''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is a 2001 American
tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...
film directed by
Wes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...
and co-written with
Owen Wilson. It stars
Danny Glover,
Gene Hackman,
Anjelica Huston,
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...
,
Gwyneth Paltrow,
Ben Stiller,
Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson. Ostensibly based on a nonexistent novel, and told with a narrative influenced by the writing of
J. D. Salinger, it follows the lives of three gifted siblings who experience great success in youth, and even greater disappointment and failure in adulthood. The children's
eccentric father, Royal Tenenbaum (Hackman), leaves them in their adolescent years and returns to them after they have grown, falsely claiming he has a
terminal illness. He works on reconciling with his children and ex-wife (Huston).
With a variety of influences, including
Louis Malle's 1963 film ''
The Fire Within'' and
Orson Welles' 1942 film ''
The Magnificent Ambersons'', the story involves themes of the
dysfunctional family
In psychology, abnormality (also dysfunctional behavior, maladaptive behavior, or deviant behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when i ...
, lost greatness, and redemption. An
absurdist and ironic sense of humor pervades the film, which features a
soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
subsequently released in two albums. ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' was shot in and around
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, including a house in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
used for the Tenenbaum residence. The filmmakers went to efforts to distinguish the film's backgrounds from a recognizable New York, with fashions and sets combining the appearances of different time periods.
After debuting at the
New York Film Festival, ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' received positive reviews from critics and was Anderson's most financially successful film until 2014's ''
The Grand Budapest Hotel''. Hackman won a
Golden Globe for Best Actor - Musical or Comedy for his performance at the
59th Golden Globe Awards, and Anderson and Wilson were nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the
74th Academy Awards. In 2016, it was included in
BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century.
Plot
Royal Tenenbaum explains to his three adolescent children, Chas, Margot, and Richie, that he and his wife, Etheline, are separating. Each of the children achieved great success at a young age. Chas is a math and business genius, from whom Royal steals money. Margot, who was adopted, was awarded a grant for a play that she wrote in the ninth grade. Richie is a
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
prodigy and artist who expresses his love for Margot. Eli Cash is the Tenenbaums' neighbor and Richie's best friend. Also part of the Tenenbaum household is Pagoda, the trusted valet.
Twenty-two years later, Royal is kicked out of the hotel where he has been living. The children are in a post-success slump, with Richie traveling the world on a
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...
, following a breakdown. He writes to Eli revealing his romantic love for Margot. Chas has become overprotective of his sons, Ari and Uzi, following his wife Rachael's death in a plane crash. Margot is married to
neurologist
Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...
Raleigh St. Clair, from whom she hides her smoking and her checkered past. Raleigh is conducting research on a subject named Dudley Heinsbergen, and diagnoses Dudley with Heinsbergen Syndrome.
Etheline's longtime accountant, Henry Sherman, proposes to her. Learning of Henry's proposal via Pagoda, Royal claims that he has
stomach cancer to win back his wife's and children's affections. Etheline calls her children home, and Royal moves back in and sets up medical equipment in Richie's room. Royal learns of Chas' overprotective nature and takes his grandsons on an adventure involving
shoplifting and
dog fighting. On their return, Chas berates him for endangering his boys while Royal accuses Chas of having a
nervous breakdown
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
.
Eli, with whom Margot has been having an affair, tells her that Richie told him he loves her. Royal discovers the affair and objects to Margot's treatment of Raleigh, who confides to Richie his suspicions of Margot having an affair. He and Richie hire a
private investigator to surveil her. Meanwhile, Henry investigates Royal's cancer claim and discovers his hospital had closed, his doctor does not exist, and that his cancer medication is only
Tic Tacs. He confronts Pagoda, Royal's partner in the scheme, and gathers the family to tell them that Royal has been lying about his illness. Afterwards, Royal and Pagoda are kicked out from the family home and into a gypsy cab.
Richie and Raleigh get the private eye's report on Margot, which reveals her history of smoking and sexual promiscuity, including a previous marriage to a
Jamaican recording artist. Both men take the news hard, with Richie going into a bathroom, shaving off his hair and beard, and slashing his wrists in an attempt at suicide. Dudley finds Richie and Raleigh rushes him to hospital. As the Tenenbaums sit in the waiting room, Raleigh confronts Margot about her past, reveals that he knows she smokes, and then leaves. Richie checks himself out of the hospital and meets with Margot in his childhood tent to confess his love. They quietly cherish their mutual, secret love and they kiss.
