Where the Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are

There haven't been many movie adaptations of children's picture books - after all, moviemakers tend to require some semblance of a plot to weave their magic - but those that have appeared on our screens have generally been juvenile affairs. Look at Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, or Curious George.

Where The Wild Things Are is the exception to the trend. Directed by Spike Jonze, this was never destined to be your regular Hollywood kid's movie - and neither should it be. The original book by Maurice Sendak may have been brief, but within its slight pages it carried a wealth of imagery, metaphor and imagination.

It doesn't hurt that it has a cult following among fully-grown adults, either.

Jonze has teamed up with literary star Dave Eggers to create a movie that's as much about childhood itself as it is about keeping your kids glued to the TV screen. In fact, most children may be a little confused or bored by Where The Wild Things Are, while the majority of adults should revel in its clever recreation of a time in our lives when anything seemed possible.

The quirkily-named Max Records takes the lead role of Max, while Jonze regular Catherine Keener plays his mother and Mark Ruffalo makes a brief cameo as his stepfather-to-be - but it's the wild things of Max's imagination that are the true stars here. Once Max escapes from the real world and lands on the island in his head there's no turning back.

Filmed with actors in giant fur suits, then CGI'd into life behind the scenes, the wild things are among the most creative and physical monsters to have appeared on our screens. Forget Avatar's computer-generated illusion of reality - these creatures are as solidly animalistic as they come.

The vocal talents arranged behind the CGI faces help too, ranging from Chris Cooper and Paul Dano to heavyweights James Gandolfini and Forest Whitaker, and once Max starts the wild rumpus rolling it has a hilarious momentum of its own. It's fair to say that Jonze has managed to capture the essence of the book without feeling the need to sacrifice any of its oddball charm.

At times the narrative slows down as Jonze indulges himself with weird and wonderful set pieces, but there have been few such acurate renditions of the freedoms - and pains - of childhood on film, and both Jonze and Eggers are to be applauded for turning Sendak's book into more than just another Pixar-wannabe. Where The Wild Things Are reminds us of a time in all our lives when imagination ruled, and the possibilities in our heads seemed endless - and when our inner wild things roamed free.

4/5

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are - Directed by Spike Jonze, starring Max Records, Catherine Keener, and James Gandolfini - Rated PG

A great film about childhood.




Where the Wild Things Are, based on the children’s book by Maurice Sendak, is a strange film. The director, Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) has stated that the film is more of a movie about childhood than it is a children’s movie. I completely agree with that statement, though that doesn’t mean children won’t like it. The story of an unruly, “wild” if you will, child, Max, who visits a fantasy world filled with strange, talking beasts after a fight with his mother is something that can appeal to both children and adults.

What makes this more about childhood than for children are the deeper ideas behind it. Sure, watching the wild things get into a dirt war or jump into a huge pile might be fun, but when you think about what they represent you get into levels that most children watching wouldn’t pick up on. The most prominent wild thing, Carol (voiced perfectly by James Gandolfini), truly acts like an angry child, who throws violent tantrums when he finds out that everything isn’t going to be perfect.

The fact that Carol’s actions mirror Max’s to a certain degree leads to the possibility that each wild thing represents a part of Max or at least someone in his family. I don’t want to get into that, but since it’s even possible to make connections like that it shows that this film is not just for kids. But it does deal with the emotions of a child.

The film really delves into the loneliness a child can feel at times. It seems that Max is not understood by his single mother or older sister. He feels the need to run away to a new world of his own creation; a world where everyone will be happy. But things don’t work out perfectly even in a fantasy land and Max is forced to deal with his loneliness and fear even in his imagination.




Does this sound a bit more complicated than the book? It certainly is, but I think this movie is more than just an adaptation. It’s a statement about childhood memories. If you go back and read the Sendak book you’ll find a fairly simple story about an imaginative and rambunctious boy. Much like how you might respond to a picture of yourself as a child. You’ll see yourself with a smile and remember how simple childhood was and how you wish things could be more like that in the grown up world. But things weren’t really as simple as that picture. Childhood was not a constant happy state for anyone, though some people tend to remember it that way. Where the Wild Things Are takes those memories and shows you the darker times. It might make you remember that there were times when you wanted to run with the wild things when you were younger. It might remind you that being a child means being lonely sometimes.

So this film is a bit more depressing than one might imagine, but there is still fun to be had. For one thing, the wild things look amazing. Jonze went with a mix of practical and CG effects and they meld together to make some very realistic creatures. The visuals of this film alone make it entertaining at times and you can’t help but feel a little attached to the beasts by the end of the film.

I found the wild things to be more amusing than touching, though. If you don’t feel anything at all towards the creatures then this movie probably won’t work for you. If you buy into the world that Max creates, you’re most likely going to come away from the film with something, be it a deeper meaning, a choked up feeling, or just a smile. But the movie might not pull you in like that. It pulled me in and I had a fun time with it. I’m not going to lie; at times, it made me feel like a kid again.

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Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

Where the Wild Things Are

Ruben of the Floating Red Couch<br />
http://www.floatingredcouch.com

Last updated: 2010-04-13 09:12:47 by user01

Where the Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze, 2009)

THE SCOOP
Director: Spike Jonze
Plot: An adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's story, where Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world--a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures that crown Max as their ruler.

Genre: Adventure/Drama/Family/Fantasy
Awards: Nom. for 1 Golden Globe - best original score.
Runtime: 101min
Rating: PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language.
 
IN RETROSPECT
I was frustrated when Singapore’s cinema chain, Golden Village (GV), decided not to screen Spike Jonze’s latest picture. The reason they gave was that the film would not be able to recoup its losses because it lacked mass appeal. Wait a minute, how can a film adapted from a popular children’s book, and featuring huge, lovable furry creatures lack mass appeal? Besides the film is critically-acclaimed and is directed by one of Hollywood’s most creative filmmakers. By opting not to screen it, GV has made a bad mistake. And this is not their first time.

Where the Wild Things Are follows Max (Max Records) as he discovers a new world inhabited by creatures he (and we) have never seen before. Bookended by two sequences set in the neighborhood of Max which are essential in developing his character, Jonze’s film spends most of its runtime in the “fantasy” world. To draw parallels with both worlds, it is important to first understand Max’s situation. Max is a lonely pre-teen who has a wild imagination and enjoys constructing things. He has a frustrating relationship with his mother and sister, both of whom are more concerned with their lives than his. Moreover, it can be inferred that his father has been absent for most parts of his life.

Such a situation forces Max to escape from reality. The discovery of another world (which could be his imagination) allows him to start on a clean slate. There he proclaims himself as king of the land to a welcoming chorus of “wild things”. Jonze’s faithfulness in recreating Maurice Sendak’s book for the big screen is commendable, considering that there isn’t much to adapt in the first place. The “wild things” are rendered with consummate skill and made human-like not with CG effects (which are used only for the landscape) but through the painstaking efforts of craftsmen.

One of the “wild things” called Carol plays Max’s alter ego. He cuts a lonesome figure and is often misunderstood by his “family”. Because of his size and relatability, he also becomes Max’s substitute father. This is where the film becomes a dark journey into the psyche of these characters. Both Max and Carol are sensitive people. They get emotionally hurt when no one cares about them. They also need each other even if at times their relationship becomes strained. Jonze captures the love and tension between these two characters excellently and builds up to a tearjerking climax.

The climax is a thing of beauty; it has minimal dialogue and communication is mostly conveyed non-verbally. When Carol sees Max leaving in a small boat, they howl as if lamenting the loss of a loved one but at the same time, expressing shared memories of the past and perhaps the uncertainty that is the future. Have their lives changed for the better? No one really knows, but most certainly there has been an apparent positive impact. Accompanied by brilliant music by Carter Burwell and Karen Orzolek, Where the Wild Things Are deals with the theme of loneliness in such an affectionate way that we envisage the “wild things” as nothing less than human. Endearing stuff.

