Written by: Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers
Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper
Rating: [3.5/5]
Properly controlling and expressing emotion comes as a natural element a child learns in their lives as a level of control. Something necessary that means that whatever they feel on the inside does not necessarily need to explosively make its way out to the exterior. A lesson some kids, like the one we follow in Where the Wild Things Are need to learn differently as outlined in the deeply strange but heartwarming adaptation of the famous book.
Acting as an absolute brat at home, Max (Max Records) has quite the imagination and drives his mother up a wall in the way he behaves. After one evening of crossing the line and embarrassing his mother, he runs out to a boat and ends up on an island inhabited by these large animal-like monsters. Each of these monsters deals with their issues, but with Max’s arrival, he manages to convince them to make him their king.
Bringing a storybook to life, especially one that has the length of material displayed in this story makes decisions to visualize it of great importance which comes as no surprise Spike Jonze does a pretty good job in accomplishing. We have this story of a boy needing to learn how to control his emotions and acknowledge the pain it may cause others, but the real trick arises in the way we bring these animals to life. Based on what we see from the illustrations in the book, bringing them to a live-action adaptation would bring challenges and while I enjoy how they look, for others it may represent some intense nightmare fuel.
Serving as our initial introduction of these characters we have Carol voiced by the late great James Gandolfini. This character, much like the other monsters towers over Max and certainly can eat him up if they desire but they have apparent texture to them where they could pass off as giant teddy bears. Quite the combination but it further emphasizes the difference between what we see on the outside and the truth of what appears on the inside. These monsters could torment just about anyone in the way they look and present, but their personalities say something completely different as we explore the dynamic between them making for the special moments this movie truly has to offer.
While Max hangs around them, viewing the interactions between these monsters makes for some fascinating observations. Watching Carol, in particular, shows someone who struggles in the same way Max does. Max therefore gets to witness the growth of Carol in a way where he can reflect upon himself and the way he deals with things. With Max’s childlike figure he cannot nearly cause the same damage Carol can as this behemoth but it further displays on a larger scale what this young boy does to others. This serves as the straightforward allegory the film has to offer as a whole and it mostly works on an emotional level. Seeing these monsters crash into each other and hurt each other’s feelings says plenty and further contributes to the overall message operating here.
As much time as we spend with these lovable monsters, spending the time we do with Max shows the kid just did not have the chops to step in and serve as the main human character we interact with for the majority of the story. While not given the best material to work with by the very nature of the source this screenplay operates with, this kid’s growth feels incredibly simple. We see where he begins and ends, which ultimately makes sense but does not necessarily make for an interesting character. The kid serves mostly as the human surrogate in this story, which some may feel necessary but it does make me appreciate the moments we spend with these monsters as they ultimately display what makes this film work well.
Emotionally effective in its structure and execution, Where the Wild Things Are takes us to a strange land with weird-looking monsters but the journey we go on allows for a wonderfully resonant tale. One that allows this child to understand himself when viewing it through the prism of these freaky monsters. Mixed with moments of joy and fear, Spike Jonze and his team strike the proper balance to bring the necessary whimsy to the film on top of landing its beats in all of the right ways.
Films with Josh 
