Where the Wild Things Are

On Saturday afternoon, my husband and I took both our daughters and eight other children to see Where The Wild Things Are for Girl 1’s ninth birthday party.

It was a wild rumpus, indeed!

But apart from organizing ten excited children, sorting out their
popcorn, candy and beverage orders and coping with the post-movie
party-room madness for an hour, it was a moving and memorable
afternoon. And that’s because the film was, simply put, outstanding. A
work of genius.

But: buyer beware. A friend of mine posted this as her facebook status on Saturday evening: “don’t waste your money people. The book is way better.” If
you’re expecting a kids’ movie like any I’ve seen in the last ten
years, you’ll be shocked. This is not a scrubbed-til-it-shines
Disney-fied Pollyanna story with a few adult-oriented jokes that will
sail right over the kids’ heads. No. Where the Wild Things Are
is much more in the spirit of children’s movies I remember from being a
child; slightly menacing, and accurately reflecting the child’s inner
world, which is dominated by seemingly magical and larger-than-life
forces they do not fully understand. Think the Wizard of Oz, or the Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Or even the earlier Disney animated children’s movies – the ones we deem “too scary” for kids today, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Those movies reflected the reality of traditional children’s
literature, where the outside world is a scary place full of danger and
risk.

And that’s what you’re going to get in Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are.
But if you go back and carefully read the Maurice Sendak classic
storybook, you will find that undertone of menace there, too: “…we’ll
eat you up, we love you so!” Not exactly a warm and cuddly sentiment,
is it? And while we’re on the topic, go read one of his other
children’s books, Outside Over There – not very warm and fuzzy, either. It’s actually quite scary, frankly, in the tradition of the Brothers Grimm.

But enough about what children’s literature (and by extension,
children’s movies) should or shouldn’t be; this film is remarkable. The
visual effects are stunning – and very true to the original artwork.
The Wild Things themselves are incredibly lifelike – they were filmed
with live actors in costumes, and the facial expressions were added in
post-production using computer animation. The result is seamless and
entirely believable. The actors who voice the Wild Things too are
captivating. Big names like James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara and
Forest Whitaker bring the brilliantly realized visuals to life with
shades of vulnerability, fun, affection and abandon. If for no other
reason than to admire the Wild Things, you should see this film.

But there’s so much more to it than just great effects and voices.
The screenplay (written by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers, in consultation
with Maurice Sendak) takes us deep into the psyche of our troubled
protagonist, Max. Max is a lonely little boy with a hugely imaginative
and creative bent (he makes remarkable artwork and loves to make up
stories) who spends a lot of time alone. His parents are divorced, his
mom works a lot and his older sister is embarking on adolescence and
has little time left for him. A little lost and a lot afraid, Max
bubbles over with anger and ultimately retreats within, to where the
Wild Things really are…inside himself. The soundtrack is also
beautiful. Using children’s voices and whimsical melodies, the music
transports us to another place: a world that is both alien and familiar
at the same time.

True, the action does slow down somewhat mid-picture, but that
didn’t affect me or the kids at the birthday party, although I did
notice some of the very young children in the theatre getting antsy.
(On the topic of very young children – why do parents do that? The film
is very clearly rated: “PG some material may not be suitable for
children”. Pay attention, people!)

Overall, I loved this film, and I strongly recommend it to anyone,
adults and children alike, with one exception: I would suggest that
children under 7 may become bored partway through, and parts of it may
be frightening. But you know your own children. Girl2 is 6 and she did
just fine. All ten kids I had there loved this movie. And that, for me,
is endorsement enough.