Royal decides that he wants Etheline to be happy, and finally files for a divorce. Before Henry and Etheline's wedding, Eli, high on
mescaline
Mescaline, also known as mescalin or mezcalin, and in chemical terms 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, is a natural product, naturally occurring psychedelic drug, psychedelic alkaloid, protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, found ...
, crashes his car into the side of the house. Royal rescues Ari and Uzi just in time, but the boys' dog, Buckley, is killed in the collision. Enraged, Chas chases Eli through the house and tosses him into the neighbor's yard. Eli and Chas agree that they both need help. Chas thanks Royal for saving his sons and for buying them a
Dalmatian named Sparkplug from the responding firemen as a replacement for Buckley. Forty-eight hours later, Etheline and Henry are married in a
judge's chambers.
Some time later, Margot releases a new play inspired by her family and past events, Raleigh publishes a book about Dudley's condition, Eli checks himself into a drug rehabilitation facility in
North Dakota
North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
, and Richie begins teaching a junior tennis program. Chas becomes less overprotective of his sons, and Royal seems to have improved his relationship with all his children, and looks to be on better terms with Etheline.
Sometime later, Royal suffers a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
and dies at the age of 68. Chas accompanies him in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, and is the only witness to his death. The family attends his funeral, where the
epitaph (which he wrote beforehand) reads that he "Died tragically rescuing his family from the wreckage of a destroyed sinking battleship."
Cast
''The Royal Tenenbaums'' has an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to the po ...
,
led by Hackman.
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
also serves as the narrator.
The fictional family and performers are:
Production
Development
A starting point for the story's concept was the divorce of director
Wes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...
's own parents, but the screenplay as developed bears little resemblance to his family events.
French director
Louis Malle's works, such as his 1971 ''
Murmur of the Heart'', were an influence on Anderson. He particularly drew from ''
The Fire Within'' (1963), in which a suicidal man tries to meet his friends. A line from ''The Fire Within'', translated into English, is said as "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow."
Orson Welles' 1942 film ''
The Magnificent Ambersons'' was also an influence.
Anderson acknowledged that he may have subconsciously selected his main set for its reflection of Welles' production.
E. L. Konigsburg's book ''
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'', in which young siblings Claudia and Jamie Kincaid run away to live in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York, inspired the film's section of Margot and Richie hiding out in a museum. Anderson had read the book as a child, and said it long fascinated him.
J. D. Salinger's characters in the 1961 book ''
Franny and Zooey'' inspired much of the child prodigy material. The children of the Glass family in Salinger's work are precocious with an abundance of exceptional talents. ''Franny and Zooey'' also features characters wearing distinctive fashions and a character named Tannenbaum. "Tenenbaum" is the surname of an acquaintance of Anderson.
The film ''
Les Enfants Terribles'' (1950) by
Jean-Pierre Melville, partly inspired Richie and Margot's relationship.
Other inspirations were a childhood friend of Anderson said to love his sister, and the director's interest in the
incest taboo. Anderson acknowledged that revising the story to make Margot an adopted daughter made the relationship more believable.
In creating the characters, Anderson and
Owen Wilson used neurologist
Oliver Sacks as a model for Raleigh.
Anderson based the notion of Eli writing ''Old Custer'' on the success of
Cormac McCarthy's style of storytelling.
Wilson and Anderson completed the screenplay in two years, needing an extended period because of the film's complexity.
Casting
Gene Hackman was Anderson's choice for Royal. The director said, "It was written for him against his wishes".
Hackman was hesitant about accepting the role, citing his lack of understanding of, or commonalities with Royal. Hackman's agent persuaded him to take the role. While he delayed,
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...
was considered for the part,
as was
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He was mainly known for his comedic roles, including his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fa ...
, according to rumor. In 2025, Anderson elaborated that "Gene was very annoyed about the money. He was furious. Also, he didn’t want to do the film anyway. I talked him into it — I just didn’t go away … And everybody else said yes to the salary, so Gene just went with it — and that just became our way. He left without saying goodbye. He was grumpy — we had friction... He didn’t enjoy it. I was probably too young and it was annoying to him. He liked
he movie But he told me he didn’t understand it when we were shooting."
