Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom is a 2012 American coming-of-age

art lm directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola. Described as an eccentric,
pubescent love story, it features Bruce Willis as Captain Duy Sharp with newcomers Jared Gilman and
Kara Hayward in the lms main roles and an ensemble
cast.[3][4][5] Filming took place in Rhode Island from
April until June 29, 2011.[6] Worldwide rights to the independently produced lm were acquired by Focus Features.[6]

them grows, they kiss repeatedly.

While preparing the script for Moonrise Kingdom, director Wes Anderson viewed lms about young love like
Black Jack, Small Change, A Little Romance, and Melody
for inspiration.[7]

The Camp Ivanhoe Scouts have a change of heart and

decide to help the couple. Together, they paddle to a ctional neighboring St. Jack Wood Island to seek out the
help of Cousin Ben, an older relative of one of the Scouts.
Ben works at Fort Lebanon, a larger Khaki Scout summer
camp located on St. Jack Wood Island and run by Commander Pierce, who is Wards boss and views Ward as incompetent. Ben decides that the best available option is to
try to get Sam and Suzy aboard a crabbing boat anchored
o the island so that Sam can work as a crewman and
avoid Social Services, but before leaving he performs a
wedding ceremony, which he admits is not legally binding. Sam and Suzy never make it onto the crabbing boat,
and instead are pursued by Suzys parents, Captain Sharp,
Social Services and the Scouts of Fort Lebanon under the
command of Scoutmaster Ward, who displays great leadership after Commander Pierce is incapacitated.

Suzys parents, Scoutmaster Ward, the Scouts from Camp

Ivanhoe, and Island Police Captain Duy Sharp nd Sam
and Suzy in their tent at the cove. Suzys parents take her
home and when Sharp contacts the foster parents he is
told that they no longer wish to house Sam. He stays with
Sharp while they await the arrival of "Social Services"
an otherwise nameless woman with plans to place Sam in
a juvenile refuge and to explore the possibility of treating him with electroshock therapy.

The lm received critical acclaim and was nominated for

an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and was
nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion
Picture Musical or Comedy.[8]

Plot

In September 1965, on the ctional New England island

called New Penzance, 12-year-old orphan Sam Shakusky
is attending Camp Ivanhoe, a Khaki Scout summer camp
led by Scoutmaster Randy Ward. Suzy Bishop, also 12,
lives on the island with her parents, Walt and Laura,
both attorneys, and her three younger brothers in a house
called Summers End. Sam and Suzy, both introverted,
intelligent and mature for their age, met in the summer
of 1964 during a church performance of Noyes Fludde
and have been pen pals since then. Their relationship
having become romantic over the course of their correspondence, they have made a secret pact to reunite and
run away together. Sam brings camping equipment, and
Suzy brings her binoculars, six books, her kitten, and
her brothers battery-powered record player. They hike,
camp and sh together in the wilderness with the goal of
reaching a secluded cove on the island. They are confronted by a group of Khaki Scouts who try to capture
them, and during the resulting altercation, the groups motorcycle is thrown o a ledge, Suzy injures the Scouts de
facto leader, Redford, with her scissors and Camp Ivanhoes dog is killed by a stray shot from a bow and arrow
wielded by one of the Scouts. The Scouts ee and Sam
and Suzy hike to the cove which they name Moonrise
Kingdom. They set up camp and go swimming. Later,
while drying o, they begin dancing to Franoise Hardy
in their underwear. As the romantic tension between

A violent hurricane and ash ood strike only three days

after Sam and Suzy rst ran away from home and, after
many twists and turns, Sharp apprehends Sam and Suzy
on the steeple of the church in which they rst met. The
steeple is destroyed by lightning, but everyone survives.
During the storm, Sharp decides to become Sams legal
guardian, thus saving Sam from the orphanage, as well
as allowing him to remain on New Penzance Island and
maintain contact with Suzy.
At Summers End, Sam is painting a landscape of Moonrise Kingdom. Suzy and her brothers are called to dinner.
On slipping out of the window to join Sharp in his patrol
car, Sam tells Suzy that he will see her the following day.

