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Count me among the droves of folks who loved the Where The Wild Things Are book as a kid. I couldn't have been more excited when I heard that Spike Jonze was going to make a movie of it. Sure, like most, I was curious how he was going to take a book with about two paragraphs of text and turn it into a 2 hour movie...but then they'd made Cat in The Hat...but that was also terrible.
The movie opens with a scene of Max chasing the family dog through the house with a fork making stabbing gestures. Right away I felt like the movie was going to work for me. It was holding true to the idea of the book but was going to probably investigate some new territory. Next up was a snowball fight scene that also served to establish the mood and I thought was wonderfully shot and acted. Now my inner-child was so excited I could barely stand it. The best was surely yet to come with the journey to the island and the Wild Things!
But no...this was not be. Instead once Max got to the island there was lots of talking. Talking about feelings, families, friends, and relationships. Talking, talking, talking. I felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie except weepy protagonists had been replaced with mopey giant horned beasts. From the director whose helmed such imaginative films as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation I knew to expect the unexpected...but I never expected to be bored.
I totally agree. Here’s my review (http://isolatedmoviegoer.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-can-tell-you-where-they-arent.html).
I’m an avid Filmspotting listener and was surprised that both Adam and Matty loved the film, and that the only negative email about the film (until mine was read) was to say that the film isn’t for kids. Thank you for another thumbs-down review.
Glad to see that Catawba County has what appears to be a strong film society. I’m a Transylvania County native, now in Cherokee County, and wish that there was something similar out here.
Yup. Loved the book. Hated the movie.
While it was visually stunning, it was also horribly boring. Just like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” made a wonderful book, and worked just as well as a half hour TV special, the “Grinch” movie padded the action and fell off the sled. “Where the Wild Things Are” would have played so much better as a TV special.
It also would have cost a lot less to produce and could well have made more money. Why? Because if the story WORKS, it can become a classic and keep earning money for years. Not so much when you add a bunch of talking and deeply serious fluff that ruins the story. It takes more than cool visuals to make a classic film.