Where the Wild Things Are Film

3 out of 5

Based on a children’s illustrated book by Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are is the story of a young boy and what happens when his loneliness and inability to connect with his family turn inward towards his imagination. Reminiscent of the classic film “The NeverEnding Story” with various furry creatures, this movie surpasses its predecessor in many ways. But in some, it falls short.

The film is technically brilliant with the beast characters being quite convincingly playing alongside the human boy. The landscape of the majority of the film is beautiful and defies reality. Coupled with some excellent music choices, the atmosphere is set for an interesting ride. However, there is an uneasiness of the film that stems from the confusion of whether it is for adults or for children. There is a hint of “Lord of the Rings”-style events happening in the background, if the main character and his wild things are left to their own devices.

The film stops short of blood and gore, but that’s partly due to the soft animal aspect of the wild beasts. Instead of blood, their “stuffing of feathers” comes out when they are hurt. Yet, there are still some scenes which feel too mature for children as they are a bit unnerving even for adults. The emotional issues that Max has, stemming perhaps from his loneliness or the usual challenges of growing up are never fully addressed. His own violent tendencies, the casual [violence that he is a victim of by his sister’s friends, and the mild violence that the wild things also display without too much of a thought are all disturbing. And that uneasy feeling does not go away during the film, especially since none of these tendencies are really explained or resolved.

What is also a challenge in a movie such as this is the line between reality and imagination. A line that is very fuzzy with the viewer left to assume what has and has not occurred and what is a symptom of something else. With modern day eyes, it’s easy to go down the slippery slope of analyzing the movie the way perhaps a child psychologist would. And that further complicates this film, which already is trying to juggle multiple audiences and messages.

Overall a pretty film that lacks a focus and an audience. Perhaps by trying to appeal to a wide audience, it ends up confusing the adults and scaring the kids. Despite this ambiguity, the film’s imagery and soundtrack are stunning.