--- title: "Moonrise Kingdom: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/moonrise-kingdom/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/moonrise-kingdom" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 17 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Moonrise Kingdom (2012): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 17 reviews: 15 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Moonrise Kingdom, finding tenderness in Wes Anderson’s carefully arranged tale of young love. Praise centres on the young leads, whose sincerity makes the runaway romance convincing amid the elaborate sets and deadpan comedy. The reviews also admire the detailed visual compositions, with many finding that the storybook style strengthens the feeling rather than keeping it at a distance. The contrast between hopeful children and disappointed adults gives the humour a melancholy edge. Reservations concern how much that style allows the audience to feel, and how well the later stretches hold together. Little White Lies finds the second half occasionally unfocused, while The Telegraph considers the ending messy. The spread is largely favourable rather than sharply divided, but Radio Times finds that Anderson’s mannerisms obstruct the pathos. Sight and Sound offers a milder dissent: the film pleases in the moment without leaving as lasting an impression as his earlier work. ## Empire — Nev Pierce Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 March 2012. The critic praises the film's warm, beautiful world of first love and second chances, highlighting superb young performances and a sense of hope that makes it charming, daft, bright and joyful. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/moonrise-kingdom-review/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2012. Festival review. The critic celebrates the film's enchanting sweetness and deep feeling beneath its controlled surface, singling out its portrayal of intense, idyllic young love. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/moonrise-kingdom/5041840.article) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 28 May 2012. Anderson's film fuses the true and untrue in a tale of two children fleeing to the wild on a fictional island, redeemed by belonging and love amid adult disconnection. The critic singles out the new strain of tenderness and the moving performances, especially by Bill Murray and Bruce Willis. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/06/04/stormy-weather-3) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 4/4/4. 3 May 2012. The critic praises the film's sincere romanticism and hyper-detailed visual schemes while noting it occasionally loses focus in its second half. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/moonrise-kingdom) ## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 2012. Anderson finds near-perfect balance in this warm, funny fable about kids on the cusp of adolescence, with humanism and surrealism in harmony. The critic praises the magical spell cast by the story of young love and the way small truths emerge in the central relationship. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-may-25-la-et-moonrise-kingdom-20120525-story.html) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2012. The critic calls it Anderson's most enjoyable film in a while, a fanciful summer excursion and children's film for arty kids that mixes American frontier spirit with European sensibility through its landscape and soundtrack. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/moonrise-kingdom-wes-anderson-100-mins-12a-7768620.html) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 15 May 2012. The critic highlights the film's droll, cultured comedy and its smart balance of rarefied world-building with genuine feeling for its young heroes' romance. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/moonrise-kingdom) ## The Telegraph — David Gritten Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2012. Festival review. The film marks a return for Anderson with young leads as 12-year-olds running away on a New England island in 1965. It is a worthy addition to his canon with deadpan wit and a generous view of human imperfections, though the ending feels messy. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-film-festival/9269318/Cannes-2012-Moonrise-Kingdom-review.html) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 May 2012. The reviewer takes time to warm to the choreographed quirkiness but finds the young leads engaging once the adventure begins, ultimately viewing the film as a perfect melancholic escape in Anderson's never-never land. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/moonrise-kingdom-review-7788211.html) ## Sight and Sound — Nick James Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2012. Festival review. The critic finds the film a pleasingly light and crowd-pleasing fantasia that appeals strongly in the moment but lacks lasting resonance compared to Anderson's earlier work. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/newsandviews/festivals/blog/cannes-2012-05-17-fleeting-pleasures.php) ## Radio Times — Stella Papamichael Rating 3/5. The critic notes the film's oddball humour and cerebral coming-of-age elements but finds Anderson's mannered style prevents the pathos from landing emotionally. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-av8ldg/moonrise-kingdom/) ## Film Comment — Kristin M. Jones 1 May 2012. The critic praises the film's piercing love story at its center and its rapt, spontaneous quality that lends an easy comic rhythm. She singles out the candlelit production of Britten’s opera Noye’s Fludde for its role in the film's magic and emphasis on love, friendship, and imagination. