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November 9, 2009
Alejandro Montalvo
Working for the first time without the brilliant Charlie Kauffman as his writer, Spike Jonze is proving to be one of the best filmmakers of the twenty-first century. From early skate videos and commercials, Jonze is known for his unique artist eye. His debut film (“Being John Malkovich”) was hailed as one of the greatest films of the 1990s. His latest project: A full length feature film based upon Maurice Sendak’s great classic, “Where the Wild Things Are.” Since the book is only about ten sentences long, liberties were taken to expand the story into a full length feature. So really, comparisons can’t be drawn between the movie and the book because they’re two separate works of art.
For those who aren’t familiar with the story, it’s a great children’s book: The young protagonist, Max, behaves outlandishly one night and is sent to his room as punishment. From there, he creates a world to which he sails away to. He meets the Wild Things in his world and becomes the king. The book doesn’t go into great detail about what takes place, just that the “wild rumpus” begins. The young actor playing Max, Max Records, delivers a magnificent performance.
The book is iconic for its drawings and relies heavily upon them. So, naturally, visual effects are crucial to the film. Instead of going the CGI route, Jonze, always the rebel, decided to shoot as much of the film with actual physically constructed sets and costumes. In comparison with the book, the art work and visual scope of the film is quite different from Sendak’s book. Most of the movie was shot in Melbourne, Australia to capture the “other-worldly” feel. Animatronics were brought in for the Wild Things’ bodies but the Wild Things faces are different, since they are computer-constructed to resemble the actors providing the voices.
To expand on the book, San Francisco writer and legend Dave Eggers assisted Jonze in crafting the script and giving the film a definite heart. Jonze and Eggers delve deep and present complex themes that might be lost on younger viewers. Because of this, the film is geared more towards pre-teens and older. Not to say that younger audiences won’t understand the film, only that younger audiences will probably be lost within the character development.
The film expands upon the novel by giving Max’s family a back-story. Family problems arise, giving the early scenes of the film a gritty, realistic feel. All of that realism is tossed aside, however, when Max sets sail from his bedroom to Where the Wild Things are. Finding a family outside the “family” is a common theme in Eggers’s literary works, and it is present here as well.
Because the book doesn’t give backgrounds to the Wild Things, it’s interesting to see the characteristics that were given to the film’s Wild Things. Every kind of personality is represented among the community of Wild Things that Max meets. Such wonderful characters are given life by the voices of some familiar names; James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, and Catherine O’Hara to name a few.
Personally, I found this movie very satisfying; satisfying to the expectations of a child who grew up with this beloved story. If you haven’t gone to see it yet, if some inhibitions are stopping you, get over them and go see this movie. Verdict: A-
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