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Production stills from the film. (Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

The release of the live-action film adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s acclaimed children’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are, is finally here. The movie, which opens today, is directed by Spike Jonze from a screenplay by Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers, based on, of course, Maurice Sendak’s Caldecott-winning picture book of the same name.

The movie is playing at a number of movie theaters in and around Philadelphia, including on IMAX at the Franklin Institute. See the trailer below.

And don’t forget about the coinciding exhibitions and programming, collectively called Wild Things Days at The Rosenbach Museum & Library, where you’ll get a behind the scenes look at the making of the book, original illustrations and artwork, and a lot more:

* Event – Wild Things Family Day – Saturday, October 17 between 12 – 4pm
Spend an afternoon with the family taking part in a variety of “Wild” activities geared towards kids of all ages. Create Wild Things-inspired crafts, take a spin through the Rosenbach’s Sendak galleries with a family gallery guide or just settle down with a snack and a copy of your favorite Sendak book!

* Exhibition – Too Many Thoughts to Chew: A Sendak Stew, Through January 17, 2010

* Exhibition – And It’s Still Hot: Where the Wild Things Are, Through October 25, 2009

* Event – Hands-On Tour: Wild Things, Sunday, October 18; Friday, October 23

We checked out the exhibitions first-hand last week and they’re very cool. Make it a Wild Things weekend and do both the movie and The Rosenbach. (Click here to see our previous coverage of the special Maurice Sendak and Where the Wild Things Are programming at The Rosenbach.)

Top Image: Final drawing for Where the Wild Things Are. Pen and ink, watercolor. (© Maurice Sendak, 1963. All rights reserved.) Bottom images: The Rosenbach (Photos by M. Edlow.)

After the jump, we have more on the special programming at The Rosenbach as well as the trailer for the movie, starring Catherine Keener, Max Records and Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara and Forest Whitaker.

Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum & Library has a close, longstanding relationship with Maurice Sendak and is the sole repository of Sendak’s original artwork. Sendak, now 81 years old, chose the Rosenbach to be the permanent home of his work in the early 1970s thanks to shared literary and collecting interests.

The Rosenbach’s Sendak collection is the largest collection of “Sendakiana” in the world, with over 10,000 preliminary sketches, final drawings, manuscripts, books, and ephemera.

This October, the Rosenbach celebrates Sendak’s work with Wild Things Days (now thru October 2009), a series of programs for audiences looking to experience Sendak’s art and work up-close and in-person.

Wild Things Days includes two exhibitions of Sendak’s work, And It’s Still Hot: Where the Wild Things Are (now thru October 25), which focuses on the Where the Wild Things Are book, and Too Many Thoughts to Chew: A Sendak Stew (now thru January, 17, 2010), which looks at food, eating, and being eaten in Sendak’s work. The museum is also offering the gallery talk Maurice, Max, and the Wild Things (October 8), Wild Things Hands-On Tour (October 14, 18 and 23), and Wild Things Family Day (October 17) for children of all ages.

The trailer for Where the Wild Things Are:

Where the Wild Things Are Movie [Official Site]
The Rosenbach Museum & Library [Gophila.com]