Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Like many people, I grew up loving the book, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I have heard for years that a movie was in development based on the book, but I assumed it would never come to pass. However, Spike Jonze came along and actually made the film. Once I saw the teaser and trailer, I was completely hooked and I’ve been waiting for it to come out since.
Well, now it is here and I finally got the chance to see it. First off, I definitely enjoyed it, but it wasn’t perfect by any means. Max is played wonderfully by Max Records who embodies the emotion and confusion of an inquisitive, sensitive young boy. There aren’t many other human characters of note in the film, but Catherine Keener is very believable as Max’s mother. From there, the majority of the actors are voicing the wild things, specifically James Gandolfini, Forest Whitaker and Chris Cooper among others. The voice work is great and only surpassed by the amazing full body costumes Jonze chose to use. The choice was perfect and made the flick more engaging as opposed to if everything had been done in CG. Max’s wolf suit is perfect and looks exactly like it should based on the pictures from the book.
The film feels much like raw emotion to me. Starting with the wild excitement and frustration of young boys and then eventually taking a dark turn as Max meets the wild things. This is the point at which I question whether this film would be suitable for young children. The wild things are well, wild. They are somewhat violent at times, brooding, and frightening. None of this is bad, but it means that the mood would be too dark at times for my son who is three. In the book, while the monsters can seem scary, it is nothing compared to how they would likely come across to the young in the movie. This isn’t bad, but it’s just the way it is. I really am not sure the film was aimed at children nor am I sure it should have been. This movie feels like it is designed for those of us who loved the book and have a few years into life. The translation of a book with only 10 sentences to the screen left way for quite a bit of embellishment, which I think was handled quite well. Nothing feels out of place, but you get little more than feeling with the movie. No grand arching story, no long narrative, just lots of beauty and the raw emotion I spoke of. This worked for me, but just be aware of what you’re going to be seeing.
In short, I loved it and will reevaluate when I think Ben is ready to see it. However, I’m sure I will pick up the eventual Blu-ray and watch it many more times over the years…
Movie poster found via Internet Movie Poster Awards.
For another review, I found a great family focused review at the GeekDad blog titled ‘10 Things Parents Should Know About Where The Wild Things Are‘.
When we were picking books for the baby’s nursery art, this childrens fav was your first pick to my Richard scary things that go. I cannot wait until is old enough to enjoy this book and movie as much as you love it.