Where the Wild Things Are - 2 smiles

The reason Maurice Sendak’s picture book, Where the Wild Things Are, has remained so popular is there are different ways to interpret what the 10-sentence story means. However, director Spike Jonze, in co-writing the script with Dave Eggers, had to enhance the plot and therein lies the problem. All of the subtlety and imagination is gone. Because the bulk of the movie is spent with the creatures, Jonze and Eggers give them specific characteristics, which appear to be aspects of Max’s personality. So Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini), the giant monster who likes to destroy things, represents Max’s anger. KW (Lauren Ambrose) embodies the love Max is capable of giving and the large goat Alexander (Paul Dano), who complains that no one listens to him, signifies Max’s fragile self-esteem. There’s also Judith (Catherine O’Hara), who undermines Max’s authority with her sarcasm. The other Wild Things must correspond to something in Max, but I’m not sure what. And what’s with the two owls that KW likes so much? Finally, there’s only one way to interpret the significance of what happens to Max: When he finds himself in the role of a grown-up dealing with a group of angry and unruly children, Max gains insight into his own behavior. Nonetheless, it becomes tedious watching so much quarreling going on.

The creatures, a combination of the Jim Henson Creature Shop and computer-generated facial features, look great. And the world Jonze creates is reminiscent of Sendak’s work. Max Records, who plays Max, has an incredibly expressive face, a necessary ingredient in playing this angry nine-year-old. Catherine Keener plays his mother and Mark Ruffalo has a don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-him cameo. However, this is not a whimsical story and young children will find it hard to follow. At least read the book to them before going to see “Where the Wild Things Are.” Hopefully, you won’t be bored. 10/18/09