Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

That was an excellent one.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Visually stunning for the first 2-minutes of the introduction of the Henson inspired CGI/puppetry later seamlessly meshing into the dreary background of bland colors used in the film. From director Spike Jonze "to make a movie about childhood rather than to create a children's movie." with a niche idea the end result was a drawn out one- dimensional gloomy film with a self-fulfilling ending all pitched to who?

Huggo's review on the home page starts telling the story halfway through, ignoring Max's desperate unhappiness about his parents' split, his wish to be acknowledged by his mother and sister, his lack of friends, and his fear that his world is splintering and the sun will die. Of course Max is acting out. Wouldn't you? The beasts he encounters are each a fraction of Max's conflicted feelings - love, loss, desertion, need for friends, anger - and themselves behave like both children and adults. The voices are marvelously done. As at least one reviewer discovered, this isn't a movie for little children. I scored it a 10 for being an intelligent movie for adults. If you have little kiddies, continue reading the book to them.

Just entirely too much stuff. The plot should have been the book, instead it's all this divorce crap, and childhood angst mess. Worse, all the monsters are stripped of their enigma and portrayed as boring ordinary creatures. I mean the drawings in the book are indelible and mysterious, the monsters are almost iconographic, then Spike Jonze gives the monsters girlfriends and hobbies. The book, Where The Wild Things Are, is a masterpiece, the drawings and the words are simple but every bit the stuff of genius. Its that simplicity that allows for the fantastic elements of Max's journey to easily flow. The movie complicates this simplicity with unnecessary dialog and additional plot, making for an inferior story.

Max is a rambunctious brat. He's imaginative and often wears a wolf costume. He plays around with his sister Claire's friends but they make him cry. He's angry at Claire and trashes her room. His mother Connie (Catherine Keener) is struggling and is dating Adrian (Mark Ruffalo). Feeling uncared for, he runs away wearing his wolf costume. He boards a small boat which then sails the high seas to an unknown land inhabited by large wild beasts. Max convinces the creatures that he is the king with magical powers who could even keep out the sadness.Director Spike Jonze has filled out a pretty thin story with a good sense of wonder and a lot of childhood angst. The kid fits the role quite well. I think the creatures are terrific especially as they smash things. It is the confused child's struggles that is the heart of the movie. It may not be for little kids but it is a fine movie about something deeper.