SCORE: 8.5/10
[www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com]
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!

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Recommendations: Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010), To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962), The Visitor

Singapore's Most Prolific Film Blogger @ www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

Last updated: 2010-04-09 08:06:29 by eternality_tan

Booze Revooze: A Drinker’s Skewed Review of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Final Proof: 4 Shots

You know sometimes you drink alone? When it's that time of night, when the music is just right and you're as low as the lights the  reminiscences visit like familiar ghosts who want to know if you can come out, come out, wherever you are. You chain smoke your cigarettes  and play hide and seek with your soul, feeling around the hole where your innocence lived before you lost it, and it aches like a cowboy & indians war wound that throbs when the rain goes away or comes again another day. Then, for a moment as fleeting as a lunch box dessert, you are young again with all of the fierce goodness, the ripe immaturity, the painful joy of childhood. Until suddenly it's gone, like a birthday candle in a hurricane. That's what Where The Wild Things  Are is like.

Where The Wild Things Are is a beautiful movie.

i gotta give credit to Spike Jonze and David Eggers for pulling off the screenplay as well as they did. There are feelings the book only hints at and when you see them onscreen, you understand things maybe Maurice Sendak didn't even see himself. i get this movie in a  profound way. i felt what Spike Jonze meant. Where The Wild Things Are is a movie that reaches out and touches you in ways you forgot you could feel.

Here, i'm tempted to go into detail about the symbolism and the message and the characters but that isn't important at all. What is is important is that i can take my twelve-year-old to see this and she won't 'understand' everything that i did but she'll sense it and probably know what's going on even better than i do. Because Where The Wild Things Are is a treat for everyone to appreciate.

Thank you, Spike.

Buzz Kills (Watch Out for Spoilers)

Sex: 0 Shots

Unless you have a fetish for big fat hairy men and women, there's no sex here. No big surprise when you consider this was based on a freakin' kids' book. So, am i gonna leave you high and dry? You know me better than that.

To begin with, Catherine Keener is in this movie. i think i first noticed her in 40 Year Old Virgin and found her very attractive. Then, while not a sexy role, she rocked as a hippy Alex Supertramp meets on the road in Into The Wild. Anyway, she's got the coolest voice, like smoke over a razor blade, just on the right edge of raspy, and i'll give you a shot on the house if you can name any woman hotter than her at age 50 (!). The proof is in my pudding:
And then we get Lauren Ambrose who is a 'wild thing'.
Rock & Roll: 2 Shots

Ok, what we got here isn’t really rock but still, it’s acoustic that can approach rowdy at times. i think the thing i like best about it is that Karen O and the Kids’ soundtrack sniffs that same line that runs between kid stuff and adult stuff that the movie does.

Boring Technical Crap

Written by:

Maurice Sendak (book)

Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers (screenplay)

Directed by: Spike Jonze

Starring

Max Records – Max

Catherine Keener – Mom

Lauren Ambrose – KW

Bottom Line

See it and then see it again.

Al K Hall<br />
Functional Alcoholic Slurperson<br />
(No, REALLY. Google &amp;quot;Slurperson&amp;quot; if you don't believe me.)

Last updated: 2010-04-03 21:14:39 by user08

Where The Wild Things Are

The adventures of a young boy named Max who, after being sent to bed for misbehaving, imagines that he sails away to where the wild things are. Max is loved by the wild creatures who make him their King, though he soon longs to be back home with his family.
Although beautifully shot, its quite disappointing really. The film is far too fleshed out and when you get over the breathtaking visuals, it soon becomes a novelty of a film. It feels like theres too many films around at the moment (Fantastic Mr Fox, 9)that pose as Children's classics that are being laced with adult psychology. For me this is no kid's film, it's a mature and thoughtful look at the psychology of a child, and also how we come to understand the world and its complexities.
Performance wise its faultless. Young Max Records is splendid and along with the voice over work from James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Paul Dano, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker , Chris Cooper.

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http://robinollysays.blogspot.com

Where The Wild Things Are

We’ll take care of each other and we’ll all sleep together in a big pile! When have you heard such sage advice in a movie before?

One Word Movie Review: GOOD

Where the Wild Things Are takes the imagination of a young boy and visually reminds us all about the importance of family as the touchstone for our individual search for freedom and identity. It starts with one child humming a simple song, living in his own small world of forts and rocket ships and expands into a self-contained island universe of imagined beings living the wild life. Yet, after all the wild things and their antics, it returns to a search for family and that ability we find so elusive; how to live together.

Max is the young boy who travels to this island of wild things, is made king and tries to unite a tribe of enormous, hairy beasts, each with their own peculiar issues. Max arrives as Carol is tearing apart their village because they can’t live together peacefully. Max’s ascent to king helps re-unite the Wild Things and they build a new home only to fall back into their old ways and the inevitable destruction again of their homes.

This is a family movie, a slight tale of exploration both within ourselves and in our relationships with others.  Max is our inner child and his two worlds represent our need for stability and safety while we also venture out to test ourselves against a world full of wild, wonderful “things”. We need both to thrive and it is refreshing to see Hollywood providing a story which is not all scary and morally ambiguous, or downright evil like so many films aimed at younger audiences. For adults, this film touches on the “why” we do all the crazy things we do as we grow up and move out into the world. It is a welcome confirmation of our true priorities at a time when all the rules seem tossed out the window in pursuit of greed and self-interest.

The Story

Max starts out in a cat costume, chasing his dog down the stairs. He ends up running away from home in this same costume after his shelters are destroyed (an igloo fort trashed by his sister and her friends) and his blanket fort in his room (ignored by his single mom who is entertaining a male visitor downstairs).

Once out of the house and on the run in his cat suit, Max finds a sailboat and sets off for the far horizon and the island of Wild Things. He lands at night, follows the fire light to a small village being trashed by enormous beasts looking similar to his stuffed animals at home. In his cat suit, he fits in with this crowd and, as boys do, his exaggerated explanation of his arrival crowns him king. His “special powers” live only in his imagination but the simple beasts appear to accept his claims of being able to dissolve their brains and other fantastic feats.

His true gift is his vision of fortifications (perhaps Max will grow up to be a military architect) so his kingly initiative is for everyone to help build a fort. This massive construction project unites the Things and for a while, we have one big happy fur ball family. This unity is tested when Max suggests they play war with “good guys” vs. “bad guys”. This degenerates into a dirt battle where Things get hurt, words are said and trusts are broken. These old issues rise again, dividing the Wild Things and Max’s powers of brain dissolving cannot keep them together. He is revealed to be a sham king and he sets off home in his sailboat to a chorus of affectionate growling.

Once home, his anxious mother greets him, having been up waiting for him to come home. He smiles, she feeds him, she falls asleep and credits roll.

The Genre

The family comedy/fantasy is a market Disney owned for years but now has been embraced by all the major studios. The strategy is simple: buy a popular book, cast with unknowns, leverage the special effects and visual tributes to the book’s strengths and set it loose on the eager audience primed by the bedtime reading experience. Where the Wild Things Are fits into all these slots and its box office success confirms the formula once again.

For families out for a few hours amusement, this genre is a safe space, even if somewhat rare in these times of over-hyped explosions (Transformers) and realistic evil creepiness (Harry Potter). For most kids, this is imaginative fun although the very young girl behind me cried twice during Wild Things, once when the boy runs away from his home and once when he sails away from the island. She will probably stay home with her parents until she’s thirty, thanks to this movie.

The Overall Quality

Where the Wild Things Are uses real people in fur suits to animate the Wild Things, with CGI added for their facial expressions. This gives the movie a different look, one faithful to the book but also adding a retro-warmth you don’t get with computer-generated characters.

