Where The Wild Things Are

Ok so my girlfriend and I saw this on Sunday (10/18/09). It was FANTASTIC, I loved it, it made me happy, made me sad and made me remember what a real mess childhood actually is. Now all I read are how this isn't a kids' movie and how it doesn't go anywhere. Whine, cry, whine I don't remember it being like this.

We all have this magical notion of what growing up was/is like, well get your heads out of your asses. We all had crap we hated about childhood and loved, it wasn’t the Normal Rockwell painting or Little House on the Prairie. It was tough on a lot of levels and adults need to remember and recognize that. THIS is what made Where the Wild Things Are such a stellar book. It put words to what kids were feeling and made adults remember oh yeah growing up was kind of crappy and confusing.

Is this a flick for kids, well no, but have you read the damn book lately? It’s not exactly a “kids” book either. It is kind of dark as well. It’s one of the reasons it took so long after it was first published to garner any type of awards. People even HATED, yes HATED the book. Just watch the interview with Mr. Sendak here on dailymotion.com.

Now for the criticism that “nothing happens”. Yes it does. Max realizes, I believe KW sums it up perfectly, being a family is hard. He realizes that he can’t have everything his way all the time like Carol and everyone has moments where they are unsure and feel neglected. Max goes home, his mom is waiting she gives him the HUGE I love you hug every kid and adult wants every day of their life, he eats and life goes back to what it was. Welcome to reality folks. Nothing and I mean nothing got closure for you when you were a kid. Everything went back to the status quo for you growing up until you were actually able to make some kind of change to the environment you were in. until then you were along for the ride and just prayed you never hit your head on the roof when you hit a bump.

So Where the Wild Things Are IS NOT A KIDS’ MOVIE. The book WAS NOT REALLY A KIDS’ BOOK. This is a beautiful movie, with a few pacing issues but something people should see remembering my previous statement.

Oh yeah and adults stop romanticizing all your childhood memories and actually remember for a change. It will save you time and disappointment in the long run.
Whew I feel better now.