Where The Wild Things Are

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Where The Wild Things Are

Post by Ben » October 12th, 2009, 8:28 am

I thought we had a thread for this - certainly we've talked about it before, but I couldn't find anything! :?

Anyhoo, The Hollywood Reporter has posted its thoughts:
Bottom Line: A reverential but uninvolving adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic illustrated book for children.
An illustrated children's book that consists of nine sentences and 20 pages does not immediately suggest a feature film adaptation. Nonetheless, Spike Jonze has fearlessly plunged ahead to weave whimsical movie magic to bring Maurice Sendak's 1963 "Where the Wild Things Are" to the screen.

The story, as millions of children and grown children know, tells of a rambunctious boy, sent to bed without his supper, who then encounters fearsome-looking but surprisingly gentle creatures when his bedroom turns into a mysterious forest. The film does surmount one of its two difficult challenges: Through puppetry and computer animation, the filmmaking teams have successfully put a world of childhood imagination on the screen. Where the film falters is Jonze and novelist Dave Eggers' adaptation, which fails to invest this world with strong emotions.

Children might enjoy the goofy monsters and their fights and squabbles, but adults likely are to grow weary of the repetitiveness. In the end, the book probably was too slender to support a 102-minute movie. Without a quest to propel the story, such as Dorothy's journey in "The Wizard of Oz," the movie turns into an afternoon-special with an easily digested moral that fails to grab youngsters by the collar and shake them up with an exciting adventure.

A viewer is encouraged to see that Max's (Max Records) rough play with the family dog and his snowball fights with neighborhood kids are angry reactions to a home life that disturbs him. His single mom (Catherine Keener) must juggle demanding work assignments and a new boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) while perhaps neglecting her impressionable son.

An older sister's self-absorption and a science teacher's declaration that one day the sun will die don't help matters. Nonetheless, the boy is too much of a brat to elicit much sympathy. And his adventures with the Wild Things never captivate a viewer.

Rather than being exiled to his room, the boy, clad in only a wolf costume, runs away into the night. He discovers a sailboat that transports him to the faraway land of Wild Things, creatures that nurture childlike ambitions and grudges.

It is not long before he declares himself a Viking king. Swallowing anything the wee lad says, the monsters nominate him to be their king, too. He readily accepts and promises to keep them happy and safe. Max is about to learn the first lesson of a politician: Be careful about what you promise a potential constituency.

The monsters carry on like children themselves. They wish to sleep in piles of furry bodies, think and behave with a child's self-righteousness and are swift to perceive any slight. The large costume suits, courtesy of Jim Henson Co.'s Creature Shop, achieve a remarkable semblance to the witty illustrations of Sendak (who as one of the film's producers was heavily involved in overseeing the page-to-screen transition).

The Wild Things are overgrown dolls with expressive, feral faces and often lighter-than-air bodies. (Sendak reportedly based his monsters on family members studied intently as a child.) They rather like to bash things but are quick to realize that little gets accomplished by such actions.

The voice actors couldn't be better. James Gandolfini plays the pack leader, Carol, who looks avidly for purpose in life and thinks Max might provide the key. Catherine O'Hara is the sardonic, pessimistic Judith, all mouth and one horn growing incongruously out of her nose; Forest Whitaker is her patient and possibly adoring companion, Ira; Paul Dano is a put-upon goat; Chris Cooper plays the birdlike, kinetic Douglas; and Lauren Ambrose is the aloof KW.

Virtually plotless escapades in monster land feature the building of a fort and a dirt-clod fight, all things that Max instigates without any thought about how these activities will fulfill his promises to the gang. They don't, causing him to realize that "it's hard to be a family."

The Australian production takes huge advantage of the hills, sand dunes and shores of the outer Melbourne area to create the changeable landscapes of this other world. Cinematographer Lance Acord, Jonze's collaborator on "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation," superbly integrates the imaginative with the real, and K.K. Barrett's design further enhances this "real" fantasy, a far cry from the studio-bound phantasms of old. A rock-pop score by Karen O and Carter Burwell tries too hard and at too loud a pitch.

Opens: October 16 (Warner Bros.)
Gotta say that the Dark Crystal feel is more obvious now (I didn't know JHCS was doing the characters) but that it's not winning me over. And 102 minutes sounds <I>long</I>...

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Re: Where The Wild Things Are

Post by EricJ » October 12th, 2009, 11:19 am

An illustrated children's book that consists of nine sentences and 20 pages does not immediately suggest a feature film adaptation.
I know Jonze wanted to go for the "Max's imagination" theme working out the character's deeper issues, but like Coleridge said, it may have a little too much message:
I'm pretty sure Sendak didn't intend "We'll eat you up, we love you so" to be interpreted as an "aww" huggy-line. :?

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Post by Josh » October 12th, 2009, 12:12 pm

I'm eager to see how much the film differs from the early version of its screenplay. While I haven't read the script, I did catch this surprising message at IMDb. Supposedly, there was/is also a scene in which Max slaps his mother.

