“Let the wild rumpus start” with Where the Wild Things Are
Posted by The Skyliner on October 28th, 2009Samantha Mayo
Staff Writer
This October Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s story Where the Wild Things Are was brought to the big screen by screenwriter and director Spike Jonze.
Where the Wild Things Are tells the story of Max, an imaginative but out-of-control boy who runs away from home to the land “where the wild things are.”
In the beginning of the film, Max is found battling for the attention on his overworked mother and older sister Claire. Max’s loneliness and need for attention cause him to lash out, howling, biting and smashing anything in sight when he becomes angry.
After a particularly upsetting confrontation with his mother, Max runs away from home and sails to a far away land inhabited by a clan of huge, wild creatures.
To keep them from eating him, Max tells the creatures that he was once a king and that he has magical powers that can shield them from all sadness. The creatures then make Max their king instead of their dinner, believing that Max can protect them from all of their troubles.
Max makes special friends with Carol, a creature who is as out of control as Max is. In Carol, Max is able to see from the outside just how destructive and hurtful his anger can be.
Through being a part of the wild family, Max learns the importance of family and sticking together no matter what.
The movie also makes a good point about dealing with problems and sadness.
When Max is made king by the wild things, Carol believes that Max can shield him and his family from all sadness. Later on, Max decides that the wild things should build a perfect fort that will keep out everything they don’t want, giving them a place to be happy and problem free together.
Carol and the wild things eventually realize that there is no fort that can keep out everything that they don’t want in their lives and no shield that can protect them from all sadness. Instead of trying to avoid sadness and create a problem free world, the wild things must learn to face problems together and make the best of the flawed world they have.
While it has several positive messages about family and problem solving, Where the Wild Things Are becomes a little dark and even bizarre in parts. The story moved a little slowly in places as well.
The filming of the movie was excellent and the detail of the camera shots added a lot to the movie and to the characters.
The special effects, however, were less than stellar. In some shots, the wild things resemble giant stuffed animals or high school mascots.
The vocal talents of the cast, including James Gandolfini from The Sopranos as Carol, help redeem the wild things from the poor special effects.
Max Records, who debuted as Max, also performed well, capturing Max’s loneliness and need for attention and making the character relatable to the audience.
Where the Wild Things Are is rated PG.
Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 7