Going Wild with Trav & SHE

Editor’s Note: Movie reviews brought to you by The City Wire. Here. Now. Enjoy.

The Trav & SHE movie of the week: Where the Wild Things Are

“Where the Wild Things Are” is playing at the Malco Cinema 12 and the Carmike 14 in Fort Smith, and the Malco in Van Buren. Link here for ticket info and show times.

Trav: My anticipation to see Spike Jonze’s "Where the Wild Things Are" had been building ever since I read about the possible making of the movie a few years ago.  Knowing Jonze was involved with the writing and directing of the movie version of WTWTA led me to believe it would be done right. I remember reading Maurice Sendak’s book when I was in elementary school. It was just last week, as I was at a bookstore doing some shopping for my super-cute niece’s first birthday (Happy Birthday Camryn!!!), when I ran across the WTWTA book for the first time since grade school. I’d intended to re-read the book prior to viewing the movie but had put it off. Something that took me by surprise while looking through the book at the bookstore was the realization that it was only 10 sentences long. I didn’t recall the book’s brevity from my reading of it some 30ish years ago and I thought to myself, "how exactly is this going to work for a 90 minute movie?"

SHE: I was excited about seeing “Where the Wild Things Are” from the first time I saw the trailer. Sure, it’s one of my favorite children’s books. What can I say? I’m the mother of two boys, and Granny of one rowdy boy I have affectionately dubbed “GidMonstah.” My grandson is 2 and a half years old and thinks he’s a lion. Unless he’s at the park, then he’s a fearless monster and so I think I know a little about “wild things.” I doubted this was going to be a “feel good” movie. In an interview with Newsweek when author Maurice Sendak was asked about what he would say to parents who may think “Where the Wild Things Are” is too scary, he answered, “I would tell them to go to hell. That’s a question I will not tolerate. If [the kids] can’t handle it, go home. Or wet your pants.”

Trav: Some of us know Jonze as the director of films like "Adaptation" or "Being John Malkovich." The "MTV Generation" probably knows Jonze by his body of work which includes some of the coolest music videos ever made. Back when MTV actually played music you could watch the Jonze directed videos. He’s worked with artists like Sonic Youth, X, R.E.M., Beastie Boys, Kanye, Biggie Smalls and Weezer to name a few.  Looking back at Jonze’s body of work in the music video genre gives us a list of standouts like The Breeders’ “Cannonball,” Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage,” Weezer’s “Buddy Holly,” and “Weapon of Choice” by Fatboy Slim. The more recent members of the "MTV Generation" would be more familiar with his involvement in the creation and production of the non-music-video-playing show "Jack Ass." Knowing about Jonze’s repertoire, I was curious to see what Jonze was going to do with this movie.

SHE: The opening scene doesn’t disappoint. Max, our main character portrayed by Max Records, is running after the family dog – in the house, of course. Max is chasing and yelping and growling until he catches the dog and tackles the poor beast. We soon see Max is on his own; it’s up to him to entertain himself. Max is what I would call a “latch key” kid. Sure, his older sister is around but she’s not interested – she’s got her friends and the phone. Max has no cable TV to get lost in, no DVD collection to get bored with, and no Wii, Xbox or PS3 to entrance him. Ah! But Max has his imagination and what an imagination it is! It’s multi-layered, unrestricted, and unending. Max’s games are not limited by any synthetics or boundaries that may be found in a TV or game system.

Trav: The tone of WTWTA is set immediately. "Cold, dark and dreary" were a couple of words I’d jotted down in the movie’s first 10-15 minutes. We are put directly in Max’s world. For the usual kid’s movie, I’m usually okay with being put in their world. It’s a nice escape. However, I had reservations after seeing Max’s world. Max’s world was a world by himself. A world with a semi-present mom and a sister that no longer views him as her little brother. After seeing his life for just a few moments, I wanted to escape, too.