The voice acting is excellent, especially by James Gandolfini of Sopranos fame as the hothead Carol and Catherine O’Hara as the “downer” Judith. Max Records is a real discovery as the boy, with an impressive range of emotion and an underlying subtext to his performance, a boy underneath the character who’s thinking and observing as the actions unfold. The Australian scenery is thrilling, always sunny and full of splendid beaches.

The director is Spike Jonze of Being John Malkovich fame, who also wrote the movie with Dave Eggers who wrote the book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius about his own family, losing his parents to cancer and raising his 8-year old brother. They understand the source material and add additional story elements not in the 338 word book by Maurice Sendak, published in 1963. The story sags near the end but this is a minor point after such a visual, wellpaced journey for the first hour.

The movie ends with a final image of Max, still in his cat suit, eating a thick slice of chocolate cake at the family table, smiling as his mother nods off beside him. No words, just hugs, smiles, the look and the first food we’ve seen Max eat in the movie. Fittingly, it is at home, his real home.

Movie/Market Analysis

MarketBOB’s sentiment indicators, the GQS (Genre, Quality, Story) rate this movie a BULL.  For adults, it reminds them of why the work, invest and risk all for their kids. Why they have made it in the world, wrestled with their own wild things and are now sitting in a theater with their kids sharing this common experience. It makes you look longer term, past the daily rumors and numbers and remember the true prize in life, the wealth and warmth of family. When we get caught up in our daily life, we need these shared moments to reset our priorities once again.

Last updated: 2010-03-27 17:46:02 by user08

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

***½

It is one of the wonders of the era that Spike Jonze managed to push this dark, neurotic, nominally-PG-rated yet patently adult-orented oddity through the studio system. It will always get the most tears out of twenty-something hipsters who were enthralled by the picturebook at a formative age, but it’s rich and tender beyond that.

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Where the Wild Things (2009)

Here’s to being a kid again! Spike Jonze is a genius. Like Wes Anderson before him, he took a beloved children’s book and made a classic, masterful, visual companion. I know there are people out there who are still saying that he *butchered* the book or simply didn’t get it.  Well the book itself received those same sentiments before it was pronounced a masterpiece years later. I’m just ahead of the curve here.

where the wild things are

little boy kinda reminded myself of myself.  maybe i wasn’t that wild though.  little dude is out of control.

i really like how it limits dialog, especially in the beginning, and allows the scenery to tell the story.  which is fitting seeing as how the book from which this film is derived is more or less a picture book anyway.

it plays out really kinda sad though.  and i think that’s what keeps it from being a really great movie.  it’s just so sad.  i mean, sure, in the end it’s happy, but not like a happily ever after kinda deal.  because life is not happily ever after.  and i think that’s what this film is trying to tell us.

it’s the plight of a particularly imaginative little boy who’s kinda stuck inside his own head.  his big sister and her friends are mean to him, his parents are divorced and his mother isn’t paying him the attention he thinks he needs.  some very real, adult emotions that children are exposed to in real life everyday.

max escapes into the world where the wild things are.  and i hope i’m not spilling too many of the beans, but unless i’m wildly mistaken, the creatures are all different parts of his little fragile psyche.  and as he learns to interact with them, he learns how to act in his real life.  i found this film to be quite insightful.  that’s why it’s maybe not for little kids.  there’s not really enough action early on to grab a little one.  like kids around 8 and older i think would like this one more.

the whole thing just seemed a little sad to me.  and i guess growing up can be a little sad at times.  and maybe that’s the message.  i don’t know.  maybe i’m looking too hard for a message.  i could relate really well with this little fellas emotions that i’m sure there was a message in there somewhere.  but i suppose that’s for you to figure out for yourselves.

it takes some strange turns here and there, but you are trapped inside a wild little boy’s psyche.

go see it.  but i’m not so sure i’ll be purchasing the dvd.

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Cal Reed

Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

I first came across the 1963 children’s picture book by Maurice Sendak when I was far too young, but the innovative and intriguing furry monsters on the page remained firmly etched into my mind.

And so when I saw the poster for the live action film based on the book directed by Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich), I became curious.  How were they possibly going to pull this one off?  What was the storyline going to be?  Wouldn’t the monsters look really silly?

Well, I finally got to watch Where the Wild Things Are, and I was both amazed and a little disappointed.

The visuals were fantastic.  Absolutely fantastic.  The monsters came to life in a way I never expected they could.  I couldn’t tell whether it was CGI or giant puppets or both, but regardless, you could have fooled me into believing that they were real.  They weren’t identical to Sendak’s original creations, but make no mistake, you can tell immediately that they are from the same mould.

The look and feel of the film also recaptured that sensational I felt when I first read the book as a child.  It was grey and cold and just as I remembered it.  You could even say it was kind of magical.  Trust Spike Jonze to be able to deliver this type of unique, creative vision.

On the other hand, where Where the Wild Things Are let me down a little was the overall enjoyment level.  It was hard to tell whether this was supposed to be aimed at children (though it is far too dark and scary for young kids), or at adults (though it feels like there isn’t enough substance for the grown ups).  It’s a simple story, but at the same time it felt inexplicably complex, as though we were missing something from the irrational behaviour of the monsters.   There was some fun, but on the whole the vibe I got was depressing and negative.

Maybe I didn’t really “get it”, or perhaps I need to see it again, but it didn’t engulf me the way I wanted it to.

I can’t bring myself to give Where the Wild Things Are an average rating because it is so unique, so groundbreaking; I’ve never seen anything like it before and probably won’t again (until perhaps Jonze’s next film).  But did I enjoy it as much as an engaging drama, a thrilling action movie or a hilarious comedy?  Not really.

3.5 stars out of 5!

PJM

Last updated: 2010-03-02 22:40:53 by pacejmiller

Where The Wild Things Are

Directed By: Spike Jonez

Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini

What it’s all about:

Max is a lonely boy with a wild imagination, and after having an argument with his mother in front of her new boyfriend he runs away from home in his wolf costume. He finds a boat in a pond and sails across the ocean to a strange island. On this island he meets six creatures, and after convincing them he is an all mighty king, he leads them in an attempt to live in peace and harmony.

The Verdict:

Where The Wild Things Are is a powerful movie, created by one of the best directors in the business Spike Jonez. The visual style of the movie is amazingly beautiful, it’s simplistic yet deep nature creating a feeling of the island being a different world compared to the start of the film. The creatures are full of emotion, and the plot explores and delves into an emotional rollercoaster ride of joy, sadness and understanding. When leaving the screen you will have a feeling that you have seen something special. My only criticism would be that when based on a classic childrens book, the movie will have limited effect on that demographic. This movie is full of adult ideas of childhood, yet not enough ideas that will appeal to children. The subtext seems to be of a depressive nature, and while amazing it may be, simply does not translate to those of a younger generation.

7/10

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Recommendations:

Last updated: 2010-03-04 20:19:26 by hellerphant

Where The Wild Things Are

Beautiful, surprising, funny, exhilarating, terrifying but with no re-watch value whatsoever, Spike Jonze's epic "Where The Wild Things Are" covers a broad range of emotions that makes it hard to believe that this evolved from a children's book. It may be based on the best children's book of all time (my opinion), but I wouldn't let anyone view this movie who is under the age of 10. This movie is for those who grew up with the book, who fantasized about running away to where the wild things are themselves, not those who are currently imagining it for the first time.

Obviously, the basic plot line from the book had to be included. Max acts like a wild thing, gets punished by mom, goes to where the wild things are, parties until he drops, realizes he misses his family, and then goes back home. If this is what you expect to get out of this movie, don't watch it, read the book again. If you want to watch yourself (if you're a suburban white kid, mostly) as a young child mature into a man or woman, then this is the movie for you.

