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There is an immense pressure on children’s film-makers of today to make movies which are accessible to both adults and kids alike. The ‘family experience’ associated with going to the cinema has been manifested over the past decade through obviously adult in-jokes and tributes incongruously placed within bright colours and goofy characters. Many adults would recognise the fish-dependant sharks in Finding Nemo as aquatic members of Alcoholics Anonymous, while the Shrek franchise is laden with pop-culture references designed to provide cheap laughs. Hell, even The Lion King contains nods to Hamlet and Taxi Driver! Unfortunately, the innocent kids film is something which appears to have died in the mid 90s along with 2D animation and the career of Milli und Vanilli.
I wonder, therefore, whether the world is ready for Spike Jonze’s adaption of Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book Where The Wild Things Are, essentially a short trip into the imagination of troubled wild-child Max. In the book, nothing much happens. Max is an unruly child, he is sent to his room, he imagines a world where the wild things are, he becomes their king, they have a party and then he goes home. Doesn’t sound like film material does it? The truth is, Spike Jonze must be completely insane to even think about adapting the plot-less book into a 100 minute film, and the whole project does seem somewhat pointless if not ambitious. However, not only has the director created a very faithful and endearing adaptation, he has also reiterated the importance of having films which are completely and unashamedly aimed at children.
The source material is very cleverly and tastefully elaborated on, with the addition of Max’s (played by the incredibly named Max Records) dysfunctional family life and recurring themes of building and destruction fleshing out the film. Jonze has not ignored the complete lack of narrative in Sendak’s book, and it is this fact which makes the film a very difficult watch for anyone over ten years old. We may remember aspects of our childhood during the exciting dirt fights and wild rumpuses (rumpii?) but there is something about the film which is inherently and purposefully childlike, thus bravely alienating any adult audience member. The inability to understand or control emotions, the ease with which harmless games can turn nasty and the boundless, unpredictable thought process of a minor are all explicit so that a child viewer will watch Where The Wild Things Are and not only be entertained by the fuzzy critters. It is worth mentioning at this point that the titular wild things look fantastic, with a blend of Sesame Street style costumes and facial CGI work which makes them both frightening and huggable. Unlike the attempts of DreamWorks, Jonze feels that an all-star cast in unnecessary, and while some will recognise the vocal work of James Gandolfini and Forest Whitaker, it is the imagination of Max which is the true star.
There will be those that attempt to pinpoint all of the Freudian influences of Where The Wild Things Are and use this as ammunition to argue that Jonze’s attempt is more aimed at adults than children, but, speaking as the former (difficult to imagine I’m sure) I can honestly say that I felt no connection with the film whatsoever. However, this is not a criticism. The adaptation should be applauded for its bravery in shunning the desire to cater for everybody, instead condensing regular concerns of a child into comprehensible bite-size chunks. The kids should go. They’ll eat it up, they’ll love it so.
I've gotta disagree with this review, good as it is. I felt the film was far more adult-friendly than it was child. It was slow and atmospheric, there was none of the wham-bam action expected of a kid's film nowadays. There were few jokes, either simple or referential. I also thought the idea of the Wild Things as aspects of Max's character was too complex for – and would largely be missed by – children. Looking round, in an admittedly fairly empty cinema, the few kids there were (and they were far outnumbered by adults) looked bored and confused, whereas the adults were largely enchanted. As was I. I thought the atmosphere conjured up was magical.