Where the Wild Things Are - "They're Inside Us All"

Screenplay by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers
Directed by Spike Jonze

The first film from Spike Jonze since 2002’s masterpiece ‘Adaptation’, Where the Wild Things Are is the perfect cap to his “bizarro reality trilogy”. Like in his previous films, ‘Wild Things’ takes the simple beauty of life as we know it and augments it with a little magic that puts us just beyond the real into the surreal. Adapted from the classic book by Maurice Sendak, the film tells the story of Max, an uncontrollable boy who ventures off into the far off land of the wild things. While the book is fairly short, the film expands greatly on its themes of imagination and struggling to find an outlet for that energy.

It is precisely in this way that the film feels both grounded and wondrous. While the plot itself is fairly simple (Max struggles for the attention of his single mother, he goes off to a fictional land of wild creatures, they smash things and fight then he comes home), the layers of psychology on display are something to behold. Max is both a completely feral brat and yet sympathetic- we quickly understand his relationship with school, other kids, and his entire family, all by giving only one scene to each. He is a child that we either knew growing up or may have been ourselves. The actor Max Records gives one of the best performances I have ever seen from a young actor as he truly carries the entire film on his shoulders.

Running through the whole film is a sense of beauty and adventure. Whole portions of the film seem to exist in glowing natural light; we follow Max to a wonderful land of forests, deserts and beaches that feel both alien and right around the corner. The film has a prominent dark side as well, and there are a number of moments of true fear and uncertainty. The threat of being crushed or eaten by the mammoth wild things lies at every turn. The mood of the film is also set by the music by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Carter Burwell, which alternates between accentuating and setting a mood for particular sequences. If there was one drawback, it would be that the music stands out a little too much. Like editing, music is something that should work for the story and not necessarily bring attention to itself.

Once Max has gone off to the land of the wild things, we are introduced to the seven hulking creatures with simple names. The design and implementation of them is magnificent and never veers far from the suspension of disbelief. Designed by the Jim Henson Company, the suits are several steps beyond the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ or ‘Dinosaurs’ of old. The actors inside the suits contribute body movements, while the faces are animated digitally. On top of that is the voice, given to each by a prominent actor (James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Dano, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Forest Whitaker) who drives the realism of the monster to a new level. Each character coalesces from these multiple performances into a fully realized person.

Additionally, the wild things themselves act out in ways that can only be described as reflective of Max’s own thoughts, memories and insecurities. To classify each as its own specific symptom is too simple, as many take on multiple levels at their own time. Bubbling to the surface are issues of abandonment, loneliness, and anger. Sometimes the wild things are his parents (the one outstanding oedipal moment is when Max escapes the wrath of James Gandolfini’s “Carol” by climbing into the mouth of Lauren Ambrose’s “KW”. Here, Max sits in a womb-like state while the two wild things have a verbal fight echoing divorcing parents). Sometimes they are fellow kids at school. Sometimes they are just Max. Each is handled in a way that is never too obvious; it is left up to the audience to understand. Kids and adults will likely each experience it on their own level.

Subtle reference is made in the film to the 1980’s animated Disney version that almost came to be both in the mention of a “Mr. Lasseter” and the opening sequence of Max chasing a dog around the house. John Lasseter, now head of Disney Animation and one of the founders of Pixar, had tried to make a ‘Wild Things’ movie using hand drawn animation against then-revolutionary CGI backgrounds (this was a technique that eventually made its way into Beauty and the Beast). The short test sequence is embedded below for those interested. On the whole, Jonze’s film is a very good expansion on the source material. In a way I can’t picture an adaptation working in any other way. He, like Lasseter before him is a man who seems to have never forgotten the mischievous and imaginative child within himself, something that is necessary for a film like this and that comes across on the screen like gangbusters.


**** Four Stars – Definitely See This Film

‘Where the Wild Things Are’ is still in select theaters if you can catch it.