Where The Wild Things Are
I was watching this movie on ABC Family this evening and I made a discovery.
First of all, you should know I loved the book, but it always disappointed me because it was so short and simple and I just couldn't understand why Max would want to go home. Why he would feel lonely in a place surrounded by what looked like friends. The story just came off as a "don't be a wild child, behave and eat your supper" kind of deal. People would ask me about the book and I'd be all "Yeah, yeah, the art work was good." That's because I didn't read the book because of the wonderful story. I just couldn't buy into what the book seemed to be trying to sell. I was more interested in the pictures because that's what truly drew my eye.
I mean, what would you prefer? The story of a kid who tames a bunch of wild animals and then goes home to behave and eat his supper? Or would you prefer the pretty pictures and making up your own story about what would happen? I made up my own and it was different every time and that mother better give her son his supper before bed!
So, my history with the book is a little more mixed than some, but I still loved my book in my own way.
I loved it enough that when I heard the movie was coming out in 2009, I didn't rush to the theaters to see it (I never rush to theaters), but I did make plans to see the movie. The minute the movie was out in DVD, I went to Blockbuster (before they all went out of business) and rented the film.
The scenery and imagery was beautiful. I was sad at the loss of the sea monster, but the other Wild Things were awesome. And the part where Douglas loses his arm (his favorite arm) is pretty funny and sad at the same time. However, part of what I liked about the book was how full of dark colors it was. In the movie... it's mostly brown.
The movie also is the King of All Mood Whiplash. In just a few minutes you may have experienced such emotions as innocent-like joy, vaguely disturbed, and soul-crushing depression. Considering how the movie seems to be about how growing up is hard... that makes sense. Life isn't always joyful or sad and it doesn't always make sense.
Of course, I wanted to see more of Alexander (the goat-like one), who is constantly ignored by the other characters despite being essentially the voice of reason, but if we paid more attention to him, this wouldn't be about an overly hyper kid; it would be about an overly self-aware kid who's too smart for his own good.
The one thing I really appreciate about the movie is that it does a really good job explaining to me the one thing I didn't like about the book. The movie turned a "Behave and you'll get soup" story into a story about a kid who goes on a fantasy adventure and wants to stay in fantasy land, but because of the dysfunctionality (yes, I'm making that word up) of the residents as well as not being the person they need to protect them and make them happy, he has to return home.
Of course, my brain also adds the implication that when he's older and more mature, he will return to the island of the Wild Things as the king they need and help them into an era of getting along, having fun, and overcoming their personal problems... but that's just me.
Now I will have to say that sometimes the pacing of the film seems a little awkward. And all that brown and gray does eventually make you want to "paint the roses red" as it were. The movie drags and drags and drags if you aren't emotionally invested. Really, it does. However, that can be expected due to the fact that the source material is ten sentences long and the movie is 104 minutes long. In short, most of the movie can be considered padding. However, if you get emotionally invested, if you can get past the bland colors (there's no excuse for that part), if you loved the book as a child, it's worth watching. Hell, it's worth owning.
You just have to have the right mindset. As I don't, I will not have the movie, but I will watch it on TV and Netflix if it shows up and I have 104 minutes to remember how much growing up sucks. However, my lovely step-sister does own a copy of the movie and went to see it in theaters. So, if you are like her, it's not too late to get that movie. If not, just be like me, watch it every once in awhile and try not to get too depressed.
First of all, you should know I loved the book, but it always disappointed me because it was so short and simple and I just couldn't understand why Max would want to go home. Why he would feel lonely in a place surrounded by what looked like friends. The story just came off as a "don't be a wild child, behave and eat your supper" kind of deal. People would ask me about the book and I'd be all "Yeah, yeah, the art work was good." That's because I didn't read the book because of the wonderful story. I just couldn't buy into what the book seemed to be trying to sell. I was more interested in the pictures because that's what truly drew my eye.
I mean, what would you prefer? The story of a kid who tames a bunch of wild animals and then goes home to behave and eat his supper? Or would you prefer the pretty pictures and making up your own story about what would happen? I made up my own and it was different every time and that mother better give her son his supper before bed!
So, my history with the book is a little more mixed than some, but I still loved my book in my own way.
I loved it enough that when I heard the movie was coming out in 2009, I didn't rush to the theaters to see it (I never rush to theaters), but I did make plans to see the movie. The minute the movie was out in DVD, I went to Blockbuster (before they all went out of business) and rented the film.
The scenery and imagery was beautiful. I was sad at the loss of the sea monster, but the other Wild Things were awesome. And the part where Douglas loses his arm (his favorite arm) is pretty funny and sad at the same time. However, part of what I liked about the book was how full of dark colors it was. In the movie... it's mostly brown.
The movie also is the King of All Mood Whiplash. In just a few minutes you may have experienced such emotions as innocent-like joy, vaguely disturbed, and soul-crushing depression. Considering how the movie seems to be about how growing up is hard... that makes sense. Life isn't always joyful or sad and it doesn't always make sense.
Of course, I wanted to see more of Alexander (the goat-like one), who is constantly ignored by the other characters despite being essentially the voice of reason, but if we paid more attention to him, this wouldn't be about an overly hyper kid; it would be about an overly self-aware kid who's too smart for his own good.
The one thing I really appreciate about the movie is that it does a really good job explaining to me the one thing I didn't like about the book. The movie turned a "Behave and you'll get soup" story into a story about a kid who goes on a fantasy adventure and wants to stay in fantasy land, but because of the dysfunctionality (yes, I'm making that word up) of the residents as well as not being the person they need to protect them and make them happy, he has to return home.
Of course, my brain also adds the implication that when he's older and more mature, he will return to the island of the Wild Things as the king they need and help them into an era of getting along, having fun, and overcoming their personal problems... but that's just me.
Now I will have to say that sometimes the pacing of the film seems a little awkward. And all that brown and gray does eventually make you want to "paint the roses red" as it were. The movie drags and drags and drags if you aren't emotionally invested. Really, it does. However, that can be expected due to the fact that the source material is ten sentences long and the movie is 104 minutes long. In short, most of the movie can be considered padding. However, if you get emotionally invested, if you can get past the bland colors (there's no excuse for that part), if you loved the book as a child, it's worth watching. Hell, it's worth owning.
You just have to have the right mindset. As I don't, I will not have the movie, but I will watch it on TV and Netflix if it shows up and I have 104 minutes to remember how much growing up sucks. However, my lovely step-sister does own a copy of the movie and went to see it in theaters. So, if you are like her, it's not too late to get that movie. If not, just be like me, watch it every once in awhile and try not to get too depressed.
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