Max was a bad kid in the book, but he is nothing compared to the Max of the movie (played pretty well by Max Records, if I might add). Quite simply, he's a little bastard. He's selfish, arrogant, vengeful and just not very nice. It's like someone took the very worst qualities of me and my brother and made a child, and for some reason he just has a costume with whiskers on it. One night, Max wants his mom to play with him, but she has a date. Max gets mad but comes down for dinner when she calls him. She wants to serve frozen corn, but Max, being the combination of me and my brother, jumps on the table and tries to assert his authority. God, I wanted to beat him. Like just beat him silly. I would use my pimp hand and everything. His mom tries to coax him down and he jumps on her and bites her. She cries out and asks him why he did that, and like any little kid he gets sad and wonders why everyone's mad at him now, so he books it out the door and runs away.

This is where the movie gets bearable. Somehow Max comes across a sailboat and launches into the water, eventually arriving at an island (the coniferous version of the island from Lost basically). He comes across strange big-headed creatures (created wonderfully by Henson productions) They want to eat him, but Max convinces them that he's a king and they elect him to be their new king. I won't ruin all the stuff in between, but like the book eventually Max gets sad and returns home.

After about a third of the movie (longer then I'd like to admit) I realized the wild things are aspects of Max's personality. He becomes friends with his crazy, vengeful side first, who is named Carol. There's his calm, reasoning side: a cockatoo named Douglas. A goat is the side of Max that feels left out and so on. The only Wild Thing that isn't a part of Max's personality is KW. KW represents every person in Max's life that he feels has abandoned him or left him behind for some reason (i.e. his mom and sister).

I can't state this enough but this isn't a children's movie. It's a maturing tale. It's Max's last great run as a wild little kid before he realizes that he needs to grow up before he hurts the people he loves. Max watches how his personalities interact (Calm, reasoning Douglas trying to control Carol, Carol overreacting and hurting the people he loves.) He discovers how the dangerous parts of himself look from the outside, and the awful way that they treat people.

The child in you will watch the wild roughhousing and dirt clod fights and feel like a kid again. The adult in you will feel what you felt as a child whenever you felt left out, abandoned or just ignored. "Where The Wild Things Are" shows you how fun it was to be a kid, but more importantly it shows you why you grew up.

Fairly amusing (wait for the scene with the owls, I giggled a lot) with intense overarching themes make "Where The Wild Things Are" a one time deal. Go see it, preferably a matinee, and you won't regret it, but I probably won't pick it up again. I'll just read the book.

Grade: 3 out of 4 stars

Last updated: 2010-03-02 09:25:09 by JoeandChrisO

Where the Wild Things Are: How to Keep Your Baby Teeth

Max learns that growing up doesn’t mean you have to lose all your baby teeth. Director Spike Jonze adapts the Maurice Sendak classic about the child who lives inside us all, filled with wonder, terror, anxiety and, most of all, love. Jonze expands a few hundred words into a feature length narrative, adding depth to Max’s family drama and allowing his wild rumpus upon the island of misfit monsters to become an extended metaphor concerning parental angst.

The wonderful cinematography utilizes hand-held cameras and focuses from Max’s powerless perspective, shooting from low angles so the world of grown-ups seems large and domineering, and a crushing weight upon his maturing psyche. Max has his tenuous hopes crushed like a fragile snow fort, vying for his family’s attention but always being pushed aside: he’s a little boy competing with older men (his mother’s beau and sister’s boyfriend) for the love he so desperately needs. But this isn’t really a children’s film; it is a story for adults who desire to recapture the quicksilver imagination of youth, who have forgotten that dreams can conquer fear, and happiness is but a simple bowl of warm soup…and a mother’s smile. The film’s power is in evoking these childhood musings, and I was flooded with forgotten memories of a Maple tree that scraped ominously at my window like a monstrous claw; playing games as we embarked upon the great Arctic trek walking deftly on the slick ice that coated the snow, and if we broke through we’d die; trying to walk from one end of the house to the other without touching the floor because it was filled with lava; or the endless dirt-ball battles that would leave us crying and laughing, still young enough to be bathed together by our parents.

It also reflects the dark fears that haunt childhood, ones which we often repress; those of loneliness and misunderstanding. Max runs away and creates his own world, but soon discovers that being a parent is difficult business because he can’t make his disciples happy: they must find their own way, though love is an integral integer in life’s equation. Jonze’s film is arguably plotless and composed of emotional vignettes, but that’s how children view their routines when life is taken moment by moment. The major flaw I find is in the depiction of Max running away instead of escaping in his own bedroom: what mother would sit idly by when their child disappears into the dark snowy night? The soundtrack is playfully unique, a helter-skelter of driving rhythms and angelic harmonies. The final mise-en-scene is delightfully subdued, without words, emotions expressed with the subtlest of gestures. Life is good. Final Grade: (B)

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Recommendations: The Birds, Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960), Funny Games

All reviews copyright Korova, Ltd. Visit Alex at his Home Theatre Blog, http://korovatheatrepresents.blogspot.com/

Where the Wild Things Are

A funny thing happened during “Where the Wild Things Are.” The theater was largely adults, but directly behind our seats was a family with two children both around 5 or 6 years old. The father and mother were getting restless about halfway through, and the father was making comments about how bad the movie was. But the children were enamored. They were laughing, gripping their seats with fear, excited, and by the end, they were in tears. They understood. They felt what Max felt. This is the essence of “WTWTA.” You can read into all of the Freudian subtexts (My, that’s a lot of metaphors for the womb!) you want, but writer-director Spike Jonze is more concerned with the emotions packed throughout his latest film. “WTWTA” is based on a little children’s book (Seriously little. It’s 8 sentences long.) by Maurice Sendak and has been adapted beautifully for the big screen. It focuses on Max (Max Records), clearly reeling from the effects of a divorce and a big sister that has newer, cooler, older friends and doesn’t have time for kid things. Max does what most children in this situation often do. He acts out.
He truly is a wild thing. He dresses like a wolf and chases the dog through the house and stands on the kitchen table and screams at and eventually bites his mother. From the beginning we’ve seen Max trying as hard as he can to get someone to pay attention to him. Should he be punished for his behavior? Should his mother ground him or send him to time out or spank him? The movie isn’t concerned with these trivial questions. His mother is doing what she can in a situation that has placed a heavy burden on her, as well as the rest of her family. Maybe the best thing to do is to let Max run around in a wolf costume. Where’s the harm in that? Eventually it takes its toll and she reacts. Max is frightened by her sudden burst of anger and runs away, and this is where the movie truly takes off.
Max flees to the woods and begins hacking away at unseen monsters with a stick and before you know it, he’s on a boat sailing in the sea to a far off land where the Wild Things are. We immediately see Carol (James Gandolfini) destroying the Wild Things’ huts (remember those wombs I mentioned earlier?) because his beloved friend, KW (Lauren Ambrose), has found newer and cooler and better friends in Bob and Terry (two characters that add some wonderful comic relief later in the movie). The other Wild Things let Carol wreak his havoc and we are slowly introduced to Douglas (Chris Cooper), Alexander (Paul Dano), Judith (Catherine O’Hara), Ira (Forest Whitaker), and The Bull (Michael Berry, Jr.), all of whom are obvious manifestations of Max’s conflicting internal emotions and thoughts (with the exception of KW, who represents his mother).
Upon his arrival Max declares himself King of the Wild Things, finally getting the attention he’s been seeking. Instead of helping the Wild Things, however, Max slowly unravels the many layers of his personality and begins to see the flaws in himself. Anger, back-talk, selfishness, and isolation all emerge for the first time to the forefront of Max’s mind and all in one big heaping pile of sleeping Wild Things (there’s that womb again). For a while Max realizes that he has control over these emotions and he wills them to do his work building a huge complex for them all to reside in. Before long, however, the Wild Things begin to rebel and separate to their respective sides and Max realizes that it’s not as easy to control them as he originally thought. Things begin to spiral out of control and he urgently needs to escape. Essentially, he needs his mom. And this is what the movie is all about.
Don’t let the lack of narrative structure or the lackadaisical plot throw you off. Jonze and co-writer David Eggers are not worried about plot. They are concerned with emotions and feelings and reminding us what it was like to be a child slowly beginning the process of self-revelation. I think kids will connect more with this movie than adults will, and I worry that some adults will read reviews and think it’s too heavy or subtle for children. Please, if you are reading this and you have children, take them to see this movie. It doesn’t matter if you don’t “get it.” They will. And plus, the movie is beautiful. The Wild Things are an amazing sight to behold. At one point, I’m fairly certain that I saw Alexander purse his lips. Was that computer generated or just the mastery of the costumes designed for the movie? Jonze undertook an ambitious project that has been in the works for over a decade, and he turned all expectations on their heads and gave us more than we had hoped for.
Max learned from the Wild Things that sometimes people behave badly and sometimes those people are yourself. Sometimes you don’t know how many of you are inside of you pulling you in all sorts of directions (Be mad! Be sad! Go hide under the covers! Don’t take that from her! Lash out!) and it’s all very confusing and you don’t understand and you just want to cry and be held. By the end of the movie, the little girl in the row behind me understood this and she just wanted her mommy to hold her and to let her cry. She was confused and scared, just like Max. But she knew the answer to it all existed inside of her mom’s arms and while she was there nothing could hurt her – not even herself.
Note: I mentioned very little about the performances, but they are rock solid. The voiceover work is well-done, and the performances by the actors in the Wild Thing suits are nothing short of amazing. But the stand-out here is Max Records as young Max. He, like the character he portrays, wears his emotions on his sleeve and you never doubt for an instant that he is Max, King of the Wild Things. And the soundtrack by Karen O is phenomenal. It adds perfectly to every single scene. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Go see this movie!
 