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...
added that "Gene was really rough on Wes and I used to kind of step in there and just try to defend my friend."
Hackman's decision to star made it easier for Anderson to attract a cast of high-profile actors.
Because
Ben Stiller and
Gwyneth Paltrow were each available for only a limited time, the shooting schedule had to be organized around them.
Etheline Tenenbaum was written with
Anjelica Huston in mind.
Following a nadir in his career with ''
Larger Than Life'' and ''
The Man Who Knew Too Little'' in the 1990s, Murray had opted to focus on supporting parts in offbeat comedies. He played in Anderson's ''
Rushmore'' and then ''The Royal Tenenbaums'', and has continued to collaborate with him. Anderson discovered
Stephen Lea Sheppard, who played Dudley, through his friend
Judd Apatow, as he was acting in Apatow's television series, ''
Freaks and Geeks''.
Anderson approached
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
to narrate the film but, according to the actor, didn't want the film to be narrated and wasn't going to use his voiceover for the finished film. The producers were insisting he use this device. When Baldwin shared this story during the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
in 2021, while celebrating the film's 20th anniversary, Anderson replied that he had never rejected the voiceover. Author
Matt Zoller Seitz pointed out in his book about Wes Anderson that the screenplay always had the narration element.
Filming
Around 250 sets were employed during photography. Art director Carl Sprague said the crew avoided sites that would identify
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, and even altered street signs.
The house used in the film is located at 339 Convent Avenue, near the famous
Sugar Hill in the
Hamilton Heights section of
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
.
For his "quintessential New York story", Anderson went
location scouting in May 2000, spotted the house and admired what he described as its "storybook quality".
The owner, Willie Woods, was planning to remodel it, but agreed to delay the project for six months so
principal photography could take placell.
Anderson said the film's dalmatian mice that populate the house were created by crew adding spots with a
Sharpie marker.
The
Waldorf-Astoria was used for the hotel scenes,
while
Central Park Zoo stood in for a rain forest.
A
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
training ship represented Richie's ship.
The crew added 10,000 square feet of
AstroTurf at
Forest Hills Stadium, to film Richie's tennis match.
During production, Anderson gave Huston photographs of his mother who, like Etheline, was an archaeologist. Huston said, "Wes would send pictures of his mother in aviator jackets or on archaeological digs, and he very specifically wanted me to wear a certain locket. Finally, I asked him, 'Wes, am I playing your mother?'" Anderson replied this was not the case.
Anderson and Huston had a tense relationship with Hackman, who was not always amiable on set.
On the first day Hackman and Huston appeared in a scene together, Huston had to slap him. Later she said the slap was real and "I hit him a really good one. I saw the imprint of my hand on his cheek and I thought, he's going to kill me."
During young Margot's birthday scene in the opening scenes, Huston's hair caught fire from a birthday candle. Anderson credited
Kumar Pallana with extinguishing the blaze before Huston was seriously injured.
As shooting continued, the bird used for Mordecai was caught by a citizen of New Jersey, who demanded a price for its return. It was replaced instead by one more white in color.
Themes
Journalist Jesse Fox Mayshark wrote that, like the similarly titled ''The Magnificent Ambersons'', Anderson's story follows an older mother considering remarriage, creating a stir in the family. Professor Claire Perkins added that in ''The Royal Tenenbaums'', this tension regarding a possible remarriage has minor class and racial elements, with Chas refusing to call Henry by his first name and Royal calling Henry an "old
black buck". Royal also calls Henry "
Coltrane" and speaks
jive, drawing on
racial stereotypes found in media. To ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' family-drama template, Mayshark wrote that Anderson added his "naturally redemptive instincts", stressing "forgiveness" over villainizing the guilty. Royal's "redemption" is a central theme.
Professor Carl Plantinga assessed Royal's motives as shifting from "purely selfish" considerations to genuine hopes for reconciliation when he is removed from the home after his false illness is exposed. Perkins observed that before Royal's death, he had endeared himself to each Tenenbaum in some way. To do this, he had to force his way back into the family's lives as an intruder professing an intent to "make up for lost time". The prospect of Royal and Etheline rekindling their marriage is largely regarded as impossible, though she weeps at Royal's false terminal illness, and Royal inquires about her "love life". In the end, the "ritual community celebration signalling successful social integration" that is a staple of comedy endings comes in the form of Etheline's marriage to Henry rather than a remarriage to Royal, Plantinga wrote.
