Life isn’t perfect’ seemed to be the message that hit me after watching Where the Wild Things Are. I had expected a happier fluffy Disney-like movie when I saw this film. This film is based on Maurice Sendak’s children story book. A rowdy child named Max is sent off to bed without eating dinner and decides to run away to his own world. Max becomes king and ruler over the wild things. He opens up his imagination full of childhood realities to the audience. This untainted exposure to how Max sees his reality is something to treasure because of how it rings true.
This is also treasured because an audience rarely is able to see the bare unornamented version of imagination with all the original drama and excitement. Max came from a home with a struggling mom. Max couldn’t get his way all the time. And Max’s mom yelled at him. With this imperfect world Max was able to create his own world, where he ruled supreme. Max plays in his world. He played; one game after another with heart ache and broken friendships in between. Max plays, and entertains himself as a rowdy child would. No games are completed, but end abruptly because of anger, injury, or boredom. Even in his own world he couldn’t make perfection, but he had his moments.
After their wild rumpus with throwing rocks, scratching up trees, and destroying huts Max and the wild things sleep together in a pile. There’s a peace while they are sleeping that lasts only a few minutes or even seconds on the screen, but conveys the childlike innocence in Max. There is this yearning for a safe place to cultivate his imagination, and in that moment he has his safe place. In the end this innocence is mirrored in the peaceful moments when Max is eating his chocolate cake with his mom.
WC: 314
Title: Where the Wild Things Are, US (2009)
Director: Spike Jonze
Writers: Spike Jonze (screenplay), Dave Eggers (screenplay), Maurice Sendak (book)
Production: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures
Run Time: 101 minutes
Language: English
Color
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Genre: Drama/family/fantasy/adventure
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