Where The Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze, 2009)

[karmajuice]

Looks promising. It's obviously diverging from Sendak's book quite a bit; of course, as a feature it needs to include much more, but it looks like it differs in tone as well. It's hard to place the tone of the book, since it's so brief and unassuming, but I still sense distinct changes. I just think it's odd that people note a similarity in tone, because I don't quite feel that -- although I don't think it's a problem, I think Jonze will tell a different story just as truthfully (one about a specific child rather than the "everychild" in the book). Some moments from the trailer suggest that he will be exploring the frustration/aggression and escapist elements from the book, although perhaps with more serious implications than being sent to bed without dinner.

Also, I'd like to know why so many people here dislike Adaptation. I don't take issue with that opinion, I'm just interested in specific reasons.

[Cde.]

L Some moments from the trailer suggest that he will be exploring the frustration/aggression and escapist elements from the book, although perhaps with more serious implications than being sent to bed without dinner.

It sounds like this is basically what the film is about.

I'm also unsure why so many think this matches the tone of the book. The film looks a lot more melancholy and dreamy.

I liked Adaptation.

[Antoine Doinel]

New poster.

[King Prendergast]

New trailer:

[Cde.]

New trailer

Those guys have done some great stuff. Check out their McCain ads by Hollywood directors.
The Wes Anderson one is a stroke of brilliance.

[Antoine Doinel]

The collectible figurines have arrived.

[Antoine Doinel]

Jonze has a blog that is mostly about the film. One of the film's he watched in assessing the tone he wanted to strive for was Ratcatcher.

[Antoine Doinel]

This kid ain't afraid of the film.

[hot_locket]

This kid ain't afraid of the film.

He's a year old... his reaction would probably have been the same to the trailer for The Hangover.

[Antoine Doinel]

New trailer.

[Tark]

Looks good.

My parents read the book to me as a kid. It was my favorite, along with The Plant Sitter. Anybody else?

[Mr Sausage]

Looks good.

My parents read the book to me as a kid. It was my favorite, along with The Plant Sitter. Anybody else?

Yeah, I got this one a lot during bed time readings. Can only imagine what was going through my parent's minds as they read me this book since, looking back, I was an over-energetic terror. No doubt they sometimes wished I really would run off to monster island.

[zombeaner]

This keeps looking better and better to me. Normally I hate that indie music soundtrack for trailers, but it really seems to work for this one musically (couldn't be bothered to listen to the words because there was too much cool stuff to see)

[FerdinandGriffon]

Looks beautiful, but I suspect Eggers mcsweenied all over the script.

[Murdoch]

but I suspect Eggers mcsweenied all over the script.

Ewwww.

[FerdinandGriffon]

You say that like it's a bad thing. O:)

The worst thing.

[Antoine Doinel]

Massive NYTimes piece on Jonze and the making of the film.

[oldsheperd]

I'm actually doing a presentation on this book for my Children's Lit class.

[HarryLong]

Yeah, I got this one a lot during bed time readings.

Gad, you're making me feel old. I was a bookmobile librarian around the time this thing came out & I remember the many requests we had for it.
On the plus side, it introduced me to the work of Maurice Sendak.

[oldsheperd]

The BOOKMOBILE! =D>
I remember that! It's like a converted UPS truck.

[HarryLong]

Except for the side exit-door at the back...

[LQ]

A roundtable discussion with Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers, Catherine Keener & Max Records.

Did anyone catch the Sendak doc on HBO? It was well crafted and very compelling, I could've listened to him talk for hours. Such a witty old guy, shockingly funny at times, but very serious, insightful and sage... It was a very moving documentary. If you get a chance, definitely check it out.

[knives]

Melancholy Time Bandits; funny, not really. That about sums my emotions while watching. The film really proves that Jonze doesn't need Kaufman to be emotionally great, just characters he cares about. Really this is everything positive that people have been suspecting about it. The really strange thing, and this is a compliment, is that whenever something fun or exhilarating happens just as we get to the high of the moment something happens to crash the event. Stuff like the dirt fight being stopped by the goat's speech which becomes extra painful once we see the physical results is the sort of thing that makes this a very rare sort of film. I'm not sure how well this will play to kids, but as a fil it is special.

P.S. This may seem a bit blasphemous to some, but my initial impression is that this is better than Time Bandits

[Phil]

Saw this this afternoon and I'm really not entirely sure what to make of it right now. On the one hand, it struck me as one of the most fully realized fictional worlds I've seen in a while, and a doggedly noncondescending look at the pains of childhood. On the other, I found it a little troubling that, as you mention in a more positive light Knives, every time a moment of pure joy occurred (and trust, there were quite a few) something came along and brought it all back to the Wild Things emoting all over the place, frequently in manners I thought were less than convincing.

I think a lot of my issue(s) with it stems from how completely detestable I found Max after the real world scenes - there's a line where you cross from understandable and genuinely painful youthful confusion into damnable brattiness, and I'm pretty sure that line lies somewhere around the point where you climb onto the kitchen table and yell contemptuously at your Obviously Loving Single Mother. (And yes, I realize that said action was the result of a situation he obviously couldn't understand at that age, and I have no argument against him deserving a reaction, I just think the particular tone Eggers took there is all wrong.) The ripples from that colored the rest of the film for me so much that I feel like a lot of emotional moments from the Wild Things struck me as much less honest/more contrived than they would have had I otherwise been more sympathetic towards the various manifestations of Max's inner troubles. The example you mention of Alexander and the aftermath of the dirt fight was still pretty brutal, but given how low my sympathy for Max was, the parallel from the opening that that was set up to work on was nowhere near as strong for me as it could/should have been.

A friend and I are going to write up a conversation about it (she loved it) sometime the next few days, so maybe I'll link that here if anyone is into reading, uh, long-form lurker comments.

Also, I thoroughly enjoy how Lauren Ambrose is capable of being typecast even as a 10 foot tall monster.