2 Cast
Bruce Willis as Captain Sharp
Edward Norton as Scout Master Ward
Bill Murray as Mr. Bishop
1

5 RECEPTION
Frances McDormand as Mrs. Bishop
Tilda Swinton as Social Services
Jared Gilman as Sam
Kara Hayward as Suzy
Jason Schwartzman as Cousin Ben
Harvey Keitel as Commander Pierce

island and map it, and it would be a simple enough matter,

but to make it feel like a real thing, it just always takes a lot
of attention.[13] Anderson further stated that the movie,
has maps, and it has books, and it has watercolor paintings and needle-points, and a lot of dierent things that
we had to make. And all these things just take forever,
but I feel like even if they don't get that much time [on
screen], you kind of feel whether or not theyve got the
layers of the real thing in them.[13]

Bob Balaban as the Narrator

4 Release
3

Production

Cinematographer Robert Yeoman shot the movie on

Super 16mm lm (with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio), using
Aaton Xter and A-Minima cameras.[9] The lm was shot
at various places around Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island including Conanicut Island, Prudence Island, Fort
Wetherill, Yawgoog Scout Reservation, Trinity Church,
Conanicut Island Light, Ocean House, Lincoln Woods
State Park, Arcadia State Park, the Newport State Airport, Long Pond Woods, and Newports Ballard Park.[10]
Google Earth was used for initial location scouting, according to director Anderson. We had to gure out
where we were shooting this moviein Canada or Michigan or New England ... ? We started out with Where is
this girl [Suzys] house, and where is the naked wildlife
we want?" So [after Googling], we traveled around a bit,
to Cumberland Island in Georgia, to the Thousand Islands
on the New York/Ontario border ... we checked out all
these locations.[11]

Director and stars at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

The lm premiered on May 16, 2012 as the opening

lm at the 2012 Cannes Film Festivalthe rst lm of
Wes Anderson to play at Cannes, where it was screened
in competition.[7][14] It was released in French theaters
the same day. The American limited release occurred
on May 25, and set a record for the best per-theateraverage for a non-animated movie by grossing an average
of $130,752 in four theaters.[15]

A house in the Thousand Islands region in New York was

used as the model for the interior of Suzys house on the
set built for the movie. Conanicut Island Light, a decommissioned Rhode Island lighthouse, was used for the
exterior.[11]
Finishing its theatrical run on November 1, 2012, Moonrise Kingdom grossed $45,512,466 domestically and
$22,750,700 in international markets for a worldwide to3.1 Fictitious books and maps
tal of $68,263,166.[2]
In the lm, 12-year-old Suzy packs six (ctitious) storybooks she stole from the public library. Six artists were
commissioned to create the jacket covers for the books,
and Wes Anderson wrote passages for each of the books.
Suzy is shown reading aloud from three of the books during the lm. Anderson had considered incorporating animation for the reading scenes, but chose to show her reading with the other actors listening spellbound. In April
2012, Anderson decided to animate all six books and use
them in a promotional video in which Bob Balaban, who
plays the lms narrator, introduces the segment for each
of these imaginary books.[12]
On designing the maps for the ctitious New Penzance
Island and St. Jack Wood Island, director Anderson said,
Its weird because you'd think that you could make a fake

4.1 Home media

Moonrise Kingdom was released on DVD and Blu-ray
in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2012.[16] In the
United States, the lm was released on October 16, 2012
in two formats: a one-disc DVD, and a two-disc Blu-ray
+ DVD combo pack with a digital copy.[17] The Criterion Collection released both a DVD and Blu-ray release
on September 22, 2015.[18]

5 Reception

5.2

5.1

Top ten lists

Critical response

Moonrise Kingdom received widespread acclaim; review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the
lm a rating of 94% based on reviews from 229 critics, with an average score of 8.2/10.[19] The consensus
states, Warm, whimsical, and poignant, the immaculately framed and beautifully acted Moonrise Kingdom
presents writer/director Wes Anderson at his idiosyncratic best. Review aggregation website Metacritic gives
the lm a weighted average score of 84 (out of 100),
based on 43 reviews, indicating universal acclaim.[20]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gives the lm 4 stars out
of 5, calling it another sprightly confection of oddities,
attractively eccentric, witty and strangely clothed.[21]
Christopher Orr of The Atlantic wrote that Moonrise
Kingdom captures the texture of childhood summers, the
sense of having a limited amount of time in which to do
unlimited things and is Andersons best live-action feature because it takes as its primary subject matter odd,
precocious children, rather than the damaged and dissatised adults they will one day become.[22]
Kristen M. Jones of Film Comment wrote that the lm
has a spontaneity and yearning that lend an easy comic
rhythm, but it also has a rapt quality, as if we are viewing the events through Suzys binoculars or reading the
story under the covers by a ashlight.[23]

