The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

"Stop dreaming. Start living."

2013 1h 54m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 8,515

AdventureComedyDramaFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A timid magazine photo manager who lives life vicariously through daydreams embarks on a true-life adventure when a negative goes missing.

“Stop dreaming. Start living.”

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Cast

Ben Stiller
Walter Mitty
Kristen Wiig
Cheryl Melhoff
Sean Penn
Sean O'Connell
Shirley MacLaine
Edna Mitty
Adam Scott
Ted Hendricks
Kathryn Hahn
Odessa Mitty
Patton Oswalt
Todd Maher
Adrian Martinez
Hernando

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ben Stiller
Writers: Steven Conrad, James Thurber, Steven Conrad
Languages: English, Icelandic, Spanish
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $90M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Icelandic, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

222+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ben Stiller, shot by Stuart Dryburgh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Theodore Shapiro. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Greg Hayden shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ben Stiller directs. Stuart Dryburgh behind the camera. Theodore Shapiro scores. Greg Hayden cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Icelandic, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $90M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 13 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Icelandic, Spanish.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5222+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Ben Stiller, shot by Stuart Dryburgh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Theodore Shapiro. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Greg Hayden shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig and Sean Penn carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Stop dreaming. Start living.".
11IMDB entry: tt0359950 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 16 themes, including "himalaya mountain range", "photographer", "iceland", "daydream".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stuart Dryburgh
Original score: Theodore Shapiro
Editing: Greg Hayden
Production design: Jeff Mann
Costume design: Sarah Edwards
Makeup / hair: Lori Guidroz
VFX supervisor: Alexis Wajsbrot
Stunt coordinator: Clay Cullen
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $90,000,000
Box office: $188,133,322
Return: 209% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

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Ben Stiller

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2014-01-14
★ 7/10
The story is too simple but enjoyable and the photography is gorgeous. Best thing is seeing Shirley MacLaine and Kristen Wiig and Adrian Martinez performances.
cactuz9112014-01-24
★ 4/10
Boring, boring, boring...
Erin Taylor2015-06-04
★ 8/10
A truly underrated movie in my opinion. Excellent story, beautiful cinematography, and an inspirational message that somehow got overlooked. Life is meant to be lived, to be experienced... not day dreamed about, or fantasized in our heads! Get up, get out there, and get living!! I enjoyed this movie, as well as Ben Stiller's performance.