Where the Wild Things Are
Director: Spike Jonze
Cast: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Michael Berry Jr. Chris Cooper,
Based on the children’s story by Maurice Sendak, “Where the Wild Things Are” follows the journey of a young boy named Max (Max Records) who leaves his home and sails across the sea to a magical island of creatures who take Max as their King.
What’s interesting to note about this story is that we see many subtle impressions of Max’s adventure on the Island reflected while he is still at home with his family. The “homemade boat”, the special world that was gifted to Max by his father, the safe place where we see the two figures together…all of these small pieces are woven into Max’s fantasy later. We also see that Max’s father isn’t around, and while his mother clearly loves him, his relationship with his mother and his sister, Claire, is clearly fractured. When a fight with his mother goes too far, and young Max flees into the night, his journey to the Island is really a metaphor into Max’s emotional psyche…especially when he arrives on the Island where the inhabitants are literally reflections of his own jumbled emotions. When the creatures discover young Max in their midst, they are initially quite suspicious of him…until he convinces them that he is a King who can conquer anything…even emotions like sadness and loneliness (the very emotions that Max himself was struggling to reconcile with at home).
While many of the characters have distinct characteristics which reflect Max and his world, Carol (James Gandolfini) is the strongest representation of Max’s emotional journey. When we first meet Carol, he – like Max – considers himself to be the lonely, misunderstood outcast. As the essence of Carol’s story becomes clearer, we also begin to understand that Carol, like Max, is struggling to come to terms with KW’s new friendship with her owls, Bob and Terri. His struggle is borne from the fact that Carol feels this newfound friendship is drawing KW away from him…and while this makes him jealous and insecure, there is still a part of Carol who desperately wants his friendship with KW to be reconciled. But what is by far the greatest illustration of emotional connection shared between Carol and Max is what is spoken by Carol during a heated argument. Carol tells Max that the Island is “Max’s world” (much like Max’s father promising him that the globe in his bedroom was “Max’s world”) and he wanted Max to be King forever, but if you really LISTEN to what Carol is saying to Max, I don't think he's talking about Max being King. During his tirade, Carol laments, "YOU were supposed to keep us safe. YOU were supposed to take care of us. We were all supposed to be together". I think this is the moment where Max's emotional journey into his psyche is fully realized. In this moment, it’s not really Carol talking to Max, but Max talking to his father.....and his mother and sister as well…and finally expressing that pain and loneliness that he didn't know how to voice before. This moment of reconciliation is only strengthened by the knowledge that shortly after this encounter, Max chooses to return home to his mother’s arms rather than remain on the Island with his new friends. Now that he has come to terms with that pain, he can go home again.
“Where the Wild Things Are” is a stunning recreation of Maurice Sendak’s classic story. The casting is stellar, particularly for James Gandolfini who captures the essence of Carol perfectly. The puppetry work on the characters is breath-taking and it not only perfectly captures the original character illustrations from the book, but it also breathes new life into each character and makes them more unique because they now have their own unique identities and personalities. While the darker elements and subtle emotional metaphors of the story may be a bit overwhelming for young children, this is still a film I would highly recommend.
© 2013 – 2018 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Spike Jonze
Cast: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Michael Berry Jr. Chris Cooper,
Based on the children’s story by Maurice Sendak, “Where the Wild Things Are” follows the journey of a young boy named Max (Max Records) who leaves his home and sails across the sea to a magical island of creatures who take Max as their King.
What’s interesting to note about this story is that we see many subtle impressions of Max’s adventure on the Island reflected while he is still at home with his family. The “homemade boat”, the special world that was gifted to Max by his father, the safe place where we see the two figures together…all of these small pieces are woven into Max’s fantasy later. We also see that Max’s father isn’t around, and while his mother clearly loves him, his relationship with his mother and his sister, Claire, is clearly fractured. When a fight with his mother goes too far, and young Max flees into the night, his journey to the Island is really a metaphor into Max’s emotional psyche…especially when he arrives on the Island where the inhabitants are literally reflections of his own jumbled emotions. When the creatures discover young Max in their midst, they are initially quite suspicious of him…until he convinces them that he is a King who can conquer anything…even emotions like sadness and loneliness (the very emotions that Max himself was struggling to reconcile with at home).
While many of the characters have distinct characteristics which reflect Max and his world, Carol (James Gandolfini) is the strongest representation of Max’s emotional journey. When we first meet Carol, he – like Max – considers himself to be the lonely, misunderstood outcast. As the essence of Carol’s story becomes clearer, we also begin to understand that Carol, like Max, is struggling to come to terms with KW’s new friendship with her owls, Bob and Terri. His struggle is borne from the fact that Carol feels this newfound friendship is drawing KW away from him…and while this makes him jealous and insecure, there is still a part of Carol who desperately wants his friendship with KW to be reconciled. But what is by far the greatest illustration of emotional connection shared between Carol and Max is what is spoken by Carol during a heated argument. Carol tells Max that the Island is “Max’s world” (much like Max’s father promising him that the globe in his bedroom was “Max’s world”) and he wanted Max to be King forever, but if you really LISTEN to what Carol is saying to Max, I don't think he's talking about Max being King. During his tirade, Carol laments, "YOU were supposed to keep us safe. YOU were supposed to take care of us. We were all supposed to be together". I think this is the moment where Max's emotional journey into his psyche is fully realized. In this moment, it’s not really Carol talking to Max, but Max talking to his father.....and his mother and sister as well…and finally expressing that pain and loneliness that he didn't know how to voice before. This moment of reconciliation is only strengthened by the knowledge that shortly after this encounter, Max chooses to return home to his mother’s arms rather than remain on the Island with his new friends. Now that he has come to terms with that pain, he can go home again.
“Where the Wild Things Are” is a stunning recreation of Maurice Sendak’s classic story. The casting is stellar, particularly for James Gandolfini who captures the essence of Carol perfectly. The puppetry work on the characters is breath-taking and it not only perfectly captures the original character illustrations from the book, but it also breathes new life into each character and makes them more unique because they now have their own unique identities and personalities. While the darker elements and subtle emotional metaphors of the story may be a bit overwhelming for young children, this is still a film I would highly recommend.
© 2013 – 2018 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.