How the Wild Things Were

So this morning after getting the kids off to school, I asked the wife if she wanted to catch the 11am showing of the new movie Where The Wild Things Are.  She scrunched up her face a bit and made some comment about how the kids would be majorly bummed if they missed out.  Oh, yeah..... Turns out the wife got called to sub anyway.

Later that afternoon, the four of us made our way to the local cinema for a matinee showing.  The boys were excited - and to be honest, so was Dad.  Like them I associate this book with a large part of my childhood.  The storyline never quite made sense, at least in a logical, linear, adult-kind of way.  But the creatures looked great and the wild rumpus seemed like a lot of fun.  And in the end, as we all know, his supper was still hot.  All's well that ends well.

But like many people I was skeptical.  Ten sentences - that's all that makes up this children's classic.  How, pray tell, can anyone hope to fashion a major motion picture around this that a) refrains from taking ridiculous liberties that don't fit or b) sticks too strictly to the book and bores you to tears?  Enter director Spike Jonze, who brought his quirky visual sense to the table and forewarned in at least one interview that this would be different: “I didn’t set out to make a children’s film – I set out to make a film about childhood.”

Score.

I thought the movie was great.  I was pleased with how it expanded the story without changing the underlying theme of the book.  Without giving too much away, the movie hits hard on relationships in turmoil - both in the real world and extending into the "wild world."  Some might charge the movie with overreaching, but I'd disagree.  Remember, there was a reason Max was sent to his room without any supper, just as there was a reason that his room began transforming into a forest (which they didn't try to duplicate on the silver screen, one of my very few gripes with the movie).  Sendak never explained it, but it's classic escapism: of getting away from something and then coming to find, in the end, that the journey was fun while it lasted but it's time to go home.

The movie did an outstanding job of using the wild world as a showcase for Max's internal struggle, the primary subtext in the book (and part of the brilliance of Sendak's writing - again, ten sentences!) The main tool Jonze used to accomplish this was the movie's excellent dialogue, especially between Max and the wild things.  It didn't always flow in logical fashion and make total sense, leaving you to sometimes feel as if you missed out on the front end of a conversation.  But that's the whole point: this fantasy land is Max's psyche working out the angst and unease raging inside a twelve-year old boy. There isn't always going to be a "logical flow."  Throughout the movie there's this constant tug-of-war between the natural repulsion that exists in human relationships and our strong innate desire to just be with one another.  It happens in Max's relationships with the wild things, between the wild things themselves - and again, all of this sets the stage for Max's final trip back home through the turbulent oceans.

The kid who plays Max, ironically named Max himself (Max Records), nails the character dead-on.  You feel his struggle and sense his big heart at the same time.  The wonders of modern movie-making lend to some very believable wild things, seamlessly blending six-foot muppet-like costumes with CGI computer animation that bring their faces and facial expression to life.  Not bad voiceovers either (James Gandolfini of The Sopranos, Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, among others).  Soundtrack-wise, Karen-O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame assembles a wonderfully-eclectic assortment of indie tunes that captures Max's emotional spectrum - and in the process has become one of the very few movie soundtracks I've ever bothered to purchase.

As we sat in the movie theater I was concerned that most of this was going over my boys' heads; too deep for them to comprehend, lying outside their emotional spectrum.  But I was pleasantly surprised when they sat through most of the movie in rapt attention, moreso than a lot of standard kid flicks.  They may not have grasped the specifics of Max's problems at home, but they understood that even people who love each other have hard times and can work to make amends.  Near the end, when Max says his emotional goodbye to the wild things as he boards his boat, I looked over and saw my eldest wiping tears from his face. Umm, yeah, I think they got it.  More and more I'm learning that kids are much more perceptive than we give them credit for.

In short I think Spike Jonze, like my two boys, "got it."  He was able to retell the famous tale using a story line that certainly embellished the original but didn't feel forced or "over the top."  In fact, I imagine it fleshed out some of what was originally going through Sendak's mind when he put paper to pen nearly 50 years ago.  You and your family should check it out, too.  "Bambi" this is not, but its beauty is found in its depth.  Definitely a movie experience worth your hard-earned cash.

 

Comments

[Marci]

Thanks for that review. How old are your kids? I've seen other reviews where children were really scared by the movie. That didn't seem to be your experience?

[Jen]

Like Marci, I's also like to know how old your kids are. My family was very excited to see this movie until the reviews came out (the reviews were glowing, like yours, but said that the movie is indeed not meant for younger kids). I still want to see it - especially after reading our write-up - but I don't think my little girls should come along... What do you think?

[Jen]

oops! 'Scuse the typo(s) please.
:)

[Steve]

Marci and Jen - our boys are 7 and almost 5. Every parent has their own sense of what they consider appropriate and not appropriate for a movie - I'd like to think my wife and I are somewhere in the middle. As examples, our boys have seen Star Wars (although not the part in #3 when Anakin gets fried on the volcano planet) and most of Harry Potters 1-4.

The Wild Things do growl and get angry and talk about eating Max up, so that may be what scared some of the kids you heard about. Our boys, I think, were able to interpret this as part of the book (and our youngest scares easily). Don't want to give away too much, but Max and the Wild Things have fun together and then later hurt each other's feelings - kind of an emotional back-and-forth that I thought would confuse the boys, but actually they got it, because that's the way kids are with each other a lot of times.

I don't know what you consider appropriate for your kids so it's hard for me to say one way or the other. All I can say is that it was fine for us. And you can always go preview it yourself before taking the young'uns.

[Nancy Malone]

Thanks for your review. Our family can't wait to see this movie. NPR has done some wonderful interviews with Maurice and others involved with the making of the film. I love it when a magical book makes it into a magical film!