Where The Wild Things Are
This is not a children’s movie. I was never expecting it to be for children, but rather about children. More precisely: a child’s mind, one depicted slightly differently from the book’s portrayal. First off, of course the film had to be a considerably more in-depth story than the book. The natural conclusion is that a theme had to be added or expanded upon. Which do you think is the case?
Where The Wild Things Are is my favorite, and most vividly-recollected children’s book. I re-read the book for the first time since I can remember, just before watching the movie. Upon immediate reflection, I found no meaning beyond a child who sought, and found escape in his imagination (a commonly-visited theme for children’s stories). It seemed to be this theme alone. But, the last page, the last line, was especially significant after a little more pondering. Max’s dinner was still warm when he “returned home”. I felt the book was emphasizing that Max had a home to return to, one that would always be, whenever he was ready to come back. This had me wondering: Is the fact that Max had a home to return to as important as his ability to go on an adventure?
Of course, I wondered how a movie would be feature-length based on a very short book. Beyond the obvious necessity of page limitation, there is another kind of simplicity I adore in the book: child-like wonder. The movie takes the adventure theme and expands its borders, and makes it into an escape. The adventure becomes a journey. Whenever a child runs away from home, he tells himself he’s never coming back, tells his parents he hates them. Then, after running away with these vows, feels alone and scared, or just hungry, and decides he’s better off back at home. It’s a natural, recurring, inward struggle children wrestle with. But Max’s fears are more profound. The movie explores deeper motives for the catalyst that sets Max on his journey.
The drive of this film, which does great work in its introduction of Max, and his world, stays close to the sequences of the book, with a few stand-out exceptions. First, Max is not sent to his room the night he takes the journey. Instead, he runs away. This was necessary to shift from an adventure to an escape. Max struggles to build “the perfect fort”, a world in which he has special powers to make sadness and loneliness go away, and is able to make everyone happy. Another difference is that Max is not found by the creatures. This is equally important. He spies them out and decides to become one of them. This, he attempts through destruction and mayhem, by joining Carol in tearing down the wild things’ houses. When this fails, and Max’s own life becomes in grave danger, he does what any child left without defense would do: he lies. Except in this world, Max’s lies work. He silences the wild things, “be still!” (Something he can’t seem to do himself, nor can Carol), and is made king.
As the story plays out, there are many striking similarities linking this world to Max’s real world. Not as much in physical symbols (from the string of yarn and the houses, to snow ball fights and dirt clod fights that end in disaster in both worlds), as there were in the characters and the wild things. Voices of adult reason expressed in anger, the creature that is ignored by everyone, the owls who offer advice in a language that is not understood by Max, and others. Most important of all, is Max’s relationship with Carol.
From the start, these two are peas in a pod. As the story progresses, however, the two naturally frustrate each other. It becomes apparent that Carol is a manifestation of Max in his own imaginary world. Looking at the movie through this lens, as I did, it’s clear that Max’s anger is directed inward, thus explaining his reaction to his mother’s question: “What’s wrong with you?” This would hurt any child, but it caused Max to seek escape. And he found it in a world he thought he could master. However, the child’s lies quickly catch up, and indeed endanger him. This is the sequence where it feels like Max’s reality is catching up to his imagination. Carol has put all his hope in Max, and his hope is about to be crushed.
It’s important to note the gift given to Max from his beloved father with the words: “To Max, owner of this world”. It’s common for children to feel responsible for a divorce or death of a parent. Max does feel something is wrong with him because he can’t comfort his sister, competes for his mother’s attention with her boyfriend, seeks help from his older sister’s friends but finds they don’t understand him. These events are manifested in Max’s own “perfect fort”. In fact, the fort is never completed. Max feels like a vampire with no teeth, rejected by other vampires when they realize he’s not a vampire anymore. (Max’s words) I would put it another way; Max feels like a wild thing without teeth or claws; he feels powerless and alone.
Disaster strikes when Carol discovers the truth about Max: he has no power. This is the disastrous truth Max had been trying to escape. The truth is Max can’t “make everyone okay”. But Max survives the acceptance of this truth, and when he decides to return home, KW brings us back to the book ending with “Don’t go, I love you so, I’ll eat you up!”- This time with a heart-felt meaning instead of fierceness portrayed in the drawings of the book.
At the conclusion, Max runs home to a tearful and relieved mother- and dinner. His mother falls asleep while watching Max gobble down dinner with cake and milk. It’s a touching scene. This brings us full circle. Max has accepted that he’s not a king, he’s just Max. He understands that he’s dearly loved as he watches his mother fall asleep watching him eat the dinner she made. Simple and beautiful, in the fashion the best stories are told.
This movie was everything I’d hoped it would be. Keener delivers a very touching performance. She only had a sum total of about three minutes on the screen but does a remarkable job. The kid? Well, he wasn’t acting, he really was where the wild things are. The visuals aren’t exactly art, but I don’t want them to be. Though they are quite stunning, in some instances. The cinematography, direction, does great work of placing you in the very wolf-costume of Max. The wild things? Very much alive, very much outside of the story, amazing work there. Max’s leaving the world is a truly somber, yet lifting moment. I counted two swear words (Hell and damn), and absolutely nothing else that you would find a reason for not taking children. But like I said, this isn’t targeted at children. The creatures themselves could entertain them for a while, but the book is for children and does a better job at telling them a story than the movie. I mean that as a compliment, because I loved this movie!
The answer to my question I was pondering after I read the book, before I saw the movie: Is the fact that Max had a home to return to as important as his ability to go on an adventure?
If Max had no home, there would be no adventure or escape, there would only be the fictional world. The reality of home is Max’s joy in his return.
