Where the Wild Things Are
Once I saw the preview for this movie, I was counting down the days to see it! I have strong memories as a child of the book Where the Wild Things Are. I was intrigued to see the book brought to life on the big screen. I have to say it didn’t disappoint, rather it blew me away.
For those of you that don’t know the book essentially Max is a child who is wild. He makes a rumpus and gets in trouble and is sent to his room. While in his room he sails away to a magical land that is home to the Wild Things. The Wild Things make him king and he rules their land. After some time there he realizes that he just wants to be home. Upon returning home dinner is waiting for him in his room.
The movie took the book one step (or a couple of steps further). Max is a child from a broken home. His sister is at an age where she would rather be with her friends then her kid brother and his mom is a single working mother trying to raise her family, date, and keep her job. Max feels forgotten, frustrated, misunderstood, and is unable to communicate everything he is feeling. After a particularly tough night he “runs away” to the land of the Wild Things.
For me just seeing the Wild Things live on the screen was amazing. I almost cried I was so excited. This movie was so many things, raw, emotional, subtle, yet powerful, and just beautiful!
Spike Jonze masterfully created the world of a child. The struggles of not understanding the grown up world, of wanting to be loved and to be the center of attention, and the imagination of a child and how they process everything around them. The way that he had the Wild Things represent different aspects of Max’s family life was incredibly powerful and subtle all at the same time. We saw Max go from this young boy who appreciated his freedom from his family and relished living the Wild Life of the Wild Things, to a confused young boy who wasn’t sure how to handle all of the complicated relationships among the Wild Things and just wanted to return to the comfort of having someone care for him instead of the responsibility of caring for everyong else.
One thing that brought the movie together in the perfect way was the soundtrack. Spike Jonze partnered with Karen O of the “Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs” and she brought on a children’s choir. The soundtrack brought a lot of the emotion to the screen. We of course bought it and when I listen to it sometimes it makes me want to just run shrieking and waving my arms through a snowy field. It brings you back to memories of childhood and makes you want to just let loose.
I would be surprised if come Oscar time this movie doesn’t win Best Original Soundtrack, Best Costuming and Best Special Effects (how did they get the Wild Things to come to life???)
Overall, I would rate this 5 stars! It is definitely a movie worth seeing in my opinion.
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Did you see Where the Wild Things Are? What were your thoughts?
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