The Collegian

Media Credit: Warner Brothers

This fall's much anticipated "Where the Wild Things Are" proves to be a visually interesting, somewhat entertain¬ing, yet ultimately adequate-at-best rendition of Maurice Sendack's award winning children's book.

The first third of the movie is centered on the main protagonist and King of All Wild Things, Max, running around screaming his head off and committing terribly annoying acts of child-like violence such as biting, screaming, and stomping. I felt this all tied-in with the plot very nicely and I got a good laugh at his entertainingly deranged antics.

The one thing that im¬pressed me most in particular was director Spike Jonze's choice of actors for the vocal portrayal of the Wild Things. James Gandolfini plays the chiefly, much-lovable wild thing Carol, with Lauren Ambrose as K.W., Chris Cooper as Douglas, Forest Whitaker as Ira, Catherine O'Hara as Judith, and Paul Dano as Alexander. This really made for an awesomely diverse cast. Of course, none of the wild things in the original book were giv¬en actual identities, but the ones put together for the film were fitting and believable.

Aside from the characters, there was quite an outstanding use of cinematography and visual effects. But then again, I saw it in IMAX, so I expected nothing less.

However, one thing I noticed in particular was the obvious deviant from the story's main plot line. A vast majority of what happened in the movie never actually happened in the book. Of course this is all understandable. Had Jonze and producer Tom Hanks made a film based strictly upon the book, the movie would've been roughly fifteen minutes in length.

What did remain the same were the morals of the story: You're never too old to be a "Wild Thing", always stand up for yourself, and always cherish your friends. All in all, this movie was cute, funny, adventurous, and heart-warming. Perfect for small children and anyone looking for an affectionately clever film.

Article Tools