Academic Donna Kornhaber theorized that through adultery and pronouncements that "There are no teams", Royal had separated himself from the Tenenbaums; Royal's belief that he is not a Tenenbaum is signaled when he seconds Eli's sentiment that he "always wanted to be a Tenenbaum". However, Kornhaber added that Royal may also view his family members as "external expressions of himself", and this explains why the title refers to them as Royal Tenenbaums.

Author Mark Browning also identified the
dysfunctional family
In psychology, abnormality (also dysfunctional behavior, maladaptive behavior, or deviant behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when i ...
and family happiness as a key theme. Mayshark commented on the depiction of decline after genius, with all the characters being past the peak of their greatness and now being left "sad, individually and collectively". Browning assessed the Tenenbaum sons and daughter as
child prodigies, with "clear-cut genius status". Ethel is not negligent as a mother, fostering her children's talents, though in dispensing money without question she may have spoiled them.
The children grow up hailed as a "family of geniuses", and when they face failure in adulthood, they turn to nostalgia, with academic Daniel Cross Turner remarking that the word "
nostalgia" literally means returning home in pain. The fact that the Tenenbaums dress alike as children and adults also reveals their nostalgia, and Turner connected Royal's nostalgia with Dudley's fictional Heinsbergen syndrome symptom, an inability to "tell time". Professor
Whitney Crothers Dilley considered that confrontation between past reputation and the private reality is what moves Margot not to take the word "genius" lightly, and to deny she was ever a genius, despite Royal insisting people called her one. Although the film ends without any of the characters regaining their lost glory, they form new bonds, particularly between Royal and Chas, or realize secret desires, in the case of Richie and Margot.
Film Professor
Christopher Robe commented on the loss of loved ones, particularly Royal's parents and Chas' wife Rachael, having an impact on the characters'
depression. Royal's mother Helen O'Reilly Tenenbaum is rarely named, but her role in shaping Royal and guiding his behavior is profound, with Robe arguing this is signified by a shot of Royal under a painting of Helen in a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Red Cross outfit. Royal's father is never named, but Royal also misses him; Robe further hypothesized that Chas alienating his sons after Rachael's death shows that family history is repeating itself.
Style
The storytelling has been described as "
absurdist",
ironic,
and "whimsical".
Mayshark wrote that literature shapes the
narrative
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...
, which is presented as a book with chapters, a prologue and an epilogue. To the chapter-format of the story, Plantinga added that Baldwin's narration gives "
exposition" that "should arouse courtesy" in the viewers for the characters. Commenting on the literary framework, Browning detailed how the first scene has the camera looking down on the book being checked out at the library, followed by the tone of J. D. Salinger's study of "disillusionment". Archaic dialogue with the feel of literature ("You've made a cuckold of me") is combined with crass, casual dialogue ("We can swing by her grave, too"). Film scholar Kim Wilkins also characterized lines such as "I'm very sorry for your loss. Your mother was a terribly attractive woman" as "deadpan", "Andersonian", and "unexpected expressions". Ethel also reveals her fondness for Royal's "little expressions", such as "true blue".
Mayshark added the style is "imaginatively visual", with detailed sets and an ambiguous time setting, featuring fashions from the 1960s to the present. Critic Amy Wallace placed it in Anderson's cinematic universe, where "the colors are brighter, the bookshelves are meticulously ordered, the bunk beds aren't just made – they look like you could bounce a silver dollar off them". Professor Dilley identified the setting with the New York City of the 1970s, matching the backdrop style to depictions of the city in the films ''
The French Connection'' and ''
Midnight Cowboy''; this feel is heightened by music popular in the 1970s, by
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
and
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...
. Dilley argued this depiction of a lost New York is connected to "literary history". Plantinga commented an "illustrative, intentionally artificial tableaux" begins immediately with Baldwin's narration.
Wes Anderson's brother
Eric Chase Anderson sketched proposed appearances for the characters before shooting.
The character Richie is presented as a tennis star with headbands and armbands, and sunglasses that virtually hide his face, until his "ritualistic" shaving scene reveals him.
The appearance of Margot, played by Paltrow, was modeled after singer
Nico.
