One of the hardest things to do in Hollywood is to take a small picture book and turn it into a feature-length movie. Many have tried but almost all of them miss the mark on what made the original source material so beloved and special. The much-praised children's book Where the Wild Things Are is one of the few exceptions as it in my opinion successfully emulates the tone and style of the original story while also adding new elements that only enrich the lessons and feelings making it feel different but still familiar. The idea of turning where the wild things are into a movie was already an idea that many studios took an eye upon. Heck, even Disney at one point was interested in turning the movie into an animated feature. In the end, Warner Brothers helmed the rights to the story and brought big-time Hollywood director Spike Jonze to guide the story it took a lot of expert craftsmanship but believe me when I say that the end result is downright outstanding to behold.
Max (Max Records) is a troubled but very imaginative kid who just wants attention from his own family, after dressing up in his wolf suit and having a feud with his mother (Catherine Keener), Max runs away and finds himself in an imaginary forest where he finds a boat that he boards upon and sails throughout day and night. Max then comes across an island where he discovers a bunch of wild things such as Carol (James Gandolfini), K.W (Lauren Ambrose), Judith (Catherine O’Hara), and Alexander (Paul Deno) as the first attempt to eat him but Max convinces them he has powers from another land and can bring a sadness shield that can bring happiness. Max is crowned king and tries to do everything he can to make the wild things happy but there may be some complications that get in the way especially when it comes to Carol and his unpredictably out of control personality.
The story captures all the magic and feel of the book, while expertly handling all the added new material with great precision. Now, you're probably wondering, The book is only 20 pages and 338 words long. How in the world can you stretch out a simple little story into an hour and a half? Unlike most Picture book-to-movie adaptations where they try to add random ideas for the sake of the movie's runtime, this movie actually adds in ideas that relate to the original book's themes and messages. They add a whole new layer of complexity by making the overall narrative more character-focused which can lead to some really deep topics not only for kids but even for some adults. Not to mention that this film can also be really dark and depressing in a lot of scenes which may scare some younger viewers but it never goes too depressing as there are a lot of very uplifting and charming moments that do really balance out the overall flow. It isn’t your typical happy-go-lucky family adventure as this story contains lessons about childhood and the anxieties that come with it. Kids may not get the themes and ideas right away, but it is still great to see a movie aimed at families that discuss deep and thought-provoking themes. It seemed impractical and it shouldn’t have worked but I can definitely tell that everyone who made this movie knew what made the book work and how to execute it properly on the big screen.
The characters in the original book either had a simple personality or no personality at all which worked great in that aspect because the main focus was on the imagination of the world Max visits and the messages we take away from the story. The movie takes a different approach by giving all the characters relatable personalities. Max is probably the most relatable and his personal struggles are made extremely sympathetic. The greatest thing about Max is how he captures the innocent and Imaginative aspect of being a kid but also the unpredictable mischievous side of being a kid. It can really relate to how a lot of us dealt with problems such as the ones Max goes through in the movie. Max’s mom and sister are added in characters and they work in how Max sees them from his perspective and how we see them struggle or try to go on in their own life from our perspective. Then there are the Wild things and each of them has different emotional arcs that work for Max to bounce his emotions off of. Many of them have mixed traits from other personalities related to Max’s family. For Example, Carol could be a mix of Max’s desires and his emotional trauma, K.W could be a mix between his mother's love and his sister down to earth mood and Alexander can show off Max’s scared and timid side of being a child. Each one of them is given such complex and engaging character traits that make feel three-dimensional and human. It’s great to see how they turned the simple characters from the book into sympathetic and complex characters that really tug at your heartstrings.
The cinematography is nothing short of impressive as it combines both the style of the book and style of its own from Spike Jonze's vision and both work great together. Most of the movie is shot on an imaginary island and a lot of the scenes are usually driven by what the characters are feeling. Whenever it’s joyful, the setting is bright, colorful, and full of life. Whenever it’s depressing, it becomes foggy, dark, and cold. The overall look of the island is mainly comprised of mountainous landscapes, tall tree forests, Large Sand Dunes, and Huge Stick fortresses. Although all of those aspects are done with great care, nothing can ever compare to the amazing puppetry of the Wild Things. They look like they just jumped straight out of the book. Every single one of them was made to look like their Illustrated Counterparts. Believe it or not, these well-made life-sized Wild things were created in Jim Henson’s creature shop and I like how the Puppetry and added computer-generated effects for the emotions of the wild things work simultaneously off of each other to make for a grand illusion. Even though the style of the book was more colorful I still really liked the style in the movie and its uniqueness did help make it stand out as a style of its very own.
The Music does go for a more modern western approach and it yet it does fit in very well with the style of the movie. They use a lot of hard guitar strums to emphasize danger or character trauma as well as use light guitar strums to capture the state of being a child with a very active imagination. The added songs are very nice and playful whenever things become joyful and fun. The sad orchestral music really works in a lot of emotional moments especially near the end and they could definitely bring some people to tears.
Could this movie work if it had just been more playful and innocent like the book? maybe. It might not have been the movie many people thought they were going to get and the complex morals might be a bit dark for a lot of younger viewers. However, what this movie succeeded in doing is capturing what made the book so loved while at the same time adding its own layer of complexity to turn the simplest of stories into an emotional roller coaster. It’s a love letter to a lot of childhoods and it tackles subjects that really should be talked about more especially to children. This movie is so much more than people give it credit for. It might be darker than your average family film but in regards to an adaptation from a simply told story, it does the book justice.
(Final Grade: A-)