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-moonrise-kingdom/) ## IndieWire — James Rocchi 16 May 2012. Festival review. The review calls it a tender triumph of design, decor, and rich emotion. It highlights Anderson's signature stylized world as enhancing the heartfelt story of young love. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/cannes-review-wes-andersons-moonrise-kingdom-is-a-tender-triumph-of-design-decor-rich-emotion-110404/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert 30 May 2012. The film creates a magical, self-contained world on a New England island in 1965 where two children run away together for an adventure. Ebert praises its understated gravity, emotional depth, and the way it captures wistfulness and the passage of innocence without irony. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/moonrise-kingdom-2012) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 24 May 2012. Wes Anderson is on form with a charming tale about two unpopular kids who fall in love and run away. The film is a charming, beautifully wrought evocation of young love in a more innocent America, with elegance, formal brilliance and gentle comedy. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/24/moonrise-kingdom-review) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy 15 May 2012. Festival review. The critic describes it as a willfully eccentric pubescent love story with meticulous, dollhouse-like detail that will strike many as arch, but notes a stronger emotional undertow than some Anderson films. The bond between the young leads is singled out as strong and bracing amid the artificial style and pursuit plot. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/moonrise-kingdom-324696/) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Rating Critic's Pick. 25 May 2012. Wes Anderson delivers a wondrous storybook tale about two 12-year-olds who run away to a remote cove, building their own world amid disappointed adults. The critic highlights the film's beauty, humor, deep melancholia, and how its artifice deepens emotional power. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/movies/wes-andersons-moonrise-kingdom-with-bruce-willis.html) ## The Times — Kate Muir 25 May 2012. Nostalgia-drenched Moonrise Kingdom is very funny and one of Anderson's best for fans, contrasting childish idealism with adult disillusion through great child actors and adult cameos. Sophistication comes from the cinematography and classical score. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/moonrise-kingdom-sh6n0m7fkwv) ## Eye for Film — Anne-Katrin Titze Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2012. Festival review. The review praises the film's hermetic island universe, child actors' natural charm, and meticulous production design including costumes and sets. It calls it the perfect summer movie for the eternally twelve who like to travel in style. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/moonrise-kingdom-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze) ## Den of Geek — Michael Leader Rating 4/5. 22 May 2012. The review highlights the film's continuation of Anderson's exploration of childlike whimsy through the runaway romance of two 12-year-olds and finds warmth in the community's rally around the duo. It singles out the contrast between the director's meticulous formal style and the sincerity of young love and small-town life. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/moonrise-kingdom-review/) ## Digital Spy — Ben Rawson-Jones Rating 4/5. 25 May 2012. The critic calls the film an enchanting yet edgy romantic adventure that is visually delightful, frequently funny and consistently touching. He singles out the young leads' naturalistic performances and the intimate handheld camerawork in their scenes for capturing the essence of lonely children. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a383423/moonrise-kingdom-review-an-enchanting-and-edgy-adventure/) ## /Film — Germain Lussier Rating 8/10. 25 May 2012. The review highlights the film's sweet, uncynical tale of young love and innocence as a welcome evolution for Anderson. It notes strong visuals and humor but finds the idealistic nostalgia occasionally at odds with the director's usual style. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/521296/moonrise-kingdom-review-wes-anderson-discovers-innocence-style-sweetness/) ## HeyUGuys — Adam Lowes Rating 4/5. 23 May 2012. The review finds Moonrise Kingdom awash in Anderson's eccentric stylings yet grounded by emotional tenderness. It notes the film as his strongest and most satisfying since The Royal Tenenbaums, though enjoyment depends on tolerance for his whimsy. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/moonrise-kingdom-review/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2012. The critic finds the film engaging and deadpan-funny, firmly in Wes Anderson's comfort zone with its quirky style, though it may not win over detractors who find his work precious. It singles out the dry humor, eccentric characters, and visual comedy with inanimate objects for praise, while noting it lags in the third act compared to Fantastic Mr. Fox. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/moonrise-kingdom-review-tweens-find-love-run-wes-andersons-latest-41276/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/moonrise-kingdom.md