Where The Wild Things Are
October 24, 2009
![[Where The Wild Things Are]](http://randyhoyt.com/wp-content/images/where-the-wild-things-are.jpg "[Where The Wild Things Are]")
I went to see the new movie Where The Wild Things Are last night. I have loved the book since childhood, and I recently wrote an article about it for my online myth magazine: Imagination in Where The Wild Things Are. I didn’t have very high expectations for the movie, since I could not imagine how a ten-sentence children book could be adapted to a full-length live-action movie. Well, my low expectations were surpassed a little but not by much.
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Similarities: I thought the movie really captured the look of the book well. I also thought the message of the book was retained in the movie. Imagination can be a powerful force for good.
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Good Difference: The movie was a lot darker than the book. I think the subject matter of the story (how to cope with the harsh realities of life) is well-suited for a serious treatment, and I am not at all opposed to the same narrative being handled in two different works of art intended for different audiences. The book was light-hearted and whimsical, appropriate for children and adults alike: the movie was heavy and thoughtful, probably more appropriate for adults.
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Bad Difference: The movie was a lot longer than the book. I didn’t mind the expanded elements of Max’s back story as much as I thought I would: if anything, the movie should have expanded that part of the story even more. The trouble is that the story entrenches you firmly inside a child’s imagination, and that’s a very strange place to be for ninety minutes. In the book, I can smile as Max tames the wild things by staring into their eyes without blinking; but in the movie, the long discussion about double re-crackers was just too much for me. I found the portrayal of childhood to be honest and insightful — but also very tedious.
All in all, Where The Wild Things Are is probably one of those genius films that is just not that enjoyable to watch.
Update: Orson Scott Card, the author whose Alvin Maker series I am currently enjoying, posted about this movie on his blog. I certainly appreciated some of his comments:
- “It’s an art film — which means that it is deliberately strange and unexplained.”
- “I have never seen a more nakedly honest treatment of childhood anywhere, ever.”
- “The actual story and relationships are absolutely real. It’s like going back to kindergarten […] and […] not just kindergartners. All the shifting moods and loyalties and jealousies and rages and heartbreaks also happen in middle school. And high school. And college. And in companies and shops and family reunions populated entirely by adults.”
- “I’ve learned to overlook the pretentious undertelling of arty filmmaking. […] If that were the only negative, I’d simply warn you about it (as I warned people about the artiness of the brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).”
- “I hate[d] it every bit as much as I loved it.”
You can read his full comments, including why he hated the movie, in his blog School Trip, Wild Things, Barefoot to Zion.