REVIEW: Where the Wild Things Are

Plot summary from worstpreviews.com:

"Where the Wild Things Are" follows the adventures of Max, a head-strong young boy who leaves home after having a fight with his mother -- only to find himself in a mysterious forest bordering a vast sea. Misunderstood and rebellious, Max sets sail to the land of the Wild Things, where mischief reigns. The adventure film will use a unique process to bring the story to life, incorporating the most dynamic elements of voice performance, live-action puppetry and computer animation.

I sometimes suffer from overexposure when it comes to movies I want to see. I read a lot of blogs about movies and movie reviews and I watch a lot of trailers online. So when a movie gets a lot of positive buzz and a great trailer like Where the Wild Things Are, I get pretty excited. I mean, this film had one of the greatest trailers I've ever seen. I was pumped to see it.

The film wasn't what I expected. That's not a bad thing. It's still a good movie . . . just different. I've heard the responses that the film is boring, meandering, plot-less. I don't buy it. I think the film does a great job of examining the complex psyche of a child, which to be honest, can be pretty meandering and probably won't fit into the typical dramatic arc of a Hollywood picture. Truthfulness to the subject matter might explain those negative reactions. The co-writer and director Spike Jonze transplants the complicated emotions of typical child Max into a multitude of "wild things." There's selfishness, loneliness, rage, fear, whininess, anger, lots of pretty deep stuff. The most intriguing thing about the film is how Max interacts with these embodied emotions that he himself has experienced. Does he come out a better person? That's hard to say. Max definitely learns that being in charge isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Max declares himself king when he first arrives and makes a lot of "pie in the sky" promises of happiness and of wishes granted and whatnot. Well, that, of course, doesn't really work out as planned (shades of political commentary perhaps?). But even with that lesson learned, Max isn't a changed person when he leaves the island. He's definitely not grown-up, he's still a kid and is likely to go on acting out in the way that kids do. Yet maybe he has a better awareness of the benefit of having someone else in charge, of having someone else to take care of him. This seems evident by the change in attitude towards his mother when he returns home; its obvious he enjoys his mother's comforting presence as she watches over him as he eats his soup.

One thing that is definitely an A+ is the art design, especially in relation to the original book. The wild things look just as they should and the process of using actors in costumes and computer animation for the facial features works great. And I don't know where they shot this film, but its perfect. Very grey and barren, overcast skies, just a really rough landscape. And Max Records, who plays Max, is quite good. The success of this movie hinged on the ability of the actor playing Max being a believable child. All the voice acting was also well done, and despite many well known actors taking a role of a wild thing, as a viewer their celebrity never stole attention from their character.

While based on a children's book, this is not a kids movie. I've heard it described as a family film, but I would disagree with that term as well. It has a very somber feel, and while there are some funny moments, its a pretty serious film.

Wade: 4.5/5 stars

Kinsey: 4/5 stars