WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE review by Gary Murray

In the world of kids films, the making is serious business. Not only to do have all the normal headaches of crafting a worthy work, you have to make sure it follows all the preconceived norms from the source material are actualized. Everyone and their dog has an idea of the how and the why but few see ideas come to grand fruition. Most kid flicks like Cat in the Hat and The Grinch are failures on every level. The newest attempt to meld this world is Where The Wild Things Are, a mainstream attempt at film making by independent film icon Spike Jonze.

We find very early on that Max (Max Records) is a sensitive boy in a lonely world. When we first see him, he is making a snow fort with a hollowed out igloo for protection but there are no kids around for him to play with. At first, he tries to get his older sister Claire to come out and have a snowball fight but fails. When her friends show up at the house, Max attacks all the teens with his frozen ice balls. They attack back and destroy his base. This sends him on a crying jag where he destroys a paper heart that he made for Claire. There is this suggested idea that Max is losing control of his world, grasping for any anchor in his mental storm.



One night he throws another fit, this time at his mother (Catherine Keener). Finally running away and in a wolf costume, Max discovers a boat on a mysterious body of water. Setting sail, he goes across the waves and encounters a mysterious land populated by giant creatures. The biggest one is Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) and when we first see the creature, he is destroying the homes of his friends. When all the other Wild Things notice Max they decide to eat him. Max declares that he is a king in his world. If they eat him, he will destroy all of them with powerful magic. The Wild Things are impressed by this young king and crown him the king of their world. Max makes a promise to keep them all happy. He soon finds that keeping different monsters happy it a very tall order.

They design a new home that will house them all, a place where they can all sleep together. But, some of the monsters don't like the idea of being that together. Judith (Catherine O'Hara) and Ira (Forrest Whitaker) seem to be the love bugs who are in contrast to the Bull (Michael Berry Jr.) who just wants to be alone. Max finds that while having a dirt clot war, he picks favorites. This is another adventure where the outcome doesn't match his expectation. His struggle to keep the Wild Things a group is the basic thrust of the film.

The physical production of Where the Wild Things Are is an amazing feat of mechanical animation, puppetry and CGI. The characters move and interact with each other in a way where no one ever questions if they are real beings. The eyes of the beasts are very reminiscent of The Neverending Story but to a more technical degree. The designs are such a wonder to behold you begin to wonder why they are placed in this drab pallet of hues.



This is such a magic and diverse set of character put in a dark and deep world. The overall tones of the film are such a muddy brown one questions if the lenses were clean when shooting the film. In a bit of cinema that parallels The Wizard of Oz, someone in the production could have sprung for a daub of paint. Simply put, this is one of the drabbest kids flicks to ever be displayed on the big screen.

Catherine Keener is the biggest star of the piece, but she is given so little to do. Her part is the bookend to the major story. She is like Auntie Em from The Wizard of Oz, the McGuffin that drives the story. The tale is of monsters, not of human beings. Like Transformers, the human beings don't have much to do.

Max Records gives a very uneven performance. When he is happy, the film just flows along. But, when he is sad, the film loses focus. He comes across as a whiny little brat and not a kid confused at the crossroads of growing up. The film is more in line with Labyrinth, that failed attempt of growing up that starred Jennifer Connelly years ago. The ending of Labyrinth violated the preceding bit of the film and here we get much of the same.

Since I have never read the Maurice Sendak story as a kid, I have no preconceived notions about what the make-up of the story should have been. All I know from this world are little statues a friend of mine has in her living room. That said, I do know that the picture book of Where the Wild Things Are is much different from this finished film product. I really think that this film is too dark for the littlest of kids and will probably invoke a share of nightmares. But for those older tykes, this just may be the ticket for them. All in all, Where the Wild Things Are is not a film made for me and not much to recommend.

To go back to BIGFANBOY.com click here - www.bigfanboy.com