Where the Wild Things Are

This past Friday I went to see Where the Wild Things Are with some friends. I remember being quite fond of the book as a child, even though I didn’t quite remember what it was about until I went to go the see the movie. I remembered the pictures, and I remember that a little boy had run off to live with monsters for a while. I remember that he learned something important about himself. But I couldn’t remember any specifics. It’s been a long time since I read it, after all.

I absolutely loved the movie. The visuals were stunning, the soundtrack was haunting and beautiful, and the camera work was impressively creative. The acting was wonderful, especially that of the little boy who played Max, who displayed a quality of child acting that is rare in movies for kids.

This is a movie for everyone. There were both adults and children in the theater when I went to go see it, and everyone had a good time. There was applause at the end of the film. For us adults (and how I loathe to use that word in regards to myself, but I need to delineate this somehow), it was a lovely trip down memory lane back to when we were reading this book and learning the same things Max was. For kids, it was a beautiful story with a valuable lesson about consequences and what happens when things get out of control.

If you haven’t gone out and seen this movie yet, you should.