Chas, played by Stiller, appears in a red tracksuit, matching him with Ari and Uzi and suggesting "running away from sadness".
The young performers playing Royal and Ethel's sons and daughter wear the same costumes as their adult counterparts, evoking "
arrested development".
With the cinematography, Wes Anderson enjoyed keeping the camera mobile, providing new perspectives in a single
take with no actual
cut.
Analyst Thomas Caldwell judged the cinematography as unusual, comprising "steady symmetrical
medium shots" that help the viewer see the characters' emotional anguish more clearly, particularly in their eyes. Author Gustavo Mercado considered the medium shots a tool to give character and surroundings comparable levels of attention, and to communicate the character's eccentricities and activities. Mercado assessed the scene with Margot smoking in the bathroom to display "carefully chosen lighting, depth of field, wardrobe, body language, and ... composition". The
opening credits use "medium
close-up
A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...
" shots with each character looking towards the direction of the camera, contributing to the literary narrative as a "Cast of Characters".
The paintings in Eli's apartment are by Mexican artist
Miguel Calderón. Font designer
Mark Simonson noted Anderson makes extensive use of
typography
Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...
, in particular
Futura and its variation Futura Bold.
For characters who are not biologically Tenenbaums, such as Raleigh, other typefaces are used, such as
Helvetica on the covers of the character's books.
Soundtrack
Anderson declared ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' to be "the most complex, ambitious musical piece I've ever worked on". The soundtrack features rock songs from the 1960s through the 1990s. There have been two soundtrack album releases for the film, though not all of the songs used in the film appear on the albums.
Songs used include: Paul Simon's "
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard",
Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
's "
Everyone",
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
's "
Look at Me",
Nick Drake's "
Fly", the
Mutato Muzika Orchestra version of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' "
Hey Jude
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' fir ...
", "
These Days" by
Nico, and two songs by the Rolling Stones.
Erik Satie's "
Gymnopédie No. 1" is also used in the film, as is "
Christmas Time is Here", the iconic song from ''
A Charlie Brown Christmas'' (1965) by
Vince Guaraldi.
According to the marketing of the film, particular musical instruments are matched with each character, with the association established in the introductory narration and continuing to the conclusion.
In 2002, the soundtrack was re-released containing the
score, composed by
Mark Mothersbaugh, along with more of the songs. The Rolling Stones' songs "
She Smiled Sweetly" and "
Ruby Tuesday" were omitted for lack of rights.
Release
The film premiered at the
New York Film Festival on October 5, 2001, which had previously screened Anderson's ''Rushmore'' in 1998.
Distributed by
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures was an American film distribution label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured ...
,
it opened in New York City and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in December 2001. In February 2002, it was screened at the
52nd Berlin International Film Festival.
To mark a decade since its debut, Anderson and his stars returned to the
New York Film Festival for a screening of ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' in fall 2011.
Home media
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...
released the film on DVD following its theatrical run. It released the film on
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
in 2012. It will be released on
Ultra HD Blu-ray by Criterion on September 30, 2025, as part of the ten film collection ''The Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years'' and as a standalone disc.
Reception
Box office
On its opening weekend, ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' made $276,891 in five theaters, or around $55,396 at each venue.
By February 2002, it doubled ''Rushmore''s total gross at the U.S. box office.
The film finished its run on June 20, 2002, with a gross of $52,364,010 in North America. It made $19,077,240 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $71,441,250.
With the final $70 million gross, it remained Anderson's most financially successful film when it returned to the New York Film Festival in 2011.
''
The Grand Budapest Hotel'' surpassed it in 2014.
Critical response
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "C–" on an A+ to F scale.
At its premiere at the New York Film Festival,
A.O. Scott wrote in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' that it eventually won him over as charming, and that Hackman brought "quick precision and deep seriousness
hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
nearly rescue
this movie from its own whimsy".
''
Variety''s
Todd McCarthy described the film, "As richly conceived as the novel it pretends to be."
Richard Schickel of ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' wrote, "As with Anderson's ''Rushmore'', there's a certain annoying preciousness to this film—it's not so consistently wise or amusing as he thinks it is—but it has its moments".
