Where the Wild Things Are

I'm always weary when childhood favorites become readapted and turned into movies. Each book comes with some sort of fond memory, and if the movie doesn't follow the book just as you want it to or there are crucial points missing - it becomes something horrible. When I heard that Where the Wild Things Are was being turned into a movie, I had a slight flash of panic. But when I heard that Spike Jonze was in control of directing it, and that Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had the responsibilities of creating the soundtrack, any and all panic dissolved. I've been a Spike Jonze fan for a little while now and it can't be denied that his movies contain some of the most beautiful cinematography in the film world. And I'll refrain from going into a large gush-session about Karen O, but it needs not be said that she is also brilliant when it comes to music and her talents.

My friends and I were sure to buy advanced tickets, and it's a good thing we did. The movie theater was packed, and they managed to fill up two screening rooms for the mostly college-aged audience. We all waited anxiously through the previews, and when the opening credits finally started to roll, we broke out into an excited applause.

Start to finish, the movie was perfection. Child actor Max Records plays the role of Max, a young and slightly "out of control" boy who runs away from home after getting into a fight with his mother. He treks through the woods, finds a boat, and sails his way across a large body of water to, obviously, where the wild things are (wherever that may be..). After a scary first run-in with the wild things, he lies and says he is a king from a far away land, and has been a king to others, too. They adopt him into their group, and the wild rumpus starts. Max becomes like a family member, and at the same time a ruler, to the wild things in attempt to bring them happiness. I don't want to go into much more detail and give anything away, but I found it amazing how each of the wild things represented a part of himself or someone in his life.

As expected, the soundtrack was one of the best I have heard in a movie in a long time. Karen O took on the group name of Karen O and the Kids to produce a folky audio pairing that accompanied each part perfectly. Each piece was able to accurately fit in with exactly how I was feeling at each given part of the film, and made the experience that much more better.

If you haven't seen it yet, go see it. I promise you won't be disappointed. And if you have seen it already...thoughts?

Rating: ***** (five out of five stars, duh.)