Opening

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Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

tomatometer

94

Average Rating: 8.2/10
Reviews Counted: 223
Fresh: 209 | Rotten: 14

Warm, whimsical, and poignant, the immaculately framed and beautifully acted Moonrise Kingdom presents writer/director Wes Anderson at his idiosyncratic best.

98

Average Rating: 8.4/10
Critic Reviews: 47
Fresh: 46 | Rotten: 1

Warm, whimsical, and poignant, the immaculately framed and beautifully acted Moonrise Kingdom presents writer/director Wes Anderson at his idiosyncratic best.

audience

86

liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 119,369

My Rating

Movie Info

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore -- and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances

PG-13,

Comedy

Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

Oct 16, 2012

$45.5M

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All Critics (223) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (209) | Rotten (14) | DVD (3)

The film is frequently funny, always elegant (or mock-elegant), and something that would make Humbert Humbert laugh all the way to his asylum.

June 17, 2013 Full Review Source: The New Republic
The New Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Most of Wes Anderson's previous pictures came from the head; Moonrise Kingdom is one from the heart.

June 21, 2012 Full Review Source: Miami Herald
Miami Herald
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Anderson never loses his core themes - young love, the need to escape, the bind and bluster of family. His "Kingdom" may not be large, but it is perfectly appointed.

June 15, 2012 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment (1)
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Phonies may complain that Anderson's island of misfit toys is a retreat from the real world, but for pure-hearted adventurers who share the secret map, "Moonrise Kingdom" is a joy that cannot be eclipsed.

June 8, 2012 Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Though undeniably smart and charming, "Moonrise Kingdom" loves itself the way the callow Holden Caulfield loves himself: unconditionally. Salinger understood the problem with that. Anderson may not.

June 8, 2012 Full Review Source: Newsday | Comments (26)
Newsday
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"Moonrise Kingdom" takes place in a world where everything seems pleasantly faded, where people read crackly-covered library books rather than e-books, and where young people are allowed to be genuinely innocent.

June 7, 2012 Full Review Source: Seattle Times | Comment (1)
Seattle Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Anderson's woodsy thought process... elicits a thorough batch of the rainy summer daydreams where most grand childhood adventures and romances are so often had: in heads and hearts, if not in flesh.

August 3, 2013 Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly
Orlando Weekly

Wes Anderson remains trapped in the aquarium of his own imagination.

August 3, 2013 Full Review Source: Canada.com
Canada.com

All the grounding you need comes from the performances of Hayward and Gilman as the young runaways. They seem to have internalized Anderson's wonky worldview completely.

August 3, 2013 Full Review Source: National Post
National Post

It's Wes Anderson's dollhouse as a home for wayward boys. Turns out, it's a safe place for adults to hide as well.

June 23, 2013 Full Review Source: Deadspin
Deadspin

Anderson delivers a magnificent blend of artistry, humor and emotional resonance.

May 24, 2013 Full Review Source: The Patriot Ledger
The Patriot Ledger

To date my favorite Wes Anderson and I don't characterize myself as an Anderson fan.

March 21, 2013 Full Review Source: Cinema Sight
Cinema Sight

It's doubtful this will win over any outright Anderson sceptics, but ... this is an exciting reaffirmation of talent.

March 4, 2013 Full Review Source: Film4

Wes Anderson's darkest movie yet retains his whimsical sense of humour and Fantastic Mr Fox-styled absurdity.

March 4, 2013 Full Review Source: Concrete Playground
Concrete Playground

One of the ten best films of 2012.

January 27, 2013 Full Review Source: Rage Monthly
Rage Monthly

At its heart, Moonrise Kingdom is a sweet and surprising love story with a healthy twist of typically warped humour.

January 8, 2013 Full Review Source: The Standard

The Houston native and University of Texas graduate beautifully blends humor and pathos to create what's bound to be one of the best movies of the year.

January 4, 2013 Full Review Source: Austin American-Statesman
Austin American-Statesman

People who enjoy being immersed in his singular vision won't be disappointed at all.

January 4, 2013 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Anderson's manner becomes a second skin and essential to the script, making Moonrise Kingdom a most comfortable way to watch matters uncomfortable.

December 31, 2012 Full Review Source: Bangitout.com
Bangitout.com

Easily among the best of [Anderson's] works, it's a technically marvelous film with spot-on performances, a gorgeously realized score, and impeccable production design.

December 28, 2012 Full Review Source: Twitch
Twitch

In the summer of big, expensive superhero flicks, Moonrise Kingdom evokes awe, wonder and the magic of escapism in a much smaller and more precious way.

December 17, 2012 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

Another quirky comedy from Wes Anderson who is an acquired taste I have not acquired.

December 12, 2012 Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com
jackiekcooper.com

a farce of whimsical philosophical import

November 25, 2012 Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews
Killer Movie Reviews

It's like a picturesque, ride down a long countryside road in autumn bursting with wonderful imagery; richly developed characters complimented by an excellent score that quickly brings you into this small in scope, but big on brilliance effort.

