Spike Jonze’s adaptation of the classic children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, is neither an awful film nor a great one.
Artwork by Mia Nogueira
Ever read about a mischievous boy who, after getting sent to his room without any supper, sails to a land inhabited by giant monsters? Chances are, most remember growing up with Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, which is now a motion picture that lives up to the term “wild.”
While the book is only about 400 words long, director Spike Jonze (Adaptation) was able to turn Where the Wild Things Are into an hour and 45 minute long movie. The movie begins with a wolf-suited Max (newcomer Max Records, The Brother’s Bloom) violently harassing the family dog, letting the audience know Max is a “Wild Thing.” Later, outside playing in the snow, Max asks his teenage sister (newcomer Pepita Emmerichs) to join in his fun. Max’s sister seems to not want anything to do with him, as she has her own friends. Max, wanting some friends of his own to play with, engages in a snowball fight with his sister’s friends who destroy Max’s snow fort, making him upset. One night, while his mother (Catherine Keener, Into the Wild) is spending time with a boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo, Just Like Heaven), Max puts on his wolf suit and marches downstairs, getting atop the table and shouting out, “Feed me, woman,” resulting in his mother getting bitten by him. I was a bit shocked by Max’s outrageous behavior, as in the book he is said to be “making mischief.” In the movie, however, Max’s character seems to be more of a brat who needs decent discipline and punishment.
After Max is told to go to his room, the common consequence for any misbehaving child, he immediately takes off running until he reaches the ocean. When he sees a little boat, Max climbs aboard (as if a nine-year-old knows how to operate a boat). Sailing as far away as possible for what seems like days (over a year in the book) without eating food or drinking water, Max reaches land that seems to be inhabited, as there is something starting a small fire amidst the forest. This scene was unrealistic because if a nine-year-old really did know how to sail, he would probably want to bring some staple items (food and water) with him.
After he sailed to the island, it seemed as Max was a professional rock climber too, as he was able to climb up the mountains that lead to the forest without any trouble (another unrealistic scene). The fire Max saw is still there, as are a group of monster-like creatures that look to be giant animals with human-like characteristics such as walking upright, and talking. At first, Max spies on them from a distance, not knowing if they are friend or foe, but one soon spots him. Max soon discovers the creatures are gentle and is informed they are destroying trees for fun. Max joins in their frolic and is promptly crowned “King of the Wild Things.” In the book, after Max is crowned, the story basically ends after a few pages of Max and the “Wild Things” frolicking in the forest, but the movie continues on with a longer and deeper plot.
Subsequent to being crowned “King of the Wild Things,” Max gets to know each of them personally, as he considers them his friends. The one he forms the best relationship with, Carol (James Gandolfini, The Sopranos), is a wolf-like creature who can abruptly get an aggressive temper similar to Max. The other creatures include the young, peaceful, platypus-like K.W. (Lauren Ambrose, Six Feet Under), the brainiac, rooster-like Douglas (Chris Cooper, The Kingdom), the timid, goat-like Alexander (Paul Dano, There Will be Blood), the motherly lion/rhinoceros-like Judith (Catherine O’Hara, The Nightmare Before Christmas), and the calm and mellow, sloth-like Ira (Forest Whitiker, The Last King of Scotland). However, later into the movie, a silent, unnamed, bull-like creature (Michael Barry Jr, Star Trek) joins them. In my opinion, the Jim Henson Company, who supplied the “Wild Things” suits, did an amazing job of creating them. It seemed as though the “Wild Things” were lifted from the pages of the book onto the screen.
While Where the Wild Things Are has gotten a lot of hype prior to (and even after) its release, it is not as great as it leads one to believe. While most children’s movies teach morals and lessons, Where the Wild Things Are encourages children to take on a Max personality, being rude, rough and wild. After Max returned home from his adventure, his mother rewarded him with cake, which I find to be a wrong way of parenting. Another major downfall of Where the Wild Things Are is its lack of a major story (like the book) . While the concept of both the book and the movie is very original, more should have happened in an hour and 45 minutes.
On the upside, Where the Wild Things Are is very different from most films, especially those geared towards a younger audience. It uses symbolism very uniquely, as each creature’s personality symbolizes a part of Max. The creatures, created by actors in specialized suits and computer-generated facial expressions, look even better than they did in the book. I also thought the movie’s artistic and surreal ambiance was very interesting. To complete this ambiance, Karen O (vocalist of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) did an amazing job of putting together a soundtrack that includes new songs such as All Is Love, which is the one I liked best.
Although it has a PG rating, Where the Wild Things Are is not a children’s movie. The story, which is minimal, often gets deep and a bit emotional, as it moves slowly. If movie-goers are looking for a fun family movie based on a beloved children’s book, try Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, or the upcoming Fantastic Mr. Fox, as Where the Wild Things Are does not really live up to the term “family film.”
Rating: ★★★☆☆
