“Where the Wild Things Are” – A land of poignant and beautiful mischief
by McKenzie Carnahan
Maurice Sendak's picture book “Where the Wild Things Are” has been a staple in children’s libraries ever since its first publication in 1963, with its simple story and whimsical images appealing to young and old alike. However, a film adaptation never seemed very likely (even though Disney had previously optioned an animated version for many years). After all, the book is only about 40 pages long, most of them without any words, and takes a total of three minutes to read.
It is this very reason that Spike Jonze’ adaptation of Sendak’s classic is so interesting and satisfying. It meets the challenge of fleshing out a complete movie-length story from a simple children’s book head on and delivers more than is ever expected.
“Where the Wild Things Are” follows the adventures of Max (played by newcomer Max Records), who after donning his signature wolf costume, begins to cause mischief “of one kind or another.” The opening 10 to 15 minutes of the film, which take place in the “real” world, are extremely poignant and wonderfully portrayed, giving the audience a precise child’s-eye view into Max’s life, not one that is intended to be cute, but real.
Max acts like anyone would expect a kid to. He wrestles his dog, has a snowball fight with his older sister’s friends, cries with flushed cheeks when his igloo is destroyed, has temper tantrums, and in a very touching, intimate scene, lies on the floor at his mom’s feet and tells her a simple story that mirrors his own feelings of loneliness and disconnection. Later, after an especially wild outburst, he is sent to bed without dinner and eventually escapes from his home into his imagination where he comes across the exotic, boisterous land of the wild things that make him their king.
The wild things of Jonze’s film - played by Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, James Gandolfini, Chris Cooper, and Paul Dano are a little more cuddly than Sendak’s original illustrations, but Jonze does a good job not to completely weaken their monstrosity. There are also many different ways to interpret the wild things and there is the feeling after viewing the film that a Freudian analyst would probably have a hay-day picking them apart.
Yet what is especially refreshing about the film is that Jonze and screenplay co-writer Dave Eggers don’t attempt to shove any one interpretation down our throats in an effort to somehow improve the
original story.
Instead, they make it their job to gently flesh it out, allowing the audience to come to their own conclusions as to how the wild things in the world of Max’s imagination correlate with his human family and the real world scenarios set up in the first part of the film. Each creature has its own distinct personality and insecurities, making the group as a whole as dysfunctional as it is wild, with many of them forcing Max into the role of a reproving parent trying to maintain order.
While at times the tone of the movie may seem a little heavy and emotionally dark considering the subject matter, it is never overdone. Throughout the film there is always a nice balance between the story’s moments of melancholy introspection and its moments of passionate, childlike energy, where the characters rampage throughout the various landscapes of the island without inhibition or restraint.
Maurice Sendak's picture book “Where the Wild Things Are” has been a staple in children’s libraries ever since its first publication in 1963, with its simple story and whimsical images appealing to young and old alike. However, a film adaptation never seemed very likely (even though Disney had previously optioned an animated version for many years). After all, the book is only about 40 pages long, most of them without any words, and takes a total of three minutes to read.
It is this very reason that Spike Jonze’ adaptation of Sendak’s classic is so interesting and satisfying. It meets the challenge of fleshing out a complete movie-length story from a simple children’s book head on and delivers more than is ever expected.
“Where the Wild Things Are” follows the adventures of Max (played by newcomer Max Records), who after donning his signature wolf costume, begins to cause mischief “of one kind or another.” The opening 10 to 15 minutes of the film, which take place in the “real” world, are extremely poignant and wonderfully portrayed, giving the audience a precise child’s-eye view into Max’s life, not one that is intended to be cute, but real.
Max acts like anyone would expect a kid to. He wrestles his dog, has a snowball fight with his older sister’s friends, cries with flushed cheeks when his igloo is destroyed, has temper tantrums, and in a very touching, intimate scene, lies on the floor at his mom’s feet and tells her a simple story that mirrors his own feelings of loneliness and disconnection. Later, after an especially wild outburst, he is sent to bed without dinner and eventually escapes from his home into his imagination where he comes across the exotic, boisterous land of the wild things that make him their king.
The wild things of Jonze’s film - played by Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, James Gandolfini, Chris Cooper, and Paul Dano are a little more cuddly than Sendak’s original illustrations, but Jonze does a good job not to completely weaken their monstrosity. There are also many different ways to interpret the wild things and there is the feeling after viewing the film that a Freudian analyst would probably have a hay-day picking them apart.
Yet what is especially refreshing about the film is that Jonze and screenplay co-writer Dave Eggers don’t attempt to shove any one interpretation down our throats in an effort to somehow improve the
original story.
Instead, they make it their job to gently flesh it out, allowing the audience to come to their own conclusions as to how the wild things in the world of Max’s imagination correlate with his human family and the real world scenarios set up in the first part of the film. Each creature has its own distinct personality and insecurities, making the group as a whole as dysfunctional as it is wild, with many of them forcing Max into the role of a reproving parent trying to maintain order.
While at times the tone of the movie may seem a little heavy and emotionally dark considering the subject matter, it is never overdone. Throughout the film there is always a nice balance between the story’s moments of melancholy introspection and its moments of passionate, childlike energy, where the characters rampage throughout the various landscapes of the island without inhibition or restraint.
