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Title: Where The Wild Things Are
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, this is a very violent movie at times. Kids are likely to get scared. Recommended for ages 10 and up. |
“Where The Wild Things Are” is one of the controversial children’s classics of our time. Amazing really when you stop and think about it. The book is a mere ten sentences long, but oh how those ten sentences pack to punch. I’m sure the artwork of author Maurice Sendak, which was strange and unsettling, also played a huge role in it’s iconic stature. Now we have a movie based off the book directed by Spike Jonze, who has a surreal inner child himself I suspect. It’s these inner feelings he has that I’m sure convinced Sendak (who is one of the producers of this film) to pick Jonze to tell the story of a boy who visits a fantasy world as a way to deal with anger. The movie expands on this concept by making Max (Max Records) a bit more ambiguous then he was in the book.
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Here he is a boy who is part lonely, part misunderstood, and part out of control. This makes him a very unstable kid for the most part. After a spat with his mother he travels across the sea one night and runs across the Wild Things, strange creatures who want to be a family but they are going through a bit of a family crisis themselves. Just before they eat him Max claims to be a king and - like all dumb creatures - they believe him and make him their king. Now it’s this point in the movie I held my breath. What do kids in most Hollywood movies do when they get power? Most of the time they throw parties. They belch. They fart...a lot. Max wants to build a fort. What’s funny about this is that it actually seems like a good idea.
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What’s more interesting though is how the building of this fort symbolizes the growing character development of the main characters. How the characters feel about their lives are reflected in their dedication to this project. It’s all so subtle. Yet it’s also touching. Very touching. Early reports of the film suggested that either Jonze was having difficulties making the film to the studios getting cold feet over the content. I’m personally more inclined to believe the second story as watching this movie makes it clear Jonze always had a vision for this strange, strange movie. Despite the PG rating this is a very intense and scary movie at times.
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It’s also the most contemplative film I’ve seen this year next to the Coen Brothers “A Serious Man.” That’s saying something too. While I’m sure parents will take that word of caution as reason to deprive their kids from seeing this film, the sad thing is life is tough. That’s almost the entire point of this film, and you need to learn to deal with your problems without the use of violence and escapism. This film is a great discussion tool for kids with anger issues. Even without kids though this movie gave me - a grown adult - much to contemplate about. I also want to make special mention of the special effects on the film, as I believe this is a good example of what special effects should do: They should enhance a film.
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Now to be up front I have no idea how the Wild Things were created in this film. I suspect a mixture of computer graphics and anamorphic robots were in the mix, but whatever the technique the world and characters are so fully realized I was never once distracted by them. As far as I was concerned they existed, and I didn’t think about how they were created until long after the film was over. If only more directors showed the same love and attention to their creations that Jonze does for Sendak’s. The film is hard to describe sometimes, but it’s profoundness was not lost on me. This is one of the best films of the year. I could eat it up I love it so.
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Spaceriffic Review
