Where the Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze did an outstanding job getting Maurice Sendak's classic children's story on the big screen. "Where the Wild Things Are" was not an exact depiction of what went on in the original text (as is the case with most film adaptations of novels), but the writers presented audiences with a brilliant, funny, and clever interpretation of the book. The producers of this movie brought viewers into the kind of world that can only exist in the mind of a young child to such a great degree that even adult viewers felt like they were six years old again.

The film starts off with the story of a young boy named Max who struggles to get the attention of his family, as his mother is busy with work and his older sister is a teenager who would much rather spend time with her friends than her little brother. Angered by the lack of attention, Max runs out of his house and finds himself sailing into a world of his own:the land of Wild Things, as it is called in the book. Here he is introduced to monstrous-looking creatures with various personalities, who crown Max as their king because he claimed to have special powers that no one else did. As his first order of business, Max exclaims "Let the wild rumpus start!" And so begin his adventures as king in the land of Wild Things.

Max and the Wild Things were supposed to be building "a place where only the things you want to happen would happen," but they came across a few difficulties along the way. As they're building this mythical place, some social and emotional problems begin to arise within the Wild Things and Max decides to lighten up the mood by making up a war game. This game leads some of the Wild Things to have even more issues with each other and ask Max for assistance in fixing all their problems. They then come to realize that Max does not have special powers and is not cut out to be a king, which really disappoints them. This happens around the time he begins to get homesick and decides to sail back to where he came from. Eventually, all the Wild Things forgive him and bid him farewell as he sails back home.

Though a few people argued that the creatures were much too complex for this children's story, they are they key characters that differentiated the book from the movie. The fact that these creatures had the same types of emotions and problems that regular people do helped personify them, give them a sense of character, and make them memorable. Thus, leading the story line to flow more smoothly.

This movie was released at the perfect time of the year in regards to its setting. The majority of the film's scenes were lit with shades of orange, yellow, and brown, which were very reminiscent of autumn sunsets. Additionally, the movie's soundtrack, led by Karen O (singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), also helped set a relaxing and at the same time playful mood.