Where the Wild Things Are Pols of "Time" magazine wrote that "[w]hat makes Sendak's book so compelling is its grounding effect: Max has a tantrum and in a flight of fancy visits his wild side, but he is pulled back by a belief in parental love to a supper 'still hot,' balancing the seesaw of fear and comfort." "New York Times" film critic Manohla Dargis noted that "there are different ways to read the wild things, through a Freudian or colonialist prism, and probably as many ways to ruin this delicate story of a solitary child liberated by his imagination." In Selma G. Lanes's book
Where the Wild Things Are (film) was released in Russia on 4 February 2010. Reception to the film has been generally positive. The film holds a 73% approval rating on review website Rotten Tomatoes from 259 reviews with an average score of 6.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Some may find its dark tone and slender narrative off-putting, but Spike Jonze's heartfelt adaptation of the classic children's book is as beautiful as it is uncompromising." Review aggregation website Metacritic gave the film an average score of 71 out of 100 based on 37 reviews. Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film an A, declaring the