Last week I just got the chance to watch Spike Jonze's adaptation of the critically acclaimed children's book Where the Wild Things Are.  And I found out that the movie is more than what it really appears.

The movie tells the story of Max (Max Records), a 9 year old Hyper active boy who got a wild imagination in his disposal.  Max seems to be a normal loner boy that likes playing alone and doing role playing on his wolf costume.  But an unexpected incident happened when one day his mother, Connie (Catherine Keener) got fed up of Max's behavior after being bitten by him.  Max got devastated with Connie's reaction and runs away.  Not far from home Max discovered a boat in a pond.  He didn't know that after riding that boat he will be having the adventure that he always wish for.



First of all the movie is boring for kids, at least with the kids we have that day.  All of them are talking not because they are enjoying.  They keep on bugging their parents to go home because they feel very sleepy already.  For the adults like me, I find the film very interesting.  The movie's plot is plain and simple but just like what I said earlier, the movie is more than what it really appears.  Just like what the title says, the movie is wild.  The story don't really have a clear direction.  All I can see are monsters that enjoys playing and destroying everything that they touch.  Events on the monster island is obviously a make believe created by Max's wild imagination.  Like the original book, the movie is a good device of using Psychoanalytic Anger to let children learn and mature.

The different monsters also symbolizes Max's own life with K.W. as his mother, Bernard the Bull as his quiet side, Alexander as his disregarded and mistreated personality, and Carol as his mischievous, impulsive and wildest facade.


I believe Max Records did a very good job playing the role of Max.  It doesn't look very artificial.  His acting is natural and he can connect very well with the audience.  I'm very sure that this kid will go places after this performance.  I also want to congratulate Spike Jonze for his courage to create a good work of art out of a very simple book.  It is really not an easy task to adapt something that as simple as this to a film that tells more stories than the pages of the book.


The movie is obviously not for everyone.  Could work with some kids but generally not for them alone.  You need to widen your imagination and sense of perspective to enjoy this film.  Where the Wild Things Are opens today (Feb. 3 2010) exclusively on Ayala Malls. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.