals and otherworldly feel, along with the fantastic creature effects on the "Wild Things". Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" gave the film four stars saying, "For all the money spent, the film's success is best measured by its simplicity and the purity of its innovation." Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of four. Some critics have noted the movie's dark adaptation for children, such as David Denby from "The New