Where The Wild Things Are (2009)

Directed by: Spike Jonze
Written by: Spike Jonze/Dave Eggars
Based on book by: Maurice Sendak

Let the wild rumpus start, indeed.

But first, some previews.

BABIES–Um…ok. I’m sure that there’s a HUGE audience for a movie that follows four babies from around the world throughout their first year of life. I am just not that audience. To me the movie looked like it was specifically made to do one thing: make money off of cute-mongers. I kinda have no interest in seeing this movie. It’ll probably win Oscars.

THE SPY NEXT DOOR–Jackie Chan. Those two words usually strike joy in the hearts of kung-fu junkies everywhere. Lately, thought, they’ve struck only mild curiosity as to what the old dog will do next.

This time, sadly, he is anally raping the screen in what was once a vehicle for the likes of Hulk Hogan, The Rock and Vin Diesel. He’s a secret agent nanny.

Fuck this. Let’s move on.

Ok. Now, how about that wild rumpus?

In 1963, a book came out that made parents cringe. Why is this little boy in a wolf costume such a terror? And why is he allowed to do these things with those giant monsters? Is he getting away with lying?

Well, fast forward about 10 years and the book is considered a literary classic and children are force-fed it by the time they’re five. (Of course, not much force is necessary because the kids LOVE it.)

Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are is one of the most beloved children’s books of all time. That’s bandied around for a lot of books, but it’s actually true for this one.

How do you make a full length film out of a book that is only 10 sentences long? Well, first you find a filmmaker who has a child-like, but dark, sense of humor. Spike Jonze should fit that bill quite nicely. Then you find a screenwriter with the same sort of outlook. (Dave Eggers will do.)

Oh, and you have Sendak tell you to “make it your own.” That helps a lot.

What Jonze and company have done is create another world within a world that we all know and love. Where The Wild Things Are the movie is not the book. The book was a jumping off point, no doubt. But there is so much more to the movie. (Not to take anything away from the book at all. The book is absolute genius.)

Max (Max Records) is a holy terror with a heart of gold. He just wants to have fun, but he has a temper that flairs out of control at the slightest provication. When his sister and her friends destroy his igloo that he built, he starts to destroy her room. But he stops and tells his mom (Catherine Keener) what he’s done.

The final straw is when his mom brings a new boyfriend home (Mark Ruffalo). Max goes upstairs, puts on his wolf costume and becomes the disobedient little boy that we all know and love. In fact, he’s more than disobedient. He bites his mom and runs away.

That’s where he meets the Wild Things. The giant monsters threaten to eat him until he tells them that he’s a king back in his world, so they had better not eat him!

This is where the movie really differs from the book: all of the monsters have their own personalities. In fact, they are all facets of Max’s personality…and there’s even a bit of his parents’ divorce in them.

The monsters are really beautiful creations. In fact, the whole world that they inhabit is beautiful. The monsters themselves are mostly guys in suits, but the faces are CGI in order to take on the characteristices of the actos who voice them.

I loved pretty much everything about this film. It really goes back to the old days of children’s movies when the studios didn’t dumb things down. The movie is a little bit dangerous. Hell, Max is damn near evil at times in the beginning! The first scene of him screaming and fighting with the dog is a little scary.

The best part is the relationship between Max and Carol, the lead monster voiced by James Gandolfini. They become so close so fast, but there’s an undercurrent of menace from Carol. He’s a dangerous dude and everyone knows it. And it makes the ending all the more heartbreaking.

And speaking of endings, this movie knew exactly where to end. During the last shot I kept thinking, “Please end it now. Don’t keep going. End now.” And they did.

Go see this movie. If you have kids who are old enough (really young ones might be too scared), take them. It’s a bit slow at times, but it’s well worth it.