'Wild Things' for the tame
I've been waiting and waiting for the movie version of "Where the Wild Things Are" to come out. But I was surprised to learn that the only person interested in seeing it with me was my husband.
My kids have certainly seen the trailer plenty of times. They even correct my husband when he proclaims: "Let the wild rumpus begin!" (It's "Let the wild rumpus start, Dad," says my 8-year-old.)
Yet when we offered to take them to the movies last weekend, the kids voted for "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," a film it's best not to discuss any further.
My daughter said "Wild Things" looked like it was only for boys. My son, a dead ringer for the actor who plays Max in the movie, just acted bored by the whole subject, even though he liked the Maurice Sendak book.
Turns out that lots of people who have seen the movie say adults are, indeed, shaping up to be its primary audience. Warner Brothers reports that the movie's opening-weekend success came largely from those over 18, not kids.
This mom and film writer, who did take her kids to the movie, got a similar reaction from them. And she explains why very well. We adults experience the free-spirited, fantastical world of the wild things through the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, but to a kid, imagination gets taken for granted.
I have another (sad) theory: While adults of a certain age remember vividly the time they spent exploring in the woods and daydreaming adventures, kids today rarely get to venture beyond their backyards unsupervised. They're not used to feeling like wild things.
Have you seen the movie?
(AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Matt Nettheim)
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Comments
I saw this movie. And loved it. I'm 25, and was read the book by my baby boomer parents when I was a kid. I could not have been happier with the film. Eggers/Jonze combo knocked it out of the park, plus Karen O's awesome soundtrack.... oh man! Bliss.
Posted by: Zach Straw | October 20, 2009 2:48 PM
WTWTA was the only book each of my boys had us read over and over and over. They LOVED it and so did we. I felt it was truly in keeping with the spirit of the book. My youngest (8) said during it "I think Max has anger management issues, and so does Carol, they are both wild things, aren't they.?" They certainly got it. And so did Jonze/Eggers,
Posted by: Sandra | October 20, 2009 3:05 PM
Through the entire movie I kept seeing myself in parks of Druid Hill and Cylburne for what seemed like days til the sun went down...
Posted by: Rams | October 20, 2009 4:15 PM
I was so excited to see this movie when I saw the trailer last summer but my kids had no desire. We were going to drag them to it until all the bad reviews started rolling in. Oh well. What a bummer. But I still want to see it...
Posted by: Betsy Stein | October 20, 2009 7:30 PM
I don't have kids, but now I don't feel so bad about wanting to go see it myself.
I loved the book, as a boy.
Posted by: bluzdude | October 21, 2009 9:57 AM
What age is best for the movie? Would a 5 year old be scared? I can never tell whether so-called children's movies are really for kids (at least not young ones.)
I've seen some reviews that say it's not for kids under 8!
Posted by: bbcmom | October 21, 2009 7:01 PM
I agree that adults would more likely see the movie through the lens of nostalgia, first for having read the book during their childhood years and second for being able to empathize with Max's escapism.
Posted by: Emily Wilkes | October 21, 2009 11:58 PM