Movie Review #1: Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are

Many of us grew up with this youthful tale of imagination over one's own frustrations.  But as age flows along, so do memories, pushed to a distant shore that can sometimes be impossible to find.  In this instance I cannot remember any part of the book that was likely read to me when I was younger, although I can still recall images, sparce, but vivid.  Even from the first preview it was easy to see, or perhaps feel, the similarity between this Spike Jonze  film and Maurice Sendak's children's book.

The film starts off with an abrupt youth practically falling over himself as he chases the dog through his house whilst mocking a growling beast until finally tackling the pooch.  It was a jagged start to the movie, but one that put necessary information into every one of your senses.  Immediately you feel the assault that a child often emits when it runs around as if sugar was it's only processed nutrition.  After that, things quiet down a bit, and the same child is outside playing in the snow alone.  No parents watching, no babysitter overseeing, just the kid left to do as he pleases.  It's a scene that perhaps we see far too often, an easily recognizable moment that everyone can relate to in one way or another. 

He plays, builds a fort, and just lets his imagination wander until he can see that his sister has returned home with a car full of friends.  He plants himself with snowballs ready, and when they exit, he attacks.  A friendly snowball fight quickly escalates when he runs for the safe confines of his fort, which one of the sister's friends jumps upon, crushing in all of the boy's hard work.  He looks to his sister, hoping for some word of love or care, but she turns away and the lot of them leave. 

Without words, Jonze easily conveys the boy's situation, about how his sister and he were once thick as thieves, but age has driven them to their own paths, another feeling we can all relate too very easily.  The boy lashes out, messes up his sister's room, and then goes off to pout.  Everything is so human, so natural, no matter how unsettling it may feel, this boy seems real in his actions, reactions, and simple naivete. 

Things progress, the single mom attempts to make dinner for her family while attempting to have a date with a special someone obviously not common in the household.  You know what's going to happen before it does, and not because you remember the book, but because you've seen it before, or at least imagined how it would be.  The boy acts out, mother get's angry that she can't control him, and he runs away. 

Now, I must admit that this isn't necessarily a children's movie, no matter it's source material.  A book with so few words can only convey an idea of what is happening.  For the most part the situation is the same, but when you see it unfold, it's almost heartbreaking, and as some have said, a theme for adults.

Once the boy ends up on the island, and after he meets up with the Wild Things, he becomes their king, only because he says that he already is one.  Though these large beasts seem somewhat scary, they are voiced unpredictably by actor's with less haunting voices.  It helps to balance things that can so easily go either way.  The film teetertotters this line throughout, and that's why it's so hard to say if it's a children's movie or not.  The beasts can indeed become ferocious, threatening to eat the boy king and chasing after him to do so.  But this is all material taken from the book.  But when you take such a thing and make it stand beside you, it will immediately take on a new form, one more menacing as supposed to the image on the page. 

In short, Spike Jonze captures the feeling of the book masterfully.  The weight of it is only brought on by the reality of it's messages.  It's a simple movie about a boy.  Not a troubled one, or one that is not like any other.  It's a boy just like yours, like you or myself used to be.  A story about imagination where it's needed during transitions in life.  And it's a coming to terms with the acting out of that youth.  It can be argued that it's too dark for children, but only because we live in an overly sheltering time.  When we were young we loved movies like Labyrinth and The Neverending Story.  Where the Wild Things Are holds the same posture, but in this world where even Looney Tunes and Micky Mouse are considered too much for today's youth, it's understandable why people would think of this film the way that they do.