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
awarded it three-and-a-half stars, admiring how viewers can be ambivalent toward the events in the story. The ''
San Francisco Chronicle''s
Mick LaSalle was enthusiastic, praising the film as "like no other, an epic, depressive comedy, with lots of ironic laughs and a humane and rather sad feeling at its core".
Anthony Lane commented in ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' on the setting, which did not truly feel like New York, but "a step-city, or a city-in-law", and said that "the communal oddity" gradually won him over.
Peter Travers in ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' found all the cast great in different ways, while singling out Hackman. ''
L.A. Weekly''s
Manohla Dargis wrote it had enough laughs to be classified as a comedy, but it contained "a deep vein of melancholia to its drollery". ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''s
Joe Queenan embraced it as a "bizarre redemption tale".

Some critics disagreed about the success of the film and its style. ''
New York''s Peter Rainer wrote, "Anderson is something of a prodigy himself, and he's riddled with talent, but he hasn't figured out how to be askew and heartfelt at the same time." In the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'',
Kenneth Turan assessed the film as indulging too far in Anderson's vision, creating an unknown world. In his ''2015
Movie Guide'',
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
gave it two-and-a-half stars out of four, complimenting the eccentricity, but finding no storyline.
''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' listed ''Royal Tenenbaums'' in its Top 10 Troubled Genius Films list in 2009, comparing Anderson's characters to Salinger's, in an "ultimately touching package".
In 2013, ''Time'' also named Henry Sherman as one of 10 memorable accountant characters in film history, citing his decency, success as an author and lack of confidence in his pursuit of Etheline. In 2014, ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' journalist Lisa Thomson evaluated it as one of Anderson's best films, and that finding laughs in divorce was a highlight. In 2017, ''
Vanity Fair'' cited Richie's tennis meltdown scene as one of the best tennis scenes in cinema history, making an analogy to
Björn Borg.
In 2008, a poll taken by ''
Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' ranked ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' as the 159th greatest film ever made. A 2016 poll of international critics assembling
BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century also voted it one of the 100 greatest motion pictures since 2000. Hackman has received kudos for his performance.
In 2015, ''
IndieWire'' named Royal as Anderson's most memorable character, crediting Hackman for bringing the character beyond the director's norm; the same list also named Margot "the ur-Anderson female" character.
Accolades
The film received a nomination at the
74th Academy Awards for
Best Original Screenplay.
CNN reported that it had been considered as a possibility for nominations for
Best Cinematography,
Best Art Direction and
Best Actor for Hackman. Hackman did win the
Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy at the
59th Golden Globe Awards, but was unable to accept the award in person.
Legacy
The narration and the way the film follows each family member was reprised in
Fox's critically acclaimed television sitcom ''
Arrested Development''.
Jason Bateman, who stars on the series as
Michael Bluth, describes the show as "''The Royal Tenenbaums'' shot like ''
COPS''". ''Arrested Development'' creator and head writer
Mitchell Hurwitz said that when he saw ''The Royal Tenenbaums'', he already had the idea for ''Arrested Development'' in mind and thought, "Well, that's it, I can't do ''that'' anymore", but subsequently changed his mind.
Alec Baldwin, the narrator, has effusively praised the film, including it in his Top 10 Criterion Collection and calling it "arguably one of the most original movies, in tone and style, since
Robert Altman's ''
M*A*S*H''". He also modeled his performance of the character
Jack Donaghy
John Francis "Jack" Donaghy ( ) is a fictional character on the NBC sitcom '' 30 Rock'', airing from 2006 to 2013. The character was created by series creator Tina Fey, and is portrayed by Alec Baldwin. He was introduced as the Vice President of ...
on the television series ''
30 Rock
''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
'' after Hackman's speech and movements as Royal Tenenbaum.
The Tenenbaums' style has been cited as an influence in fashion design, and Margot Tenenbaum was described by ''
Vogue'' as the "muse of the season" for Spring/Summer 2015 collections.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Tenenbaums
2001 films
2001 comedy-drama films
Films about adultery in the United States
American comedy-drama films
Films about dysfunctional families
Films about grief
Films directed by Wes Anderson
Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance
Films produced by Barry Mendel
Films produced by Scott Rudin
Films produced by Wes Anderson
Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
Films with screenplays by Wes Anderson
Films with screenplays by Owen Wilson
Media containing Gymnopedies
Films about self-harm
Touchstone Pictures films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
English-language comedy-drama films