I don’t think there is a man, woman, or child that has existed within the last 46 years that doesn’t have a special regard for “Where the Wild Things Are”. It is one of those perfectly simple stories that connects with you on a deep and almost primal level. To put it simply: Spike Jonze (director of “Being John Malkovich”, “Adaptation”, now “Where…”) gets it. He has flawlessly adapted a 10 page children’s book into an expressive, powerful feature length film. I am very curious to see how children will react to this movie. It is a film more about childhood than it is for children, in my opinion. It isn’t a glamorized, Hollywood doe-eyed miniature adult version of childhood either. It is an authentic, almost uncomfortably real look at what it is like to be a child. Children have to deal with many of the same problems as adults, but lack the intuition and experience to know how to process the complicated emotions that result. They react almost immediately, and sometimes violently, to stressors like frustration, disappointment, and love. In this medication-infused society wherein nearly every child with a decent imagination is prescribed Ritalin in order to keep them under control, it is easy to misinterpret a tantrum or hissy fit as an act of aggression as opposed to a cry for help or attention.
Max embodies this very truth. He is played by the appropriately named Max Records – watch for this kid, he is wonderful. He is an adventurous, lonely, misunderstood 9-year-old dealing with a sister who is outgrowing him and a distracted single mother. It is a sad and dire state of affairs. So this is when he is magically transported to a wonderful realm where dreams come true and life makes sense right? Wrong. Even the journey to the island of Wild Things is frightening and dangerous, then once there he has to fend for his life against the vicious, similarly misunderstood creatures. It is relentless and exhilarating.
The Wild Things themselves are works of art inside and out. Full-sized puppets created by Jim Henson’s creature workshop, they are almost entirely practical, save for minor CG rendering on the face. They are also the most expressive creatures I have ever seen on film, which is saying something considering how physiologically insane their designs are. Every time a Carroll, K.W., Alexander, or Judith feel something, you feel it too, and it is heart shattering. It is beautiful. The Wild Things aren’t portrayed as mentors or guides for young Max either. If anything, they are simply other children – not knowing any better than Max himself. Remember when you would meet a new kid on the playground and become instant friends with him or her just based on the fact that “she likes horses” or “he has a blue shirt on”? That is how you meet the Wild Things – it is both funny and sweet. They are real beings, and you never doubt that. The situations they are put in are so real as well. When they play rough, they get hurt, sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally. You see one go from laughing hysterically to weeping in an instant – just like in real life. You know the old phrase “It is all fun and games until someone loses a…” – well, I’ll just let you see the movie to see where I am going with that one.
There is so much I want to say about this movie that I just don’t have the space for. Suffice it to say, it is wonderful. I adored this movie. It is lovely without being homogenized. Max is adorable and relatable without being a precocious, doe-eyed, overly beautiful child who says grown up things. Take my word, and join the wild rumpus!
