I do not clearly remember Maurice Sendak's 1963 story book, on which this is based. That book contains 338 words, I guess, and this movie contains 101 minutes. How you expand a book that you could read in under a minute to a full length feature that explores all the emotions and turmoils of childhood is a sight to behold and fall in love with.
The plot is thin, but basically tells the story of young Max (Max Records) who likes to play, but who also is somewhat ignored by his older sister. When his mother and he have a disagreement, he runs away, and enters his imaginary world via a little boat. There he meets the Wild Things, voiced by an all-star cast including James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Cooper, Forest Whitaker, and Paul Dano. Gadolfini is the only one I was able to recognize, and the rest disappeared into the fur and feathers of their characters.
The movie is a dark one, especially for one intended for children. I believe the movie will scare children, but it will not scare them in a horror film-kind-of-way; at a horror film, you experience empty, meaningless scares which hold no emotional resonance and that you can shake off later (save the few great masterpieces of horror). This will scare kids because it bleeds with truth, and is something that will resonate with any grown-up or child. I say it is scary, but I don't say that meaning kids won't like it. They will. People don't give kids enough credit for being able to understand deeper, more thematic issues.
The CGI in this film is incredible because it serves the story and enhances everything around it, something I wish more filmmakers would pay attention to. The Wild Things exist, are in fact people in fur costumes, but the faces are CGI, and that is what is important. It allows young Max, who is quite incredible in this movie, to be able to act off these characters because they exist for him as they do for us. He doesn't have to pretend that these things exist and hope that the emotion comes through later.
And the performances are all around magnificent, from little Max to all the voice cast who add so much depth and emotion to their characters that you love each and every Wild Thing, for all their flaws and attributes. And though I kept thinking of Tony Soprano whenever Carol, the main Wild Thing talked, I eventually forgot Soprano because this is a different character completely. The Wild Things are kids themselves, and that is what makes this movie so beautiful.
Because really, it is all in Max's head, everything that goes on. Or maybe it isn't. Who knows. The movie is beautiful because it is so honest about childhood, and I kept having memories flood through my brain of events in my past that oddly mirrored what happened in this film. Max claims to have magic that slips through the cracks, and gets into an argument with Judith (O'Hara) about how there is nothing that can plug up the cracks. And a dirt clod match ends with Alexander (Paul Dano) calling time-out, but still getting attacked and getting upset. And when Max tells Carol how the sun will eventually die. These are all just a few scenes that make up a greater movie.
And this kid's film is one-in-a-million because it is quite drab, it's colors primarily browns, blacks, and whites, and not as vivid as what our ADD addled youths are used to these days. Like Pixar, it ignored making the pop culture references and focuses on characters and story, and that is what kids and adults want more then anything. Warner Bros. should be commended for sticking with this project, and letting Spike Jonze, who's only other feature credits include the incredible Being John Malkovich (1999) and Adaptation (2002) (both Charlie Kaufman scripts) run wild with his imagination. So far he's only made three films, and I consider all three to be spectacular. Whatever Jonze does next, I'll be paying attention.
Rated PG, contains many dark themes and a limb dismemberment.