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Post by eddievalient » October 12th, 2009, 12:12 pm

Mom and I are both very exited about this one because we're both huge Jim Henson fans and this looks like the first film to truly capture his spirit since he died. That it's taken so long for anyone else in the world to get on the same wavelength that Henson was on really says something about the man's genius, I think, and I hope that Wild Things is a big success.
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Post by EricJ » October 12th, 2009, 1:03 pm

Henson didn't produce it, the Creature Shop was just contracted to do the effects--
(Which they've been getting less work, now that they've had to switch to puppet-based CGI.)
If anything, the project as we know it dates back to the time Tom Hanks wanted to do his CGI version, and had to settle for "Polar Express" instead.

Not to say Jim wasn't into "dark kiddie stories" and Sendak-worship, which's how we got "Labyrinth" in the first place--But that was pretty much his own kink, and it left with him at the studio...If it was his, the forest would've looked more like Ridley Scott's "Legend". :)

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Post by estefan » October 16th, 2009, 5:33 pm

Just came back from seeing it. Here are my full thoughts (no spoilers, don't worry):

Spike Jonze has succeeded in taking a simple picture book and turning it into a honest family film that tackles the theme of childhood and not letting go. The first act which most takes place in the real world is excellent, taking a realistic approach to the material, showing the dark side of being a child in an adult's world. Catherine Keener really makes the most of her small screen-time, completely embodying the role of a mother dealing with a mischevious child. Max Records is excellent, giving one of the best child performances in any film. Most young actors have the problem of being too adult or being too childish, but Records is perfect, being completely natural even when he runs into the Wild Things. The second and third acts don't live up to the terrific beginning, but they're still very well-done as Jonze digs deep into the monster's sweet and wild sides, really digging into Max's psyche. The special effects team really went beyond with creating the Wild Things as the CGI mixes perfectly with the gigantic costumes created by the Jim Henson Company. The film also moves at a great pace, never getting tiring and feeling much shorter than it actually is. I'm no fan of Maurice Sendak's original book (I feel A.A. Milne, Roald Dahl and Theodore Giesel are more accomplished family-oriented writers), but Jonze has done a great job at adapting Where the Wild Things Are to the screen.

On another note: I'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but at one point in the film, Max's mother refers to a "Mr. Lasseter". A possible nod to John Lasseter, who tried to make an animated Where the Wild Things Are adaptation in the 1980's?

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Post by Ben » October 17th, 2009, 11:23 am

The nod could well be, since Sendak has been involved in all the various attempts to get this to the screen also. :)

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Post by Whippet Angel » October 24th, 2009, 11:59 am

estefan wrote: I'm no fan of Maurice Sendak's original book (I feel A.A. Milne, Roald Dahl and Theodore Giesel are more accomplished family-oriented writers)
Eh, I really wouldn't compare a 48 page picture book to lengthy novels written by "family-oriented writers". Nearly all of Mr.Sendak's works were written for very young children (Wild Things, Little Bear, the Nutshell collection etc... ).

Anyway, I just caught the film last night, and I thought it was wonderful. While there wasn't really much of a plot to the book, the film makes up its own, yet still managed to capture the spirit of the book. It's a difficult thing to pull off, but it works beautifully in this film. It may not be a great film for young children (some parts may be scary, and it gets a bit too "talky" towards the middle), but it had a strong message for adults about seeing life through their inner child.

What I wouldn't give to be an 8 year old again, running around in a wolf costume with my imaginary budddies... :wink:

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Post by Dacey » November 3rd, 2009, 11:27 am

I saw this movie Friday before last, but didn't post my thoughts at the time, because I wasn't sure what I thought about it.

Well, now it's been almost two weeks since then, and I'm still not sure what I thought about it.

Honestly, I'm not sure what the movie was trying to go for. Judging from the bouncy song that was playing during the end credits, I think I was supposed to leave the theater in a good mood. But I found myself feeling sort of sad as I walked out instead.

Maybe that's because much of the movie comes across as sad, depressing and "deep." Sure, there are moments when I know that I was genuinely smiling, but I found the discussion among the characters to be surprisingly dreary.

Also, it's really more "inspired" by the book than based on it. The "wild rumpuss" from the story lasts for only about a minute...then it's back to the thoughtful, talky stuff. For a movie that was promoted like a celebration of childhood, it plays out more like something that expresses the insecurity and loneliness of being young more than anything.

Big credit, though, to whoever it was who cast the role of Max. The boy was exceptional with the part. Also, the wild things were really good, but I expected no less once I found out that the Jim Henson Creature Workshop was working on them.

It does make me wonder, though, what Jim Henson would've come up with if he had made a "Wild Things" film himself. It probably would've been a lot more fun than this.
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Post by American_dog_2008 » November 3rd, 2009, 6:08 pm

Looks like one of the movies of the year!

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Post by Ben » November 3rd, 2009, 6:22 pm

<I>Any</I> movie released in 2009 is one of the movies of the year! ;)

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Post by Dacey » November 3rd, 2009, 6:27 pm

:lol:
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift--that is why it's called the present."

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Post by American_dog_2008 » November 4th, 2009, 12:50 pm

I mean one of the best movies of 09! :lol:

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