Where the Wild Things Are

Adapting a story from another medium into a film seems extremely hard. That must be why there is an entirely different award at the Oscars for adapted screenplays. But hardest of all must be children’s books. Most children’s books are full of illustrations which are good for adapting to a visual medium, but may end up being cumbersome to the filmmaker’s vision. Another obstacle may be the fact that most of the stories in children’s books are no more than a few sentences. It must be damn near impossible to make a ninety minute film adapted from five sentences or so. This is the challenge set before the makers of the new film “Where the Wild Things Are,” based on the beloved children’s book of the same name.

The story in the original book is no more than a few sentences. It is essentially the story of a young mischievous boy who gets sent to his room without supper, only to then travel to a world of wild beasts. When he proves he is unafraid of them, they make him their king. But once he realizes how hard it is to be in charge he goes home to his mother who has food waiting for him, with seemingly a new found appreciation for what she must go through. The movie is so much more than the book. Because films don’t last the visual equivalent of a few sentences, the adept writers had to extrapolate more story to tell. They did this brilliantly. They understood the source material so well that they were able to construct a brilliant film. In this incarnation they gave each of the wild things an identity that mirrors a different part of the boy’s psyche. The people who made this film understand children so well. They know precisely how children feel and how they act. And so the film is more than just a boy learning a lesson, it truly is a deep and thoughtful study of what it’s like to be a kid. There is absolutely no way that this story could have been adapted any better. The directing is amazing, but that is nothing new for Spike Jonze who is one of the best there is or ever will be. His choice to use real people in costumes for the wild things was perfect, much better than if they had been CGI. The world of the wild things is full of wonder. The boy, Max, embarks on a beautiful adventure which the audience is lucky to go on too. The actor who plays Max had a big responsibility to essentially be the only human on screen for a lot of the movie, and his performance was excellent.

While the book may be just right for children, this movie is not necessarily. There is a lot that children can relate to, but also a lot I don’t think they would fully understand. Also, the book offers kids a lot of colorful imagery with the illustrations even if they don’t totally get the story, but when it comes to the movies I think kids probably respond more to shitty films like “G-Force;” that is, lots of flare but no substance. I hope a lot of kids see this movie but I think a lot more adults will end up liking it. It’s a really great film, and it stays with you long after you’ve seen it.