SHE: I’m thoroughly impressed by Max Records. I not only witnessed each and every emotion on Max’s face but I experienced his loneliness, his yearning, and his fear. Indeed, it’s in school when Max hears that the sun will die (like all things) when it runs out of fuel. Max’s teacher goes on to inform the class that this will only happen if we’re not first annihilated by war, pollution, global warming, tsunami, earthquakes, meteors … you get the idea. Hey, thanks Teach! Of course the movie is loosely based on a book that is dark, gloomy and somewhat sinister. Maybe that’s why I liked the book so much. It’s honest. Both the book and the movie deal with the fears and fantasies of children. But, lest you listen to all the rest of the adults who went and cried in their pillows after watching this movie, it’s not all dark and bittersweet.

Trav: The movie is artistic and appealing. I was blown away by the imagination it took to create the "Wild Things" world and fascinated by how real everything looked. The perfectionist approach to Jonze’s attention to detail to an imaginary world was shocking.  Max Records straight out owns his character of Max. The "Wild Things" are not only true to the book, but the emotion attached to them seems real and present while they mirror Max’s emotions.

SHE: The action scenes were enchanting and the scenery and cinematography were rich and spectacular. My observations were that kids really enjoyed the movie. They loved the monsters and how could they not? Each one had their distinctive qualities, both valuable and destructive. Adults have a different take on this and may find the movie slightly depressing or dark. That’s because we see Max is lonely, even when he’s with his sister and his mom. We see that Max must retreat into his imagination and be his own hero because he has no other. Max has no one else he feels he can depend on – not his sister, his Mom, nor his Dad. Maybe it’s dark to us grown-ups because we see the Mom doing the best job that she can but still coming up short. Isn’t that how we always feel? Ah, but that’s the beauty of this movie! It speaks to the truth of life. It’s complicated. It’s messy. It’s difficult. We do our best to “make everything right.” If only we had Max’s rich imagination and could use our sadness shield and explode the loneliness away.

Trav: Even though I thought the movie was dark and depressing, I found WTWTA to be visually stunning and a fantastic fantasy. I was blown away by the realism of an imaginary land and the maxed out performance of our main character. The movie wasn’t nearly as fun as I remember the book being, but I was captivated by it anyway. It’s worth the price of admission even if it’s darker than expected and a little slow in the middle. It’s a very well done movie that I’m rating a 4 out of 5.

SHE: Ultimately, I think “Where the Wild Things Are” is a great movie. The music is great and the cinematography is so rich and beautiful. Max is heart-wrenchingly gorgeous and each emotion is palpable from his lonesomeness to his euphoria and joy.  There are slow moments in the film but overall it’s a treat. I entered the theater with my 5 requisite snacks and munched on only 1, leaving with 4. Do the math, kids. I’m giving “Where the Wild Things Are” 4 out of 5 snacks and asking you, “do you always want what you think you want?”

REVIEWS

• Fantastic Mr. Fox (Nov. 25)
Trav: This looks great.  A witty, star-studded animated feature directed by Wes Anderson has my attention.

SHE: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrian Brody, Willem Defoe, etc. and directed by Wes Anderson. Yes, Please! This looks hilarious and has all the potential for a film that appeals across all generations. I can’t wait.

• Disney’s A Christmas Carol (Nov. 6)
Trav: I’m sure this will be another Disney juggernaut but it looks creepy for a Disney flick. If I’m going to watch an animated Scrooge presented by Disney it better have a duck.

SHE: Released in 3D and 3D IMAX (of course). Starring Jim Carrey. Same scary looking people as in The Polar Express. No thanks.

• The Blind Side (Nov. 20)
Trav: I like Sandra Bullock and I love football but I’ll pass on this one.

SHE: Based on a true story and starring Sandra Bullock. Sure, it looks like formulaic “feel good” movie but I loves me some Sandra and right about this time in November I can use some feel good so sign me up.

Feedback
Trav can can be reached at [email protected]

SHE can be reached at [email protected]