5.2

Top ten lists

Moonrise Kingdom was listed on many critics top ten

lists.[24]
1st Lou Lumenick, New York Post
1st Mike Russell, The Oregonian
1st David Germain, Associated Press
1st Sam Adams, The A.V. Club
1st Richard Brody, The New Yorker (tied with Holy
Motors)
2nd Gabe Toro, Indiewire
2nd Kristopher Tapley, Hitx
2nd Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
2nd Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
2nd Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
3rd Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies
3rd Karina Longworth, Aaron Hills, & Michelle
Orange, The Village Voice
4th Ty Burr, The Boston Globe

3
4th Jessica Kiang, Indiewire
4th Jake Coyle, Associated Press
4th Mike Scott, The Times-Picayune
5th Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
5th Mike D'Angelo & Nathan Rabin, The A.V.
Club
5th Christopher Orr, The Atlantic
5th Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times (tied with
Beasts of the Southern Wild)
6th Scott Tobias, The A.V. Club
6th Wesley Morris, The Boston Globe
7th Oliver Lyttelton, Indiewire
8th Christy Lemire, Associated Press
9th Peter Knegt, Indiewire
9th Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
9th Anne Thompson, Indiewire
9th Drew McWeeny & Gregory Ellwood, Hitx
9th J. Hoberman, Artforum (tied with Beasts of the
Southern Wild)
10th Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Top 10 (listed alphabetically) Bob Mondello, NPR
Top 10 (ranked alphabetically) Claudia Puig, USA
Today
Top 10 (listed alphabetically) Phillip French, The
Observer
Top 10 (listed alphabetically) David Denby, The
New Yorker
Top 10 (ranked alphabetically) Stephen Whitty,
The Star-Ledger
Top 10 (ranked alphabetically) Richard Lawson,
The Atlantic
Top 10 (listed alphabetically) Joe Morgenstern,
The Wall Street Journal
Top 10 (ranked alphabetically) Joe Williams &
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top 10 (listed alphabetically) Manohla Dargis,
The New York Times]
Best of 2012 (listed alphabetically, not ranked)
Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

5.3

Accolades

Soundtrack

The original score was composed by Alexandre Desplat,

who worked previously with Anderson on Fantastic Mr.
Fox, with percussion compositions by frequent Anderson
collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh. The nal credits of the
lm features a deconstructed rendition of Desplats original soundtrack in the style of Brittens Young Persons
Guide, accompanied by a childs voice to introduce each
instrumental section.[39]

REFERENCES

[6] Thompson, Anne (May 2, 2011). Wes Andersons New

Movie Moonrise Kingdom Starring Willis, Norton, and
Murray Goes to Focus Features. Thompson on Hollywood. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
[7] Hornaday, Ann (2 June 2012). Wes Anderson talks
about 'Moonrise Kingdom' and his Cannes debut. The
Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 25
June 2015.
[8] 2013 Golden Globe Nominations. December 14, 2012.
Retrieved December 14, 2012.
[9] Heuring, David (May 25, 2012). Cinematographer
Robert Yeoman Talks Super 16 Style on Moonrise Kingdom. studiodaily.com. Studio Daily. Retrieved 22
November 2014.

The soundtrack also features music by Benjamin Britten, a composer notable for his many works for childrens
voices. At Cannes, during the post-screening press con- [10] Jennifer Nicole Sullivan (June 6, 2012). Enchanted
ference, Anderson said,
Kingdom"". NewportRI.com. Retrieved October 13,
2013.

The Britten music had a huge eect on the

whole movie, I think. The movies sort of set
to it. The play of Noyes Fludde that is performed in itmy older brother and I were actually in a production of that when I was ten or
eleven, and that music is something I've always
remembered, and made a very strong impression on me. It is the colour of the movie in a
way.[40]

[11] Karpel, Ari. Moving Storyboards and Drumming: Wes

Anderson Maps Out the Peculiar Genius of Moonrise
Kingdom"". Co.Create. Fast Company. Retrieved July
6, 2012.
[12] Vary, Adam (7 June 2012). "'Moonrise Kingdom': Wes
Andersons animated take on the lms imaginary books.
Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
[13] Vary, Adam (1 June 2012). "'Moonrise Kingdom' director Wes Anderson on its box oce record and casting his
young leads. Inside Movies. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 8 July 2012.