MPAA Rating: PG
Running Time: 94 minutes
Starring: Max Records (Max); Catherine Keener (Mom); Mark Ruffalo (Boyfriend); James Gandolfini (Carol); Lauren Ambrose (KW); Chris Cooper (Douglas); Paul Dano (Alexander); Catherine O’Hara (Judith); Forest Whitaker (Ira); Michael Berry, Jr. (The Bull)
Directed by: Spike Jonze; written by Jonze and Dave Eggers based on the book “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak; produced by Sendak, John Carls, Tom Hanks, Vincent Landay, and Gary Goetzman. A Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Where The Wild Things Are

Question.. Did this movie come out in Malaysia? Cause I don't remember this having any promos here. But anyway let's get on talking about this cool film called Where The Wild Things Are by the ever-so-awesome Spike Jonze.



Where The Wild Things Are is based on the Maurice Sendak children's book about a kid, Max who is misunderstood (and when I say misunderstood I mean adults think he's cacat akal) Max runs away from home and gets on this mysterious boat that takes him to an island where the Wild Things of his imaginations exist and he is crowned their king.



Once Max reaches the island and meets the Wild Things, the film becomes pure magic. You feel the beauty of a child's imagination. The cinematography is hella gorgeous here.Every fantasy landscape that you ever dreamed as a kid is in this movie I kid you not. The Wild Things are really well done, the special effects are very real, very believable. A treat for any fantasy lovers really.




But Wild Things does get a bit boring after awhile. It drags out the second act way too long. Most of the time it seems there wasn't really anything going on in the film. We get this string of montages of Max and the Wild Things having fun while Juno-ish music play in the background. Which really left me wondering what was the point to this whole movie. It's not like I wasn't enjoying myself, far from it, I felt like I was reliving my childhood watching them, I just kept thinking like... where's this story going?



And that kid Max Records man... he's is absolutely fantastic. He sold this film for me. This 10 year old practically carries the weight of the entire film. He was like the only human actor for a good 90 minutes of the movie. Records captures the innocence of children but also the destructive nature of their imagination.


I gotta admit, I thought the kid was a bit too wild. It's like I was witnessing the origin of a future serial killer or something hahaha. He's like running around screaming like a banshee, he's wrestling the Wild Things and scratching them in the holiest of hollies. The whole time I'm watching him do dangerous stuff with the Wild Things,I'm going like" OMG this kid is gonna get himself killed." Kinda reminds me of myself when I was 7.



Wild Things is not a kid's movie. I guarantee you if you take your kids to see this, they will be bored out of their minds. This is more of a kid's movie for adults to be nostalgic of their childhood. It has zero humor that children enjoy (you know.. the fart/burp jokes) but it does have lots of great moments that I think only a mature audience can appreciate.



Where The Wild Things Are is a visual opus, every shot is superbly beautiful and the visual effects, dare I say are on par with Avatar. As for the story... oh well. Gorgeous, profound and draggy. It's a film where the little kids will die of boredom, we teens will enjoy watching but will go "WTF?" at the end, and the adults will go "Sighhh.. those were the days"

I predict Oscar nods for Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography & Best Art Direction.

RATING: 6/10

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NicholasC

Where the Wild Things Are

Every kid worries about the end of the world. And every kid knows – if they’re loved – the world can’t end. Childhood is best described as a mixture of anxiety and total acceptance, where a mother’s hug is like an apocalypse-proof force-field. That’s why, even though every kid feels vulnerable to axe-murderers at bedtime, they all know their bed-sheets will protect them. Home – and family – is a fortress, constantly assailed but impregnable to threat. A kid who knows this knows nothing on earth can harm him, but a kid who doubts this gets gobbled up with worry. The wild things in Where the Wild Things Are could also be thought of (by grown-ups) as “angst”.

This is the story of a boy called Max, who one day bites his mother. Max is a moody, imaginative kid who has more feelings than his vocabulary can cope with. He is of an age where he can’t quite get away with acting like a six-year-old (he’s about age ten), and his single mother has a new boyfriend. The combination of a candlelit dinner and Max putting on his wolf costume leads to catastrophe. Max is made to feel an outcast from his own home. To spite his mother back, he flees to a land Where the Wild Things Are; an island inhabited by strange beasts. Turns out, he picked an auspicious moment to land, because the wild things name Max “king”.

Maurice Sendak’s original story is roughly the length of a Henry James sentence (probably shorter). It plugs deep into the feral nature of most small boys and, crucially, it knows there isn’t much to tell about the Wild Things other than that they’re wild and they look cool to Max. Apart from “roaring their terrible roars” and “gnashing their terrible teeth” the Wild Things of the book don’t do much. They just represent the untameable part of Max. And this is fine if you’re reading a picture book to a six-year-old, but not so fine if you’re making an hour and forty minute movie. Max’s story is more about playing dress-up than aBeowulf-style hero’s quest.

Screenwriter Dave Eggers (a brilliant writer, but not exactly Joe Plot Mechanics) has consciously sought to avoid plot in his script. Max doesn’t have adventures, he has playtime. So he and the wild things dance, they fight, they build a fort, feel weird around girls, say goodbye when it’s time to go home, and vow forever to be best friends. It’s all acutely well-observed in terms of childhood social interaction, it’s just that: it’s dull. It’s like watching the Muppets if Mike Leigh was directing. And it’s all the more disappointing because the wild things steadfastly refuse to be memorable apart from their looks. They never become more than bits of Max.

Director Spike Jonze couldn’t make a dull-looking movie if he tried, but he isn’t the man to give his movies structure. In the past he’s relied on Charlie Kaufman for the monkey bars to hang his visions on, but Dave Eggers doesn’t have half the ideas that Charlie Kaufman has. Eggers can craft a sentence as well as any writer living, but screenwriting is far more about what happens than how it’s described. Even if a movie is anti-narrative, that doesn’t mean you can’t write dramatic scenes (see: Charlie Kaufman). The fatal problem with the movie is that there’s more life, more heart, and more audience interest in Max’s family (who are on-screen for twenty minutes) than all the wild things put together (although I grant you, I say this as an utterly biased worshipper of Max’s mum, a.k.a. Catherine Keener).

