Wild Rumpus! – Where the Wild Things Are Review

Jill Pantozzi | October 16th, 2009

Where the Wild Things Are is what a love letter to your childhood would look like.

Thanks to the IMAX Theater Palisades Center for inviting me to their premiere screening of the film so I could get my review out to you lovely people early. And it’s a really good thing because I’m still digesting it several hours later.

Where the Wild Things Are (hereby WWTA) is the long-awaited film adaptation of the children’s book by Maurice Sendak. The book, which only contains ten lines of dialogue, has become a must-have for any shelf. The film on the other hand I regret to say will not wind up in everyone’s home.

Personally, I loved it. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen all year and I’m sure I’m going to be thinking about it heavily for the next few days but as much as the studio would have liked it to be, WWTA is not an all-ages film. Kids in the audience who were jumping up and down with excitement, wearing gold paper crowns before the show started were definitely subdued afterward. Whether that was because it went entirely over their heads or they understood it so well that they were just as deep in thought as I was remains to be seen.

When I say this film is a love letter to childhood, I really mean it. The very first minute sucks you in and establishes a tone that will be present throughout the entire film. You remember what it was like to be a kid, right? At least you think you do. For example, many of us comic book fans try to hold onto the feelings of our youth by collecting toys that remind us of the simpler days, when force fields held because you said so and your favorite teddy talked back, but that only goes so far. Maybe you found that long-lost toy from your childhood one day and giggled with unbridled glee when you got to play with it again but it was fleeting. WWTA felt like I’d traveled back in time to my younger self for an hour and a half and it felt as real as it did back then. I didn’t need to remember what it was like to be a kid, I was a kid.

The film’s powerful effect was accomplished by a perfect mix of factors – first and foremost, it’s director. I truly believe that no one could have made this film other than Spike Jonze and it feels almost like fate that Sendak waited so long to approve a director. I’m still in awe of Jonze and writer Dave Eggers’ ability to take the diminutive source material and turn it into something this spectacular.

Of course all of that would be nothing without the right actors to perform it. Max Records, who takes on the brunt of the work as the main character Max, does so effortlessly. He’s you, he’s me, he’s every child who ever lived. This might wind up being the crowning achievement of his career but if it does, it’s worthwhile. The Wild Things are played by an eclectic bunch of actors; Catherine O’Hara, Chris Cooper, Forest Whitaker and Michael Berry Jr. all bring different things to the table as far as delivery while Lauren Ambrose and Paul Dano’s youthful perspective gives the group a calming touch. James Gandolfini is literally a monster in this role and at times scared me just as much as Tony Soprano did. He was the perfect choice for Wild Thing Carol.

The most obvious draw of this film are the visuals. Breathtaking is the first word that comes to mind. Location and cinematography were very kind to WWTA and made it easy to accept giant hairy monsters as best friends. The Wild Things themselves? Wow, just wow. A combination of live action, suitmation, animatronics, and CGI were used to make these creatures that strongly reminded me of the assorted characters from The Neverending Story and Labyrinth. It’s no surprise really, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop were responsible for the suits. The combined effects allow the Wild Things to feel tangible and genuine, right down to the actors expressions mixed in. It’s subtle but you can absolutely see each actor’s face in their respective monster.

The last piece to the puzzle is something that can easily go unnoticed in some films but is 100% indispensable to WWTA – the music. Karen O lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Jonze’s ex-girlfriend, wrote the soundtrack (which I will be purchasing shortly after finishing this review). It’s playful, joyous, sorrowful and nostalgic all at the same time.

Where the Wild Things Are did not fail to live up the the lofty expectations I had for it. It far surpassed them in every way, shape and form. I went in thinking I’d see some delightful creatures who put a smile on my face (they did, several times over), I walked out dissecting the many faceted layers of a child’s psyche, something we’ve long since forgotten we all were once slaves to. How can so much limitless imagination, fear, bliss, fury and love can one little person hold inside them? Did you forget? Maybe it’s time to remember.

Where the Wild Things Are opens in theaters and IMAX today.