Rating of
N/A
Be Still!
KatieK - wrote on 05/20/10
The memories are just flooding back. The wild rumpus has started yet again in Mike Jonze's adaptation of the book Where the Wild Things Are. Often movies fail to live up to the hype of well-loved books or end up destroying the book in order to shorten the story: this was not a problem with this incredibly short children's novel. I doubted that it was even possible to turn such a short and simple story into a one hundred minute movie, but with a little stretching of characters and a lot of imagination Jonze pulls it off quite nicely. The story begins with Max struggling through his home life and having much difficulty controlling his emotions. After a night with an unwanted stranger Max goes completely wild and runs away to the far away land Where the Wild Things Are. There are many apparent similarities between Carol(a monster Max befriends) and Max himself. They both have let their emotions become out of control when the feel distance growing between them and their loved ones. After some time spent sleeping in big piles and building the fort of their dreams Max grows up and understands that his emotions have gotten the better of him while Carol continues to spin wildly out of control. In the end Max realizes that he must leave the wild things and return home to his real family and make things right again. I enjoyed it's plot line and thought overall that it was a sweet story and the book's message rang clear. Though it seems a bit too deep for a children's movie. I can imagine children being frightened by the chase scenes and the destructive violence of the emotional characters.
