Welcome back to another issue of Your Movie Mage, where I discuss underrated movies across genres. Before break, we discussed the highly underrated buddy-cop film, “The Nice Guys.” This week, we’ll be talking about the little-known and controversial film adaptation of the very popular book, “Where the Wild Things Are.”
While the “Where the Wild Things Are” film is very different from its source material, the movie takes the story’s basic plot and translates the complexities of childhood and growing up from the book to film.
This is not easily achieved, and if it already sounds too complex to be a children’s movie, you may be onto something. A lot of movie-goers were surprised and disappointed with the film after bringing their young children to see it, as they expected it to be a movie for children because it’s adapted from a children’s book. The director of the film, Spike Jonze, said the movie is about children and wasn’t necessarily made to be a children’s movie. This isn’t to discourage children from seeing it, but rather to clarify why it’s so dark.
This film manages to capture something about childhood that isn’t often portrayed in films. We are able to remember the heartache and powerlessness felt in childhood, which is often ignored or forgotten about. That being said, it becomes clear why some people adore this film, while others were bored enough to leave the theater. Not everyone felt this way throughout their childhood, and in the film, it’s made clear that the central character, Max, and his wild tendencies are connected to his parents’ divorce.
This movie captures childhood in a subtle way, including through the overwhelming emotions that can turn an enjoyable game into anger and betrayal. The sense of wonder and possibility is captured in the magical aspects of the film and juxtaposed with fear and powerlessness.
Along with the other complex emotions dealt with in the film, one that stands out is loneliness. When we are introduced to Max, he’s spending his time alone, trying to get his mom, sister and her friends to engage with him. He has a very active imagination but doesn’t have any friends to play with. We feel this loneliness very strongly throughout the film, despite it not necessarily being in the forefront of what’s being portrayed.
The music throughout the film elevates these emotions to a degree that many films are unable to reach. The songs match each scene perfectly encouraging us to experience the feelings in moments of less action.
The use of practical effects was amazing and resulted in a very realistic film that made the wild things look and seem real. The writing and dialogue were great and the conversations between the wild things felt real and raw.
There was significant creative liberty in the creation of this movie considering how short the book is and how long movies are by comparison. The creators of the film made much of it based on their own interpretation of the book and the feelings it gave them.
The thought and care put behind each character is profound. They each brought varying complex emotions that Max was dealing with himself. Once they were isolated in various wild things, he was able to better understand his emotions and reactions. Being throned the king of the wild things put him in a position of authority with responsibility, similar to that of his mom, who he struggles to show respect to when his emotions overpower him.
The film also touches on universal feelings and fears for children, such as the sudden realization of mortality. For Max, this is brought on by learning in school that our solar system and eventually our universe will freeze and cease to exist. This realization is terrifying for a young child, and this newfound fear impacts his imagination and feelings that he’s struggling to understand. Once with the wild things, this fear dominates his reign as king, as he promises to create a land where nothing that they don’t want to happen, happens.
This sense of control that Max is struggling to find is resolved by the end once he recognizes he can’t control these things.
I found the entire film to be melancholic, serene and nostalgic. If you are a fan of movies that are slower and less action-packed, or if you’re a child of divorce, I’d recommend this film. Overall, given the positive response and recognition of this film by at least half of those who viewed it, I’d say this film has an underratedness score of 3/5. It deserves more love and attention, but has its fans who understand and appreciate it.