It may be a children's book, and the imagination it portrays is that of a child, but this is not a children's movie - at least not a tame one. Following the book almost line for line and frame by frame in the beginning, (though with much more filler as is necessary) we're introduced to Max (conveniently named, Max Records) who has just a bit too much energy along with emotional issues. Unlike the book, this behavior doesn't get him sent to bed without his dinner, but instead prompts him to run away after a fight with his mother (Catherine Keener) gets out of control. The result, though, is the same as Max travels across a sea to a place "where the wild things are," which may or may not be (but probably is) in his imagination. Once there, he becomes King and attempts to rule things his way.
The world Spike Jonze creates is a gorgeous one with creatures lifted straight from Sendak's illustrations. Thankfully this was not another Scooby Doo or Garfield with cartoony CG creatures interacting awkwardly with live action. Jim Henson's Creature Shop instead provided animatronic suits to be operated by real actors. Facial expressions were later added with CGI. This blend of physical and the physically realistic really brought the characters to life in a spectacular way. The voices, provided by James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O'Hara, and Paul Dano fit perfectly. The setting, too, is wonderful. Though some of it surely was not really there, everything blended together seamlessly and I never caught my self going, "oh, that's greenscreened," or "that's obviously CGI.
Jonze delves into the troubled mind of Max in a way that would make Freud proud. He clearly understands what young imagination is like and captures beautifully the awesomeness that is a fort to a young boy. As I said, this is not a children's movie. As various aspects of himself and his life are manifested through the wild things, Max's story is dark and sometimes disturbing. It becomes an obvious tale of a child's dealings with loneliness and divorce. Despite reading so much into a simple picture book, it makes sense. It was an interesting angle to take, and one that seems ultimately to be the cause of this film's box office failure. It's not an easy thing to do, pitching a children's story as an adult movie.
Despite its lack of "success," I think that this film did succeed in telling the story it set out to tell. I'm not sure I would call it enjoyable, per se, but it was good. The lack of any substantial story arc and the darkness of Max's mind are a little offsetting, but still make a good film. I would recommend seeing it, but only if you first know what you're going to see.
**** (4/5 stars)
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