With many Britten tracks taken from recordings conducted or supervised by the composer himself, the music includes The Young Persons Guide to the Orches[14] Festival de Cannes - From 16 to 27 may 2012. Festivaltra (Introduction/Theme; Fugue), conducted by Leonard
cannes.fr. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
Bernstein; Friday Afternoons (Cuckoo"; Old Abram
Brown); Simple Symphony (Playful Pizzicato); Noyes [15] Smith, Grady (28 May 2012). Box oce report: 'Men in
Black 3' tops Memorial Day weekend with $70M; 'MoonFludde (various excerpts, including the processions of anrise Kingdom' huge in limited release. Inside Movies
imals into and out of the ark, and The spacious rmablog.
Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
ment on high); and A Midsummer Nights Dream (On
[41]
the ground, sleep sound).
[16] Moonrise Kingdom. Filmdates.co.uk. 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
Also featured are extracts from Saint Saens's Carnaval
des Animaux, Franz Schubert's An Die Musik and tracks
[17] Moonrise Kingdom Blu-ray. Blu-ray.com. August 14,
by Hank Williams.
2012. Retrieved September 25, 2012.

References

[18] Moonrise Kingdom. The Criterion Collection. Retrieved

2 November 2015.
[19] Moonrise Kingdom at Rotten Tomatoes

[1] "Moonrise Kingdom (12A)". British Board of Film Classication. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[20] Moonrise Kingdom at Metacritic

[2] Moonrise Kingdom at Box Oce Mojo

[21] Peter Bradshaw (May 24, 2012). Moonrise Kingdom

review. Guardian. London. Retrieved May 30, 2012.

[3] McCarthy, Todd. Moonrise Kingdom: Cannes Review.

The Hollywood Reporter.
[4] Weisberg, Jacob. Wes Anderson on directing Bruce
Willis, Edward Norton for the rst time. Slate. Retrieved
2012-05-31.
[5] Allin, Olivia (January 13, 2012).
Bill Murray
and Wes Anderson reunite for 'Moonrise Kingdom'".
OnTheRedCarpet. Retrieved May 6, 2012.

[22] Orr, Christopher (1 June 2012). The Youthful Magic of

'Moonrise Kingdom'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 18 June
2012.
[23] Jones, Kristen M. Moonrise Kingdom. Film Comment.
Retrieved 25 June 2012.
[24] Dietz, Jason (11 December 2012). 2012 Film Critic Top
Ten Lists. Metacritic. Retrieved 2 November 2015.

[25] Fleming, Mike. Seth MacFarlane And Emma Stone

To Announce Oscar Nominations. Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-05-19.

Moonrise Kingdom at Box Oce Mojo

[26] Nominees & Recipients. ACE Film Editors. Retrieved

2013-05-19.

Moonrise Kingdom at Metacritic

[27] American Film Institute. A Awards. A.com. Retrieved 2013-05-19.

[28] 2012 Awards - Austin Film Critics Association. Austinlmcritics.org. 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
[29] Velkommen til. Bodilprisen.dk. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
[30] Film Awards Nominations Announcement in 2013 - Film
Awards - Film. The BAFTA site. 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
[31] Wes Andersons Moonrise Kingdom opens Cannes Film
Festival. BBC News. BBC. May 17, 2012. Retrieved
November 27, 2012.
[32] Knegt, Peter; Smith, Nigel M (November 26, 2012).
"'Moonrise Kingdom,' 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Lead
Gotham Award Winners. IndieWire. SnagFilms. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
[33] Nomineringarna till Guldbaggen (in
Sydsvenskan.se. Retrieved January 3, 2013.

Swedish).

[34] Harp, Justin (November 27, 2012). "'Moonrise Kingdom', 'Silver Linings among Independent Spirit nominees. Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved
November 27, 2012.
[35] San Diego Film Critics Nominate Top Films for 2012.
San Diego Film Critics Society. December 9, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
[36] Harp, Justin (December 4, 2012). "'Les Misrables earns
ten Satellite Award nominations. Digital Spy. Hearst
Magazines UK. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
[37] World Soundtrack Awards Announces 2012 Nominees.
World Soundtrack Academy. Flanders International Film
Festival. August 22, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
[38] 34th Annual Young Artist Awards.
gArtistAwards.org. Retrieved 2013-03-31.

Youn-

[39] Amazon.com. Retrieved 1 July 2013.

[40] Moonrise Kingdom: Whats the Britten music used in
Wes Andersons new movie?". Britten Pears Foundation.
2012. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
[41] Evan Minske (2012-05-02). Wes Andersons Moonrise
Kingdom Soundtrack: Check Out the Tracklist and a
Piece of the Score. Retrieved 2012-07-28.