Books written for young children don’t need plot. They say one thing beautifully (though we needn’t agree on what the “one thing” is).Where the Wild Things Are has endured as a book for young children precisely because it doesn’t dwell on a place, or the monsters’ deeds. It’s about childhood, and cosseted barbarism, and inner-demons, and selfishness, and the necessity of the id. And it’s probably about a shitload of other stuff. But the main thing is: it’s brief. In 338 words, Maurice Sendak created a masterpiece. Where the Wild Things Are (the movie) is like seeing William Blake’s The Tyger adapted for the screen. Some monsters should be left to roam.

Where the Wild Things Are

If not for the book of the same name, "Where the Wild Things Are" could have simply been called "Childhood," for this is the best, symbolic representation of childhood and the perceptions of a child's mind that I have ever seen on the movie screen.  On the surface, the plot is almost as simple as the 10 sentence book that it's based on, but hidden therein are layers upon layers of meaning.  The urge to psychoanalyze this movie is overwhelming, but, for fear of giving away to much or tinting your own analysis and enjoyment, I'll save that for later.

     Writer and director Spike Jonze and writer Dave Eggers masterfully recreate the mind of a child as it tries to comprehend the adult world that surrounds it.  Max, played perfectly by Max Records, is a maybe eight to ten year old kid who's trying to deal with an absent father and his mother dating.  Max flees home after, in his anger, he hurts his mother and, through Max's imagination, we live out his feelings and fears as childhood anxieties and the adults in his life are replaced with wild things.

     James Gandolfini plays Carol, the wild thing that primarily embodies both Max's father and his fear of loss (but I'm supposed to be saving the psychoanalysis for later.)  Though most of the dialogue sounds like it was written by an 8 year old kid, and seeing as it is supposed to be the embodiment of the imagination of such a child, it should sound exactly like that,  Gandolfini, as well as the other actors voicing  wild things, does a great job of sounding like an adult, as heard by a child.

     Even though this movie has a cast of big, Muppet like, monster characters, it is not really intended for toddlers.  I saw many bored and restless three to five year old kids in the theater.  Sadly, this movie is simply above their level of comprehension.  Seven to twelve year children will likely identify with this movie very well, and, when they grow up and see it again, they will likely gain a greater insight to their own childhoods and a greater understanding of their own children (one can hope.)  Kids older than that can still enjoy this movie, though older teens may be a bit bored.  Parents are likely to get the most out of "Where the Wild Things Are," as they see the lives of their own children mirrored in Max's imaginary world (and they, hopefully, develop a greater empathy toward their own children and the world their children live in.)  And, apparently, twenty something can even enjoy this film as well.  I was witness to a group of college aged kids reverting back to childhood, howling, as they left the theater.  (No, they hadn't been drinking.)

     Although I, personally, am a sucker for psychoanalytical symbolism, I can safely recommend "Where the Wild Things Are" to anyone who can find and savor that bittersweet joy that can be had by seeing the world through the eyes of a child. 

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Brian
Ciné Critique Américain

Last updated: 2010-02-14 17:11:15 by BrianSmith

Where The Wild Things Are

Writer: Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers based on book by
Maurice Sendak
Director: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Catherine
Keener, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker

This is one of the best children's films I have ever seen and I swear it will be a future classic years from now. The fact that it has divided people more than any film where people actually hate it makes me love it even more. This will actually be appreciated by adults more than kids but if they are a little older they will fall in love with this. This movie isn't afraid to be what most childrens films are and that is very dark and scary. "Wizard Of Oz", "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", see what I mean? I am tired of seeing movies aimed at kids that are fast and cluttered junk. This is a very grown up movie and has what real kids face in life, wonderment, imagination, pain, doubt, fears. The creatures voiced by some wonderful actors are actually very cool for I thought they would distract me. This movie has a beautiful, dark look to it that is hypnotic and the movie turns out to be very beautiful and powerful. Max Records gives one of the most mature and assured performances I have ever seen by a child actor. Let your imagination run away with you and pass this film on to young minds that are full of imagination. This movie captures a child's mind and imagination better than most movies I have seen.

Vincent Snavely

where the wild things are

the first thing i thought at the beginning of this movie was, “this kid has a.d.d. and anger management problems. he could solve these problems with drugs.” at the end of this movie i thought, “this kid shouldn’t take drugs. he’s seeing some serious shit already: monsters. drugs would just make that worse.” he shouldn’t do drugs anyways, he’s just a kid.

i read the original story, all 10 lines of it. i thought what was in there wasn’t enough for a movie, but then i was proven wrong. there was more than enough apparently. what i like that this movie did, that the 10 lines of story didn’t, was create mood; there was atmosphere. so i’m pretty impressed with the people who wrote the movie, because they did a damn fine job. i also liked the kid’s fox suit. i wish i had one. i’d chase rabbits and possibly people i don’t like, though they may run more in disgust at the fact that i’d never wash it and it would smell.

i give this movie a 6/7. it only loses some marks because it started pretty slow, and because the kid never ate food while he was on his epic adventure. seriously, not one berry or even a slice of cheesecake. i’d be starving. but not him, oh no, he was fine. he just wanted to run around. on the positive side, the movie was creepy. if you don’t like your kids, take them to see it.

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Last updated: 2010-01-09 01:26:18 by user03

Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are

It seems faintly comical to consider Where the Wild Things Are a book to movie adaptation given its origins. Those being the very short, sparsely written children’s book by Maurice Sendak. In essence, it might be more accurately described as a “concept” to film adaptation, because truly, however great a source material Sendak might have offered, it is indubitably simple in its greatness. Not necessarily in idea, but more or less in presentation, as it is after all a children’s book. The point being, there is not a lot offered to adapt. Of course, that notion is likely debatable to many, but regardless, what I do not believe debatable is that director/writer Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malkovic) had his work cut out for him in more ways than one.

Like the book, the story centers on a young boy named Max, who after acting naughty finds himself punished and alienated by his loved ones, leading him to the discovery of a whole new world (where the wilds things are). That is the concept and the core of the story. And in that, the movie stays true to its simplistic narrative roots. It does not concern itself with a self-conscious need for an intricate story arc, nor does it deviate from the basic underlying adventure by adding unneeded fluff. It does not need to. Surely though, there will be those who will accuse it of being overly simple in terms of narrative complexity.  But then, there will be those who  find themselves on the appreciative side of the fence, myself included.

It comes out as a positive for the movie that Jonze worked in keeping that original simple essence. Not out of overt reverence for the source material necessarily, but because that is all it really needed in capturing its emotional theme and message. It is a credit to the movie then that it can manage that simplistic aspect and still avoid the pitfall of unmeritably basic children’s cinema. But it does not succeed as a film because it functions with a simple narrative. It succeeds in part because the ideas embedded within it are as intricate and deep as the storyline is simple. Max’s “adventure”, seeming all-too-normal on the surface, is anything but, as it more accurately would be described as a self-reflexive experience of emotional self-evaluation. The movie is in a sense more so than anything else a coming of age story that deals with the pains and pleasures of the childhood experience. The ups and downs, the loneliness, the family concerns, the imagination, the lessons, and etc. Max ventures into a new world while he is in a place of emotional turmoil in more ways than one, and in that world he finds a projection of the turmoil he experiences. It seems something of a misnomer to call this a simple movie, as childhood is no simple thing, and that truly is the focus of Where the Wild Things Are.

