All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
Where The Wild Things Are
Score: 4/4
“Jonze keeps the spirit while adding his own ‘Wild’
twist”
Forget every great coming of age movie you've
ever seen. Ladies and Gentleman, we have a winner.
Spike Jonze’s “Where The Wild Things
Are”, based on the classic children’s book of the
same name by the author Maurice Sendak, takes
what Sendak’s book did and adds Jonze’s own
feelings and interpretation of the text and takes us
on a wild, hairy, dirty ride. Wild Things as
real as the whiskers on little Max’s wolf costume, an
uncompromising and audacious take on the source
material, fantastically acted characters, superbly
written screenplay and a binding soundtrack all
combine to make one big, hairy slightly depressing
but exceedingly enjoyable movie.
The inevitable question, of course: how is the movie
different from the book? Well, those of you above
the age of 10 can all sing a long at the sound of the
gong, but be prepared for some new chords. Max
(played by new dynamo Max Records) is
a rambunctious little ball of energy who sorely lacks
attention in his home, among other things.
Overreacting one night as he argues with his
mother (Catherine Keener), Max runs away from
home, off to a dock and sets sail for the land of the
Wild Things. This is just one risk that Jonze takes as
he bends this book to his will. They’re numerous,
but necessary to advance the length and the
meaning of the film. Wild Things are given names,
original scenes are added in, and dirt clod fights are
had. All in the name of beauty, no doubt. It also
does help that Mr. Sendak himself has given his
seal of approval to the project. He couldn’t have put
it in better hands.
This being his first movie ever, I was genuinely
surprised by Max Record’s performance. He’s not
just in it for playground bragging rights. Both
Records and Jonze have such an extensive
understanding of how a child sees the world and
growing up, and they apply it beautifully to ‘Wild
Things’. Max escaping into his imagination from
the real world is a flawless transition and you’ll
never know if his experiences were real or in his
head. But of course, we can’t forget about those
Wild Things. Each one represents a fraction of his
psyche. There’s Carol (brilliantly bi-polarized by
James Gandolfini), the temperamental leader, KW
(the soothing and caring voice of Lauren Ambrose),
the motherly figure, Judith (Catherine O’Hara,
cynical and hilarious), the stubborn one and
Alexander (a quiet and attention depraved Paul
Dano), the smallest one of all, among others. All of
the Wild Things play off something that happened
to Max in the real world. They’re all as real as the
trees in front of Max’s face. You could replace them
with anything and the movie would still have the
same effect. The screenplay, by Jonze and Dave
Eggers, is able to throw in lots of reflections of
Max’s real world into his world of the Wild Things.
All of the major lines, from “BE STILL” to “Don’t go,
we’ll eat you up, we love you so”, are kept intact
and unscratched as well, so purists, REJOICE!!!!
Everything looks beautiful. From the
cinematography by Lance Accord, to the 9-foot-tall
Wild Thing puppets, it all harkens back to Sendak’s
original work without selling out the material in the
process. Everything new in this movie feels as if it
were incorporated into the book before, including
the soundtrack, done by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah
Yeahs . It compliments the action in every possible
way, giving the movie that extra emotional weight,
even though it doesn’t need it. It will be an
emotional experience, not necessarily for kids, but
for their parents, remembering childhood and
maybe even having to face their fears. Very
emotional moviegoers will be taken for quite a ride.
In the end, it is a movie that everyone should see.
Sometimes growing up means having to
say goodbye. This movie is a wonderful send-off.
What are you waiting for? LET THE WILD RUMPUS
START!!!!!!!!!
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 1 comment.
10 articles 0 photos 23 comments
Favorite Quote:
"I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." -Michelangelo