External links
Ocial website
Moonrise Kingdom at the Internet Movie Database

Moonrise Kingdom at Rotten Tomatoes

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Moonrise Kingdom Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonrise_Kingdom?oldid=745350963 Contributors: Gabbe, DocWatson42,

Beland, Kuralyov, Ethanz, Erik, Koavf, MarnetteD, Samuel Wiki, Imladros, UDScott, Validusername, Jeremy Butler, Prebys, Allixpeeke,
Kintetsubualo, Chris the speller, Jennica, Hoof Hearted, Beetstra, Caiaa, Swampyank, Tomwood0, Briancua, Mckramer, Icarus of
old, Cydebot, Reywas92, Lugnuts, JamesLucas, DumbBOT, TonyTheTiger, TFunk, Krevans, Darkwarriorblake, Shirt58, Darrenhusted,
MelanieN, WikkanWitch, Donald McKinney, NMaia, R'n'B, Lincstrunk, Hispanosuiza, Chiswick Chap, Ravenicus451, Fullmetal2887,
Aletucker, Letterofmarque, JuneGloom07, Abtinb, Billinghurst, Feudonym, Grieferhate, I am the radiohead, Jullo, Goustien, Nucleophilicrxn, Morningstar1814, All Hallows Wraith, SergioMoonbeam, Drmies, TheOldJacobite, Parkwells, Trivialist, Dbrier, Arjayay,
Jenholden, XLinkBot, MarmadukePercy, MystBot, Everydayidiot, Angryapathy, Addbot, Imeriki al-Shimoni, Smetanahue, Atethnekos,
Ocanoe, Jim10701, Favonian, Mdnavman, Zorrobot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, BKMastah, Tanonero, Kookyunii, Itxia, AnomieBOT, Jim1138,
JackieBot, Materialscientist, Ring Cinema, Sb1990, Aquila89, Anonymous from the 21st century, Jean-Jacques Georges, Wanderor, Rebbing, FrescoBot, Sock, Karlakas, Bigweeboy, Rotideypoc41352, Freshh, Tom Parrett, LtMuldoon, Lucia Black, Biker Biker, Edderso,
Skarock, Dutchmonkey9000, Tim1357, Mjs1991, Callanecc, Film Fan, Jesseoy, Zombiyaic, Regge robban2, RjwilmsiBot, NameIsRon, Notjbg, Vinnyzz, EmausBot, User 53, GoingBatty, Evanh2008, SunOfErat, ZroBot, John Cline, LionFosset, Iesusgygg, Gavbadger, MAINEiac4434, AndrewOne, Gaarmyvet, SporkBot, Jdebenedict, Filmested, LoveWae, Captain Assassin!, Soe7, ClueBot NG,
Wukai, Crakkerjakk, Gareth Grith-Jones, Mayckon.trudes, A wild Rattata, Easy4me, Rezabot, Helpful Pixie Bot, Popcorndu, Gothiclm, Stopkid, FromtheWordsofBR, BG19bot, Rotoole5, Gabriel Yuji, Hosam007, AvocatoBot, PumpkinSky, Stelpa, Daljp11, Janesaj,
Kenny Sauceda, Loriendrew, Cralb821, BattyBot, Justincheng12345-bot, Piano Agent, ElliotRosewater, EdenCole, Jjuo, ChrisGualtieri,
Vd2187, Norgizfox5041, Karin Anker, Follande, Dexbot, Charlotte JR., Robbykilgore, Makecat-bot, Saul Grant, Potmum, Zaldax, Moonriseend, Vfoxmoore, Redd Foxx 1991, ThatMovieNerd, ThatFilmGuy92, MatthewHoobin, Lemaroto, Smallprint84, Jimmypopeyedoyle, Two kinds of pork, Nyuszika7H, Bouthaley-II, Jetticus12, Monkbot, Nicbob225, Mshmurd, JShanley98, Bobblybibbles, Fixer0831,
Alexjones46853, Kashiki200, Specs-o, IreneTandry, TregRyder001, Windycli, SniperHawk61, Wanheda307 . and Anonymous: 254

9.2

Images

File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

File:Moonrise_Kingdom_Cannes_2012.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Moonrise_Kingdom_
Cannes_2012.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Georges Biard
File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This le was derived from Wiki letter w.svg: <a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Wiki_letter_w.svg' class='image'><img alt='Wiki letter w.svg' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_
letter_w.svg/50px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png' width='50' height='50' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/
Wiki_letter_w.svg/75px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/
100px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='44' data-le-height='44' /></a>
Original artist: Derivative work by Thumperward
File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: Own work Original artist: Rei-artur

9.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0