Dean Moriarty (Ulysses25)

A very beautiful, often dark and startling film, that is certainly imbued with the analogies Mo Sendak weaved through his book (one of my favorites as a kid.) Wild Things from the opening credits, surprises, and immediately sets the pace for the emotion young Max is channeling throughout the film. Spike Jonze did an amazing job bringing this world and its creatures to life; we often sit, amazed and heartbroken at times by the sadness in their eyes, or the lonesome way they walk, or the somberness in their postures; all of this juxtaposed by beautiful cinematography, and just overall wonderful film-painting.

The driving force here is emotion. Jonze pulls hard at the heartstrings, and if you were a lonely kid with an incredible imagination, like me, you'll certainly have a hard time holding it back. The final scene is a killer.

Top notch anime. A little thin on story, but the characters more than make up for it. If you're looking for something fun to just wash, or slice and dice those blues away, Kenshin's the way to go.