As I said earlier, Spike Jonze, whom I believe a marvelously talented director, had his work cut out for him in a big way. Even though Where the Wild Things Are is only his third film, he is certainly a very serious film maker in both aspiration and presentation. His work has thus far reflected that. So essentially, this is a man who wants to make serious cinema, yet must fashion (being subject to his chosen material) a work at least semi agreeable to the audience he will no doubt be cadering – in this case, kids. So what this movie comes out as is something of a careful balancing act. It wants to be something special emotionally, enough so as to connect and entertain an intelligent adult. Yet the film also must appeal to a child through action, adventure and a degree of non-complexity. The question then is, does it succeed without having us realize it’s intentions? I’d say: Yes, mostly.

At its best moments, it truly captures childhood. Including the facets of imagination, the mother son bond, and selfish petulance, to name a few of those aspects. It may seem odd that Max’s imagined world should seem so melancholy in nature, but it seems a perfect fit to me, as Max did not run away from home in a contented emotional state. More importantly, Max as a character is not so naive and simple as most would probably think his childhood should indicate. He, like many intelligent young children, has come into the realization that the world is fleeting in nature, and like any normal human being, he instinctively grasps at a present state that inevitably slips into the past. If on the other hand, Max’s world had been displayed as an imagined place of simplistic perfection, it would have been about half as interesting as this subtly brilliant work turns out to be. For not even imagination can avoid the scars of the conscience. Nor can an imagined world replace real love.

3.5 out of 4.

Recommendations:

Last updated: 2010-01-02 22:50:32 by user01

Where the Wild Things Are

Like more than a few of us, I grew up on the book Where the Wild Things  Are, so it is really no surprise that I was excited and skeptical  anount this picture when it came out. How could they exopect to turn a 8-10 page  children’s book into a 9- min film? Would it be any good? These are just a  couple of questions that were asked about his picture.
If you’ve read the book, then you know that the tone is ver light-hearted and  fun. The film tries to keep the same spirit, but they seem to try to make this  too much about the characters’ personal dramas and various other factors, that  it just doesn’t work for me.
Having said that, though, the film does seem to be aimed more at adults, in  an effort to get them to remember their childhood, rather than just the shell of  an existence we all live nowadays.
The creatures some very low-tech. I don’t know if that was done on purpose or  not ,but they look like old characters from Chuck E. Cheese.
There is a scene near the end that is just a little bit on the gross side,  and that is KW eating Max. Well, let me take tat back, she hides him in her  stomach and then later pulls him out. The whole experience seemed out of place  and gross for the sake of being gross, to me.
This film can boast an all-star cast, but they are all voices for the  monsters. Does that make for a bad picture? No, but it does bring in to  question, what was the point of bringing in these big names, when the same  effect could have been accomplished with Joe Schmo off the street. Although,  forest Whitaker’s voice seemed to fit his character, Ira, just right.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve read the actual book Where the Wild  Things Are, but from what I remember this flick took each character, added  some unnecessary dram to their lives to make for “good cinema”. I didn’t hate  this film, as a matter of fact I liked it. Granted, that’s my rating without  thinking about the source material. When I take that into account, it doesn’t  stack up so well. While not bad, it just could have done without trying to be an  Academy AWard winner or ultra-hip flick. These things really hurt it in the long  run, I think. The book deserves so much better than this, but at te same time,  could have gotten much worse.
4 out of 5 stars

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Where the Wild Things Are - 4 stars

(Spike Jonze, 2009)

by Thomas Gatto / October  22, 2009
 
This semester I have had the privilege to observe students in pre-school, kindergarten, and second grade. I’m in my third year of college and hopefully I will become an elementary school teacher one day. I think it is fair to say that I thoroughly enjoy being with children. Their ever growing minds, innocence, forgiveness, excitement, joy, sorrow, and sadness played an integral part in my decision to major in teaching the lower grades rather than the higher ones. In terms of film-making, children movies are rarely done in a valid manner. However, you have occasional moments where a children’s film matches the on-goings that take place within a child’s cognition. Guillermo Del Toro’s adult fable “Pan’s Labyrinth,” among other things, really captured what life would be like for a child surrounded by a nightmarish atmosphere laced with War stricken subtext. Meanwhile, 2007’s adaptation of the beloved children’s book “Bridge to Terabithia” struck an emotional chord in my conscience that will probably never be struck the same way again. With Spike Jonze taking directorial duties, “Where the Wild Things Are” was expected to come off as a weird experience (just try watching “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation” without asking questions; both brilliant pieces of film nonetheless). Nothing will prepare you for what unfolds during the 101 minute run time of the Maurice Sendak adaptation. To say “Where the Wild Things Are” is a great fantasy adventure would be a severe understatement. There is a lot going on here in regards to the mind of a child, and finally it is done in a subtle, smooth, clear, and concise manner.
 
Jonze kicks his formal narrative off with a poignant sequence involving Max and his amusing craftsmanship of a snow fort. He seems lonely out there, and in an attempt for playful joy, he starts a snow fight with his sisters’ friends. They, accumulating of all boys, end the war with the destruction of Max’s beloved fort. He is upset and takes revenge by destroying some of his sister’s room. Max, played by Max Records, quickly feels guilty following his beastly actions, just like so many children inevitably feel after a wrong-doing. However, we as an audience have yet to even scratch the surface regarding Max and his conflicting issues with his family. He feels isolated from his mother, played wonderfully by Catherine Keener. In a sweet but also sorrow moment, Max asks his mother to participate in an innocent “make believe” game with his stuffed animals. Already busy with her date downstairs, Max makes it a point to go downstairs in a believable manner and lets the both of them acknowledge that he is indeed extremely upset. After Max goes on an angry rampage, biting his mother in the process, he runs off into the woods, all the way until he reaches a boat. He climbs in and sets sail to an imaginary land. He gets off his boat after hitting shore and hears voices within the woods of the mysterious island. They appear to be giant creatures. After running into one of them, Carol, voiced by James Gandolfini, Max makes an attempt to save his flesh from being eaten by claiming to be a king from where he came from. He also proclaims to have “special powers.” The creatures, or “Wild things” believe him and Carol crowns Max the king of the wild things.
 
The structure exhibited here pays close resemblance to the infamous 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz.” There are characters in “Where the Wild Things Are” that cognitively transfer over to Max’s fantasy land. There are seven “Wild things,” consisting of; Carol, KW, Ira, Judith, Alexander, Douglas, and The Bull. Each one is a symbolic personality of a different aspect of Max’s psyche. However, they are all wild in their own distinct way. Perhaps Carol is the most out-of-control of the bunch. After running a ruckus throughout the woods with all the creatures, Max and Carol share a handful of tender moments. Carol shows Max a miniature version of the island, and says their should be a place where “the things you want to happen, happen.” Max thinks this idea can become a reality. After several days of building this huge fortress, growing tension begins take form amongst Max and the wild things. Carol begins to think that Max is not a very good king. In an effort to ease the tension, Max and the wild things have a dirtball fight. Filmed with brilliant flash and fluidity by Spike Jonze, the dirtball fight seems to do more harm than good. KW (Carol’s love interest) and Carol get into a fight after Carol gets hurt. Although Carol hurts other creatures like Alexander, it is only when he gets hurt that the game suddenly becomes an issue. Jonze is so consistent to the way children behave, through the vehicle of the wild things, you would wonder if the film can pay great tribute to child development classes across various universities.
 
Like I aforementioned, the creatures are a distinct part of Max’s cognitive development. KW is Max’s psyche regarding his sister. Although once close, KW and Carol seem to have grown apart from one another. The latter rings so true in the relationship Max shares with his sister. Additionally, KW takes Max to meet her two new friends, Terry and Bob. They turn out to be a pair of owl’s whose only form of language is to squeak. The audience does not know what to think of the wacky turn-of-events at first, but is later explicated through Carol’s vision. He is upset that the wild things accept two new outsiders with great ease. This emotion not only deals with Max’s feelings toward his mother’s boyfriend, but also resembles his understanding of his sister’s friends. “I couldn’t understand what they were saying. All I heard was squeaking.” The latter, stated by Carol regarding Bob and Terry rings true to the emotions Max has towards his sister’s teen friends. Alexander, voiced by Paul Dano, represents the isolated state Max feels from time to time. Nobody seems to listen to Alexander- and Alexander himself states this repeatedly throughout the film.
  
