Wo die wilden Kerle wohnen (2009)

Wo die wilden Kerle wohnen: Directed by Spike Jonze. With Max Records, Pepita Emmerichs, Max Pfeifer, Madeleine Greaves. Yearning for escape and adventure, a young boy runs away from home and sails to an island filled with creatures that take him in as their king.

“If you havenu0026#39;t yet read Maurice Sendaku0026#39;s classic book, you can go ahead and do that now because its only 347 words long. This review Iu0026#39;m typing ended up being almost twice as long.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe point Iu0026#39;m making is that the original book didnu0026#39;t have much of a plot; its charm is in the imaginative illustrations. So the task of adapting the book to a 1 hr 41 min feature film was very ambitious, to say the least.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLetu0026#39;s complicate matters. In the original story the main character, Max, isnu0026#39;t a very likable protagonist. In almost every drawing he is shown with a malicious smirk on his face as he causes mischief such as chasing the family dog around with a fork, and then later commanding others to do his bidding with a tyrannical ferocity. I wonu0026#39;t go into a discussion of Sendaku0026#39;s book, but letu0026#39;s just say itu0026#39;s not your typical cutesy fable or morality play.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eQuirky and ofttimes cynical director Spike Jonze (known for the excellent u0026quot;Being John Malkovichu0026quot;) was well suited for the job. During production, Jonze consulted Sendak himself, so we can guess that the authoru0026#39;s original intent was mostly preserved. The result is that this is definitely no Disney flick. If youu0026#39;re looking to take your kid to a u0026quot;Beauty and the Beastu0026quot; entertainer, hmm, you might wanna look elsewhere.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGreat, so if that didnu0026#39;t scare you off, letu0026#39;s talk about whatu0026#39;s good about this film. One: they didnu0026#39;t corrupt the original bratty concept of Max. Although heu0026#39;s considerably softer around the edges than the fork wielding demonchild in the book, heu0026#39;s still not exactly likable, and so heu0026#39;s almost an anti-hero. Of course heu0026#39;s still a cute kid, so you can view him as that, but I like to think heu0026#39;s a troubled juvenile with some serious psychological issues brewing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTwo: the visuals u0026amp; special effects are primo. The master puppeteers of Jim Hensonu0026#39;s group (Henson himself died a few years prior to filming) provided amazing 7ft tall animatronic puppet suits with actors inside which were augmented by subtle cgi. In other words, to all my fellow cgi haters, this was done very tastefully. Sets and landscapes are jaw dropping, having been filmed in the majestic forests u0026amp; deserts of Australia.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThree: the music is pretty cool. Composed and performed by Karen O (The Yeah Yeah Yeahs), the score and songs are edgy but still cinematic enough to blend with the film. Most of the songs are simple haunting melodies with an alternative rock vibe. If youu0026#39;re not familiar with Karen O, think of maybe Bjork.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFour: it has a pretty complex message that may be lost on young kids, but adults may get it. Itu0026#39;s the idea that lifeu0026#39;s problems arenu0026#39;t so easy to solve, even when everyone does exactly as you say. You might even sense socio-political overtones as Max attempts to create order in his imagined kingdom while learning that you canu0026#39;t please everyone all the time. This is where the film deviates from the book where Max is a tyrant who imposes his rule over obedient and mostly mindless subjects. Here, the creatures have individual personalities and opinions. So in the film, Max faces the reality of making mistakes. He isnu0026#39;t so sure of himself, and his choices often lead him to deep regrets. I count this as a big plus, even though it may confuse young kids who are expecting a simple, digestible fairytale. Donu0026#39;t be surprised if your child comes out slightly confused, if not disturbed. (Note, thereu0026#39;s a bit of violence… no blood, but a character or two might get slightly maimed).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI would categorize u0026quot;Where the Wild Things Areu0026quot; with other fairy tales for grownups, like u0026quot;Willy Wonkau0026quot; (as well as the recent remake u0026quot;Charlie u0026amp; the Chocolate Factoryu0026quot;) and an obscure 70s gem with Gene Wilder u0026quot;The Little Princeu0026quot;. This film is probably closer to the childrenu0026#39;s side than those others which were clearly skewed toward adults. Thatu0026#39;s probably where it lost a little punch in my opinion. But itu0026#39;s still a great flick that does a nice job honoring a classic book. By the way… wtf? Did I just use the word u0026quot;socio-politicalu0026quot; to describe a childrenu0026#39;s flick? I need to get out more :/”