Where the Wild Things Are

by EMMA SCIANTARELLI

FROM ISSUE # 167 (November 2009) | IN THIS ISSUE
	REFER TO FRIEND		PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Director: Spike Jonze
Cast: Max Records, Catherine Keener & Mark Ruffalo
Runtime: 101 min
Genre: Adventure/ Fantasy
Rating: 2/5

There's nothing new about transferring the hype of a book to the hype of the big screen, because, let's face it, these days the vast majority of mainstream movies aren't made for the love of art; they're made for profit. What safer plot than one tried and tested on the bookshelves? And over 40 years? Even better.

The title of Where the Wild Things Are might not mean anything more than 'new movie release' to most Nepali audiences, but for a great deal of Americans, it means classic childhood literature. It conjures up memories of story time with an elementary teacher or bedtime with mom and dad. And feel-good memories are just the kind the producers of this movie hope will bring in audiences of all ages.

When word got out about the Spike Jonze directed and Tom Hanks produced Where the Wild Things Are, most of my twenty and thirty-something friends back in America couldn't wait. That is, until the first trailers hit Youtube. Our initial thoughts: it's not animated? Graphic gurus like Pixar and Dreamworks have expanded the 'target audience' for animated films; kid-less adults no longer have to use their nieces and nephews as an excuse to go see Toy Story II, so why the real-life feel? Recent interviews with storybook writer/illustrator Maurice Sendak suggest that the reason for the straight-off Broadway style monster costumes and the unanimated footage wasn't due to the director's secret desire to spend a month shooting in sand dunes and forests or because producers thought little Max's face would captivate viewers. Sendak just doesn't like animations.

So the director can be blamed for the execution of the story but the dialogue is awkward, character development is strange, the plot seems lame and the cinematography is dizzy. All of the monsters and the young boy exhibit signs of depression, personality disorders and manic behaviour to the point where each seems to illustrate exact case studies from a psychology 101 textbook and the reoccurring 'heart to heart' moments between characters feel like watching a stream of therapy sessions.  Not exactly a recipe for an enjoyable family movie. 

This is not the first time that bringing a book into Tinsel town has been a disappointment but I hope to read the book to my kids someday!