Review of Where the Wild Things Are (2009) by Jesus C — 21 Aug 2017

Where The Wild Things Are is the best children film I have ever seen. I was a little skeptical about it at first because, "How could you adapt a 40 page picture book into a full length film?" Thankfully Spike Jonze was there to take control of the project by being the writer and director. I did watch this film a few times before when I was younger and liked it, but I never gave it a true critical analysis. And since I was reviewing Spike Jonze's other films and thought they were all masterpieces, I thought I might dabble in reviewing this one to see if this still holds up. Yet again, this is another well crafted masterpiece by Jonze.

This has to be best screenplay he ever wrote. Most of the dialogue is just simple, but it's it simplicity that makes this complex world believable. This perfectly captures how kids talk and think when they're alone trying to figure out the complicated stuff of life around them. Characters would do something random or something random would show up in the world, but there doesn't have to be perfect logic, because Spike knew that kids don't focus on that when they're creating a world to fit their emotional needs. The characters can each be a metaphor on some element in Max's life, but Spike makes sure that that part of the characters stayed ambiguous because the mind isn't that straight forward. I kinda feel uncomfortable watching some of it because I felt like I snuck into a world that was raw and very personal, and I wasn't supposed to see it unfold.

The production is through the fucking roof on this film. Almost everything in this film is practical effects, the faces of the monsters were CGI but they were still pretty damn impressive. Every thing from the island to the monsters' giant whole bodies were on set.

The cinematography makes it look like you're looking through the eyes of this adventurous child. The camera shakes like crazy when he runs and plays but doesn't shake too much to the point of just seeing a blur, and it would focus on the beautiful scenery while Max is just taking a brake and looking around the world.

What Spike always know what to get perfectly is get a soundtrack that fits the tone of the film. All of the songs are just kids singing acapella and/or beating on drums like wild. It's not too professional so you can get a feel that Max actually made these songs in his head.

I'm surprised to hear that this film is disliked by half of the audience. Spike gives us what modern family films can never give us; a serious drama. Every family films try hard to be a comedy, but Jonze knew that wouldn't fit his story or style. This is also the most depressing family film I've seen. I almost cried during the film at least four times. This is such an underrated film that needs to be watched by everyone. Parents will understand their childrens' emotional state better, kids will understand why they do these things, and people who forgot what it was like to be a kid alone will be refreshed. If you were a fan of the book and didn't enjoy the film, give it another watch with this in your mind, "What was it like when you were alone as a child?".