All of this wonderful sequencing cannot go without mentioning the terrific performances by the cast, mostly consisting of terrific voice work. Max Records is sublime as Max. So many child actors fail to signify the true essence of being a kid again. Through Max’s performance, you are brought back to your own childhood. From the emotional extremes of happiness, sadness, anger, and joy, Records pulls it all off with incredible force and authenticity. The voice work by the ensemble, consisting of Chris Cooper, Forest Whitaker, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Dano, and Michael Berry Jr are all satisfying and competent. Gandolfini, likewise to Records, brings a wide range of emotion to his voice portrayal. Furthermore, the cinematography by Lance Acord, whose previous work was making “Lost in Translation” the beautiful film that it is, is simply spellbinding here. The wild things do not seem out-of-place like most audiences thought and are a perfect fit in Max’s fantasy world. The limited use of CGI seems to be an ongoing trend in major Hollywood success stories, and hopefully the trend continues. Also, Karen O’s music track is a very wild and audacious choice, blending terrifically in each and every scene it embodies.
  
Moreover, by crafting a film so subtle and smooth in its intelligent psychological ingredients, Spike Jonze has succeeded in both satisfying adults and children. People calling this film too complex or too sophisticated for children are just nuts. Sure, they more than likely won’t catch the careful undercurrents embedded, but the film is enjoyable even without the acknowledgment of the sharp commentary on childhood. As for adults, this is a great opportunity to look at the cognitive on-goings of a child’s mind. One of my favorite film’s of the decade is the aforementioned “Pan’s Labyrinth,” and it is a film that works on many levels. Whether it’d be a fantasy, war drama, horror story, revenge tale, coming-of-age fable, or political allegory- the Del Toro masterpiece fires on all cylinders in each of the respected sub-genres. I believe Spike Jonze has created a similar experience here.
 
After Max shares a poignant moment with Alexander, the coming-of-age element in “Where the Wild Things Are” begins to make a complete triumph. After having to take care of these seven outrageous creatures, even being chased by Carol after finding out he is not a king after all, makes Max realize the hardships and rough times many parents have to go through when raising a child- one without a father to be more exact. The concluding moments of the film may bring a tear to your eyes but never does it hammer you over the head with its various message and morale. To fully appreciate “Where the Wild Things Are” is to come to terms with the everyday mind of the youngster we all resembled many ages ago.

Last updated: 2010-04-05 08:28:16 by gattoreels

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

There’s a one inside of all of us.
Max (Max Records) imagines running away from his mom and sailing to a  far-off land where large talking beasts — Ira, Carol, Douglas, the  Bull, Judith and Alexander — crown him as their king, play rumpus, build  forts and discover secret hideaways. Voices by Chris Cooper, James  Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, and many others.

Once in a lifetime a very noble director will get a hold of a  wonderful children book and really turn it into something magical, this  is close to what I thought I was going to have.

I had a really hard time with this film overall. I was expecting a  beautiful, exciting adventure from the out-of-this world mind from Spike  Jonze. However, all the hype that the film was getting it quite didn’t  live up to what I was expecting. Well, I guess adapting a movie from a  10 page book, isn’t the easiest thing to do.

The emotional depth this film goes into is perfect and really handled  well in this film. There are just some really profoundly beautiful  scenes that really do shine with emotion and old natural beauty. Jonze  connects the character of Max to all the other Wild Things, and shows  how both of their lives are both equal in every single way, and how they  can both learn from one another. Jonze even goes as far as to sort of  get adults thinking about these messages about childhood, and how they  felt at their age as well.

The only problem I had with this film is that it just wasn’t as  powerful as it could’ve been. There were so many scenes that could’ve  been handled better if the right attitude was given towards it. In most  of these scenes I almost thought that Jonze was going to pull off the  scene and really make it memorable. However, Jonze takes another road  that doesn’t seem like the best solution for it.

Another problem I had with this film was that although there is a lot  of kid-friendly elements to this film, I don’t think that kids will  quite have a ball with this film. This movie is more about the message  of Max, and most kids won’t look at this. They’ll look at the Wild  Things and how scary they look, and the little fun montages, not  necessarily the message that Jonze was really going for here.

The little things of this film we’re really good add-ons however. I  liked the soundtrack with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and I thought  all of those songs really did connect to the mood of each scene. The  visuals that combine the elements of people in costumes, CGI, and  animations. They look real and actually could get a nomination cause of  how spectacular they look.

Max Records, who plays little Max does a good job at showing some  future star quality. Though he can be a little annoying at some points, I  really did feel like he was one of the more realistic protagonists in a  film in a long time. The voices in this film are good as well, but the  best has got to be James Gandolfini as Carol. He really does give the  emotion that is needed to play this character and overall has a more  effective job than any other of the Wild Things.

The ending that most of you all know from the book, is not as  emotionally-charged as you would think. I left the film with a very bad  taste cause of the ending, because overall it was just a lame ending for  a very powerful movie.

Consensus: Spike Jonze, doesn’t deliver on every  spectrum, but does create a very true, emotionally-powerful fable about  what it’s really like as a child and the kind’s of turmoil they face at  such a young age.

8/10=Matinee!!!

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Where the Wild Things Are

/</gip style="margin: 0px;"/>/giThis is a really great film. A pure fantasy that didn't need any convoluted explanations for anything, and didn't need to operate on a particularly deep level for it to have an impact (though, of course, there's plenty to chew over here). Coming from the director of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, I found it remarkably restrained. Creature design was fantastic and relative newcomer Max Records, who plays Max in the film, did an amazing job as a child actor whose character is in every scene and is required to hold the film together.

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<p style="margin: 0px;">The film often has jarring shifts in tone, moving from Max laughing and playing with the big, fluffy wild things, to rather sinister moments where it seems Max might actually be in danger. This isn't a criticism though, because it goes a long way to capturing the mind of child. Having said that, I don't think this is a child's movie by any stretch. All that you might have read or heard about director Spike Jonze's intention to make a darker film certainly rings true in particular scenes. It's clear the studio wanted to be able to market this as a children's film, whereas Jonze saw the book as a starting point for something deeper. It spoke to me more as an adult film reflecting on childhood rather than offering much directly for children (apart from the creatures, of course). It's almost a glimpse for parents into the minds of their kids.

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<p style="margin: 0px;">There's still lots to love here though. The music was fantastic - Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs put together a bunch of musicians to provide some very contemporary kooky indie folk, accompanied by a beautiful underscore of acoustic guitar, double bass, piano and cello by Carter Burwell. 

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<p style="margin: 0px;">The film was shot almost exclusively in and around Melbourne as well, and the distinctly Australian locations give the whole thing an other-worldly feel (or at least a refreshingly non-American feel). I've mentioned the creature design already - a combination of actors in suits and CG for the faces - but the voice cast also need to be mentioned. They're fantastic across the board and very well matched to their characters. The screenplay by Jonze and Dave Eggers does a very fine jobbing at expanding Maurice Sendak's original book. It feels very natural; as if they simply put back in all the stuff that Sendak had to cut. What I liked most of all was that the final scene between Max and his mum is dialogue free - there's no trite "I love you, Mum" to nicely wrap things up and let us all know that Max has learnt his lesson. Just an appreciation and an understanding that things can change.

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<p style="margin: 0px;">Yeah, I liked this one very much.

Recommendations: Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea (Gake no ue no Ponyo), Fountain, The (Darren Aronofsky, 2006)