Where The Wild Things Are
The critics (professional ones and bloggers) seem to be very torn when it comes to Spike Jonze’s new film. Some say it is not suitable for children, others say its simply long and boring, yet others say it is absolutely brilliant. I have to agree with all of them to a certain level.
Where The Wild Things Are is based on a children’s book but I wouldn’t recommend the film to children. Not necessarily because it would scare them, I would be more afraid that it would bore them. The movie is very slow paced which makes it beautiful but not very interesting. It reminded me a bit of a landscape painting. A lot of them are beautiful and perfectly painted but I wouldn’t hang one on my wall cause they are mostly kind of boring (of course this is a generalization and there are exceptions to this rule but I hope you get my point).
The young actor Max Records has done a terrific job playing Max. He really portrays the quiet loneliness the boy is experiencing and can at the same time go absolutely wild when he feels like it. It seemed like the actor had a lot of fun playing this role.
The creatures “The Wild Things” were created by the Jim Henson Creature Shop which makes their look very special and interesting. I wonder what made Spike Jonze decide to use people in giant costumes rather then to do a 3D animation of the Wild Things. It makes the look of the film seem behind its time. Like it was made in the 80s or 90s (it reminds me of The Neverending Story) but I actually think that it was a good decision. It probably makes the Wild Things look more realistic.
To make a long story short: I enjoyed watching Where The Wild Things Are but don’t think I will ever see it again. Max is cute, the Wild Things are scary and well made, the scenery and way of filming is beautiful and everything is just great but it really drags on and I think watching it a second time, I would fall asleep. I can understand and won’t judge you whether you really loved it or really hated it but I would recommend waiting to see it until its out on DVD if you haven’t seen it yet.
Tags: Jim Hanson, Max Records, Spike Jonze, Where The Wild Things Are
November 4th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I actually kinda liked that the Wild Things were giant muppets rather than CG characters. For me it helped ground the movie, rather than distracting me with a neverending series of CG.
I totally agree with you that a lot of kids would have a tough time with this movie – your NEVERENDING STORY comparison is spot on. I have to wonder if kids these days are beyond such movies, and like you said, would just bhe bored with it.
Great review, and swell blog! Just discovered it today and hope to read more of your stuff soon
November 5th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Welcome to my blog Mad Hatter (excellent name by the way)
Maybe I didn’t make myself clear (wrote this entry while in bed with the flu so its kind of wacky…), one of the things that I liked about this movie is that they used puppets rather than animating the Wild Things. I am just wondering what made them do this…cause these days EVERYTHING gets animated…
November 6th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
@ Vanessa….
Thanks for the welcome – glad to be here. Feel free to glance at my own blog when you have a chance.
Not too sure what made Spike Jonze choose to use muppets instead of CGI, but he’s the sort of creative mind to think outside of the box, so maybe he thought they’d have a bit more of an organic quality that would work with the surroundings a bit better.
Glad you dug it though – hope your flu has eased off!