November 24, 2012 Full Review Source: Lyles' Movie Files
Lyles' Movie Files

Films that can charm kids and adults in equal measure are rare. This is one of them.

November 21, 2012 Full Review Source: Daily Star

Audience Reviews for Moonrise Kingdom

Probably my favorite film of the year (and what a good movie year it was!). Director Wes Anderson crafts a film that has a heart as big as its brain, creating a sweet story of adolescent love. It's Anderson's most delightfully quirky, toning down his usual sardonic but keeping the essence of an "Anderson" film. His shots seem compulsively symmetrical, the production design a matter of balance that feels quaint instead of off-putting. I want more tales of Suzy and Sam, but know I shouldn't get any- and that's the mark of a timeless film.
May 6, 2012
Jason Lalljee
Jason Lalljee

Super Reviewer

Wes Anderson, master of the aesthetically colorful, whimsical, sixties' tinged madness, outdoes even himself with a trope set in the very decade he draws from the most. Right down to the period clothing, sets, and a clickety typewriter to boot, this reeks of its time period, but at the same time it isn't mashed into your face. The setting for the film is much more magical and whimsical than it is cloaked in nostalgia. Set on an island that cannot be reached except by ferry and plane, making cars essentially useless, it has an otherness to it even while retaining the same base characteristics of Anderson's usual troupe of characters. Time period only lends interesting visuals, and doesn't ultimately define the characters. All characters are quirky, especially the troop that includes the lead character, Sam (Gilman), who are all instinctive about their natural environment, and testy about procedure, and yet are represented as normal kids rebutting the outsider. Even the troop leader, played by Edward Norton, thinks that Sam is an eccentric, and an oddity, so when Sam runs away to be with a girl who he has met once and wrote for a year, he is incensed, and yet begins to become thoughtful about the boy. The entire film follows the irregular course that these young lovers take, both odd to the outside world but much more mature than they're given credit for. Besides the love story there are the stories of the inhabitants of the island, including a police officer, the troop leader, and the family of the girl. Though the film is one of a tragic romance between young people, a great coming of age story, and of course a tale of an adventurous hero keeping the wolves at bay, it is also funny, sweet, and soft spoken. The young couple are really interesting, and in every scene they try to stay eternally bound and yet are kept apart by the obvious age issue. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward are very talented and yet are amateurs, so they keep the innocence of their age and yet bring forth the understanding of young, ambitious teenagers. The one point that irritates me is that the story of the family isn't well told, the characters are a bit flat, and the relationship between the mother and the policeman is the most boring aspect of the entire movie and yet is supposed to yield some untold insight into the lives of the island residents. It felt so pointless, except to show his willingness to look towards the future, and that's barely alluded to. This is another Anderson best, but compared to the detailed lives of his past characters, these only sometimes get the briefest of introductions.
February 18, 2012
FrizzDrop

Super Reviewer

    1. Suzy: We're in love. We just want to be together. What's wrong with that?
    – Submitted by Andrea M (49 days ago)
    1. Skotak: Damn us! It's none of our business. This troop has been very shabby to Field Mate Sam Shakusky. In fact, we've been a bunch of mean jerks! Why is he so unpopular? I admit, supposedly, he's emotionally disturbed, but he's also a disadvantaged orphan. How would you feel? Nickleby? Deluca? Lazy Eye? Gadge? He's a fellow Khaki Scout, and he needs our help. Are we man enough to give that, so part of his brain doesn't get removed out of him? They were prepared to die for each other out there.
    2. Deluca: Ok, ok. What do you need?
    3. Skotak: 3 yards of chicken wire, some ripped up newspapers, and a bucket of wheat paste.
    – Submitted by Adam H (4 months ago)
    1. Suzy: We're in love, we just wanna be together, what's wrong with that?
    – Submitted by rahul s (5 months ago)
    1. Sam: I guess we better try to pretend we're struggling over our decision for a minute before we go back over there and tell him.
    2. Suzy: Maybe he's right. It could be a mistake.
    3. Sam: What? Why? How?
    4. Suzy: Being married. Sometimes it seems sad to me. It might be better to just go steady permanently.
    5. Sam: I don't know what to say.
    – Submitted by Jean R (6 months ago)
    1. Lazy-Eye: What's your real job, sir?
    2. Scout Master Ward: I'm a math teacher.
    3. Lazy-Eye: What grade?
    4. Scout Master Ward: Eighth.
    5. Lazy-Eye: Do you need a PhD for that?
    – Submitted by Andrew M (7 months ago)
    1. Mrs. Bishop: I'm sorry, Walt.
    2. Mr. Bishop: It's not your fault. (pause) Which injuries are you apologizing for, specifically?
    3. Mrs. Bishop: Specifically? Whichever ones still hurt.
    4. Mr. Bishop: Half of those were self-inflicted.
    – Submitted by Charles T (8 months ago)
View all quotes (79)

Discussion Forum

Topic Last Post Replies
Rex Reed's review 2 months ago 14
Why aren't more people discussing this movie? 32 days ago 6
Fantastic movie... 51 days ago 2
Morse code in closing credits 2 months ago 0

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