Cast: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper
Dir: Spike Jonze
Rating: 5/5
After so many delays and push backs it looked like Where The Wild Things Are was never going to reach cinema screens
But, to the delight of many, that was not to be the case and the adaptation of the popular novel by Maurice Sendak was finally released last year and is out on DVD this week.
And what a movie gem it has turned out to be.
Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. He lands on an island where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions.
The Wild Things desperately long for a leader to guide them, just as Max longs for a kingdom to rule. When Max is crowned king, he promises to create a place where everyone will be happy.
Max soon finds, though, that ruling his kingdom is not so easy and his relationships there prove to be more complicated than he originally thought.
Is always exciting to see a Spike Jonze movie on the big screen as we have come to expect the unexpected with the filmmaker who brought us the likes of Adaptation and being John Malkovich.
Forget the fact that this is an adaptation of a children’s book this movie is for anybody who has ever run around screaming, climbed trees, rolled in the dirt then laughed about it afterwards, we all remember those days when life was innocent and care free.
Jonze is the guy who never really grew up and that is all but evident in this wonderful movie Where The Wild Things Are that is possible more suitable for adults than it is for children.
This movie follows a young boy who is drowning in darkness and loneliness, which may strike a chord with many of the audience at one point or another.
Max Records is superb in the central role as young Max a boy who is out of control and is struggling to find a place to fit in and belong.
He captures the uncertainty and boundless energy of childhood so effortlessly as he learns about responsibility and the importance of family along the way.
It’s a heart rendering story of family ties and how it’s difficult to be a family at times but nothing is more important than the people that love you.
The creatures are simply fantastic and you will have see nothing like them on the big screen this year as they to have their own ‘family’ issues that Max tries to sort out.
Where The Wild Things Are is a movie about the challenges of childhood and while some of the messages will be lost on a young audience it will resonate with an adult audience that remember the trials and tribulations of being young.
The journey through a troubled nine year old’s mind is an intriguing and beautiful one and Where The Wilds This Are really is one of the must seem movies of this year.
This film has a little bit of everything from fun, laughter and funny characters to a real message and gut wrenching ending.
This idea of simplicity and minimalist plot really does work well and the writing is a breath of fresh air pair that with some great visuals and there is no way that this movie will disappoint.
So let the inner child in you run wild and sit back and remember when all that really mattered in life was having a little bit of fun.
Where the Wild Things Are is out on DVD now.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Where the Wild Things Are Spike Jonze