Just got out of seeing Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" a movie that I've been looking forward to for at least 6 months, if not longer. I'm choosing to write this here as all of my thoughts wouldn't really fit into a regular status update.
It's a fascinating movie, that's probably the best way to describe my feelings on what Jonez has accomplished. I remember loving the book as a kid, but now that I'm 25+ years removed from it I can't say that I remember exactly what the book was about. I remember the framework, but not the actual details.
The movie isn't for kids, not even remotely. It's a disservice what marketing and previews are doing to a lot of movies out there these days, though I understand why they do it. It's easy to put a bunch of big monsters all partying and having a good time into some quick clips and release it as a preview because that way they know they are pandering to the little ones out there and uninformed parents will drop the cash to take the kids and see it, not knowing what they are getting themselves into. You need to be removed from your childhood to really understand what this movie is trying to convey, what it's trying to get across.
It's a contemplative movie, it reflects on what childhood is in so many nuanced and subtle ways. What it's like to look at your parents or older siblings when you're 9 years old and not understand why they do the things they do, and why they don't pay attention to you the way you feel they should. It looks at all of the emotions that you have inside of you when you're that age, and how you don't know what to do with them all the time. Sometimes you just need to yell and growl don't you?
And don't all of us, even now, just want to feel love and closeness with others? And at age 9 isn't it the thing we want most of all? We don't care about the best car, the newest computer, the coolest gadget, the better job, the car loan, the house payment, getting laid off at that age. We care about having a good time, about make-believe places and make-believe things. And how all of those places and things are so much better than real life
because they really "get" us, what we're about, what our potential is. We can be kings simply because we say we are, we get to wear the crown and make the rules because we say so. And if the best way to fix something is by dog-piling your friends, or building a fort, then so be it.
It's a big movie, a thought provoking movie.
It looks gorgeous, the voice acting is impeccable, has a great soundtrack, and Max Records, the kid who plays Max in the film, is a real find.
I wish Spike Jonze would do more work, he's an incredibly talented director.
In short, the film is really a bed time story brought to life. A story you might tell your kid, or your kid might tell you, totally off the cuff, with all the twists and turns that those magical stories entail.
