Max (Max Records) is having trouble at home. His older sister allows her friends to terrorize him and his Mom (Catherine Keener) is a hard working single parent, distracted by a boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo). One night, completely out of control, Max runs away and escapes to an island inhabited by the Wild Things, strange creatures who are, at times, as out of control as he.

Upon his arrival, Max is taken under his wing by Carol (James Gandolfini), a big hairy beast with abandonment issues. In an effort to make everyone happy, Max promises the motley group that he can create a home for them in which they can all be joyful, and at Carol's behest, the group crowns him their king.

In the meantime, KW (Lauren Ambrose), another hairy being, returns. She has made other friends and wishes to leave the group, much to the dismay of Carol. She takes an immediate liking to Max, but is disturbed by the constant negativity from Judith (Catherine O'Hara), who is engaged to Ira (Forest Whitaker). She stays to help Max build a new abode and ends up protecting him from Carol, who has become resentful and hostile toward Max.

Although this is not a perfect film, because it is about 10 minutes too long, it is truly a shining example of life's lessons learned. Without clobbering us over the head with a script filled with cliches and trite dialogue, screenwriters Jonze and Dave Eggers have given us much to think about concerning happiness, and the pursuit of it. It is fascinating to watch as Max struggles with this issue and its ramifications, which, because he is still a child, thinks should be as easy to attain as waving a magic wand.

Records is quite extraordinary considering he carries this film and is in almost every scene. Keener is the wisest choice as Mom, as she never overplays her part, especially one as sensitive as this. It brings back shades of her portrayal of Harper Lee in "Capote". However, the two most captivating performances come from Gandfolfini and Ambrose. I simply can't imagine anyone else playing Carol after hearing Gandolfini's distinctive voice, and Ambrose possesses the perfect cadence to counter-balance his whining.

David was not nearly as crazy about this film as I --- but what does he know? Other than "Up" you won't find a more innovative film this year, so make sure you see it on the big screen!

The plotline, while pretty simplistic, teaches children a lesson in living and loving. The unique aspect of this work has live actors performing in giant monster suits while the aforementioned stars go through their lines. The coordination of the monsters' movements with the characters' lines is rather extraordinary. Except for some slow sequences mid-film, there is much to savor here.

But the most amazing achievements of all are those special effects which have the monsters' slightest facial movements revealing their innermost emotions. A crinkle of the lips here, a brief movement of the eyeball there, so from the first moment we meet these creatures, they become humanized.

At one point, Carol, the most violent of the monsters, loses his temper and runs briefly amok, and we get a sense of why Gandolfini was selected for the part. Ambrose, so wonderful in HBO's "Six Feet Under", is especially impressive as KW, the most reasonable and level-headed member of the group. Catherine Keener, always a standout, plays Max's (Max Records) Mom, and their fight is the catalyst for him running away and discovering the island of the behemoths.

Whitaker's Ira is a big, dumb galoot, and he is probably my favorite, as far as the beasts go. Mark Ruffalo appears briefly as Keener's boyfriend, and his handful of dialogue could have been handled by anyone. Although this movie is too scary for youngsters, that probably won't stop parents from bringing their five-year-olds along.

I think this movie needs to be seen more than once. The first viewing, from a cinematography and wonderment standpoint, is quite involving, particularly for someone not familiar with the book.