Moonrise Kingdom is a 2012 film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, and starring an ensemble cast.

Filming took place in Rhode Island from April until June 29, 2011. Worldwide rights to the independently produced film were acquired by Focus Features.

In 1965, a pair of young lovers (Kara Hayward, Jared Gilman) flee their New England island town, prompting a local search party led by the Sheriff (Bruce Willis) and the girl's parents (Bill Murray, Frances McDormand) to fan out to find them.

The film premièred on May 16, 2012, at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, where it screened in competition. It was released in French theatres the same day. The American limited release occurred on May 25, with a wider release to take place on June 1.

Moonrise Kingdom has earned positive acclaim from critics. As of May 31, it holds a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 103 reviews.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, calling it "another sprightly confection of oddities, attractively eccentric, witty and strangely clothed."

William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor, comedian and golfer. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack (1980), Ghostbusters (1984), and Groundhog Day (1993). Murray gained additional critical acclaim later in his career, starring in Lost in Translation (2003), that earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, and a series of films directed by Wes Anderson, including Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).

Murray was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, the son of Lucille (née Collins), a mail room clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II, a lumber salesman. Murray's father died in 1967 from complications of diabetes when Bill was 17 years old. Murray, along with his eight siblings, was raised in an Irish American family. Three of his siblings are actors: John Murray, Joel Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray. A sister, Nancy, is an Adrian Dominican nun in Michigan, who has traveled the United States in a one-woman programme, portraying St. Catherine of Siena.

Jason Francesco Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. He currently releases music through solo-project Coconut Records; formerly, he was the drummer of the rock band Phantom Planet. Schwartzman was also the star of the HBO series Bored to Death, where he played a writer who moonlighted as an unlicensed detective, advertising himself on Craigslist.

Schwartzman was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Talia Shire (née Coppola) and the late producer Jack Schwartzman. Many of his family members are involved in film. His maternal grandparents were composer Carmine Coppola and Italia Coppola (née Pennino). His uncle is director Francis Ford Coppola, and his cousins are actor Nicolas Cage, director Sofia Coppola, Roman Coppola, and Christopher Coppola. His brother is actor/musician Robert Schwartzman (vocalist for the band Rooney), and his paternal half-brother is cinematographer John Schwartzman. His father was Ashkenazi Jewish and his mother is Italian American and Catholic. Schwartzman was raised without religion.

Jared T. Raynor Gilman (born 28 December 1998) is an American actor who co-stars with Kara Hayward in Moonrise Kingdom, a 2012 film directed by Wes Anderson.

Gilman was born and raised in New Jersey. He is on his school’s cross country running and fencing teams and he enjoys golf. Gilman had his Bar Mitzvah in 2012.

Gilman won his first professional acting role as Sam Shakusky in Moonrise Kingdom at age 12. In preparation for the film, Gilman studied canoeing, cooking over an open fire, and Clint Eastwood's character in Escape from Alcatraz (film).

Gilman has scripted, acted in, and edited his own short action videos.

Kara Hayward is an American actress best known for co-starring with Jared Gilman in Moonrise Kingdom, a 2012 film directed by Wes Anderson.

Hayward was born and raised in Andover, Massachusetts. She acted in her first play in summer camp. She went to an open casting call for Moonrise Kingdom and was chosen for the role of Suzy. It was her first movie audition and she was twelve years old at the time of filming.

Ms. Hayward has been a member of Mensa since the age of nine. In addition to acting, she enjoys reading, dancing, and writing, including poetry. Her artwork and poems have been published locally as well as in books such as Inspired and A Celebration of Poetry.

USA Today ran a feature on Hayward and her Moonrise Kingdom co-star on May 22, 2012. In the interview, Hayward claims that her IQ is "in a category above exceptional."