"Where the Wild Things Are"
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker
Rated: PG
This week, I decided to check out a recent release that had slipped through the cracks for me, Spike Jonze's take on "Where the Wild Things Are," the beloved 1963 children's book written by Maurice Sendak.
If anyone was up for adapting a book with a scant 400 words in nine sentences scattered among 37 pages, and relying heavily on the author's drawings of fantastical creatures, Jonze was the man for the job. Best known for his music videos, the director's big-screen work consists of two strange screenplays written by Charlie Kaufman: "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation."
Jonze, who wrote the screenplay for "Where the Wild Things Are" with Dave Eggers, met with Sendak, and the author told him to "find himself" in the book. Sendak says the book was like a personal eight-year exorcism for him. Jonze has spent more than eight years getting the film to the screen; the director originally planned for it to be his first film.
Jonze expands on the book but remains true to the essence throughout.
The tale opens in the "real" world, where we meet young Max. He's not a bad kid, but he has his moments of rather wild behavior, and there's a wisp of melancholy about him. It's hinted at that he might be upset about his parents' divorce. At any rate, he doesn't seem to like his mother's date and acts up to the point of embarrassing Mom (Catherine Keener), who sends Max to his room without dinner.
It's here that Max - in what plays out like a "Wizard of Oz" for the 21st century - takes off on his flight of fancy.
He takes a cruise in a little sailboat and ends up on an island where we meet the seven characters referred to in the title. We soon discover that each wild thing represents a part of Max's psyche. Max convinces the wild things that he is a great warrior and they pronounce him king (this is his fantasy, after all.)
The "thing" we get to know best is Carol, voiced by James Gandolfini. He's a decent sort but is prone to fits of anger and destruction. KW (voiced by Lauren Ambrose) is a tender-hearted, calming influence. Judith (Catherine O'Hara) is rather negative but not a bad "thing." Ira (Forest Whitaker) is soft-spoken and timid. There's also the bird creature Douglas, the bullish Bull and Alexander the goat.
Jonze does a seamless job of incorporating digital special effects to give these creatures, which from a distance appear to be actors inside of costumes, a great range of facial expression. The look is so convincing that at times I found myself almost believing the wild things were real.
Max learns a lot about the creatures, and about himself. And in the end, just as Dorothy did in "Oz," Max realizes there's no place like home and wants to return there. He does, and his relieved mom is waiting with his dinner.
As was the case with last year's beautiful and touching animated feature, "Up," Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" is not aimed only at the kids. Not being a kid anymore it's hard for me to judge how today's grade-schoolers may react to the film.
Speaking for myself - a baby boomer who remembers growing up with TV and the friends residing there, including Captain Kangaroo, Howdy Doody, and Rocky and Bullwinkle - I can say the movie touched me and made me remember the times of alienation that are part of nearly every kid's process of growing up. It's a great film and one that I predict will be a blockbuster when released on DVD. It merits repeated watching.[[In-content Ad]]
Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield freelance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.
