The adventures of Max and his wild, woolly friends has always been a favorite of mine. The unique visual style of Maurice Sendak‘s images mesmerized me as a child, and again as I frequently read WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE to my own kids, living vicariously through them my own fond memories of Max’s inspired fantasies. As an adult, I have also been a fan of filmmaker Spike Jonze and his brilliant executions of Charlie Kaufman‘s quirky BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and ADAPTATION. Thus, the matching of Jonze and Sendak seemed a perfect storm of powerful creative forces and I eagerly awaited the film’s release last week. And stormy it was.

Let The Wild Rumpus Start!

I did not see the movie with my kids so I don’t have their young adult point of view. I found the film visually striking and emotionally engaging. The seemingly muted color palate made the oddly sized and shaped creatures all the more real, and their expressions and personalities were believable, as was their engagement with their newly anointed King, Max. What surprised me about the Jonze version of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE was the intense anger and frustration pent up and bursting forth from almost all the characters, from Max, to his Mom, to the creature Carol and his quirky cohorts. It was at times unsettling, but that may have been the point.

Divorcing The Film From The Book

Whereas my recollection of the book WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE is of a young boy’s wild imagination bringing on a world of fantasy and adventure, the film struck me with perhaps a deeper meaning. To me, it seemed a major character in the film was one who never appeared – Max’s father. It felt that Max, his Mom, and even his briefly appearing sister are all reacting to and, in their own awkward ways, responding to a change in their lives perhaps brought on by divorce. As a child, by definition Max has limited control over his own life, and he sees the others who are supposedly in control slipping further and further away. His dad, who is not there. His sister, who is off with her friends.  His mom, who is entertaining a new man in her life. Like the furry and often furious Carol, Max can’t help but feel the people he cares about, who should be caring about him, have all gone away and left him to his own destructive devices.

The Boy Who Would Be King

Max seems ever desperate to be master of his own domain. Whether it is his cleverly crafted igloo, a bedside fortress built of blankets, or as King of  “where the wild things are,” Max thrives on being in control of the chaos, and for King Max, in all his worlds, chaos reigns supreme. Of course it is that same chaos that breaks down Max’s kingdom(s).  When he finally faces Carol’s world (which is also Max’s world) falling apart – literally and figuratively – only then is he able to recognize that connection and not chaos is the only way he can regain control and and a sense of normalcy in his real life. We are left hopeful that Max’s visit to “Where The Wild Things Are” has tamed the wild beast in him.

Let The Wild Conversation Start!

Have you seen the film? You can see the Trailer for the film here.  Please share your own thoughts in the comments. Do you agree with how I saw it? Is this a film for your kids? What did they think? It would be great to share some different points of view, from different age perspectives. Let the Wild discussion start!

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab.

DISCLOSURE: I paid to see the movie.  I did not buy any popcorn.  The links in this post to Books and DVD’s are Amazon Affiliate Links.  I have yet to earn enough to pay for a cup of coffee from such links, but I like coffee so I will keep trying.