Unless you were raised by parents who were too scared to scare you, there was a copy of “Where the Wild Things Are” on your bookshelf or in your bed sheet fort. So upon learning the beloved 1963 book was being adapted to film, a certain amount of apprehension was not unfounded.
Film adaptations rarely do justice to their parent projects. This is even truer of children’s classics. The recent Dr. Seuss book adaptations might have the doctor rolling over in his grave. And even Alvin and the Chipmunks had a great Christmas song before they became rapping CGI rodents.
The feeling is easily lost bringing short picture books to the screen. So they are padded with arbitrary subplots, poop jokes and commercial compromises. No one wanted to see a wild thing parody an American Idol tryout or rock out to an iPod. So for all its flaws, let’s be thankful for the one thing this film is definitely not: a cop-out.
“Where the Wild Things Are” is a short-lived but emotionally packed exploration of a child’s psyche.  In the world of the wild things, the imaginative Max (Max Records) is free to create dreams for creatures as spontaneous as he is.  He eventually realizes that, even when he is king, he can’t make everyone happy.
Just as author Maurice Sendak never set out to write children’s literature, director Spike Jonze never aimed to make a children’s movie. The film asks for the audience to regress to that childhood mentality of imagination but also misunderstandings. It is child-friendly enough, with the humor of the wild things. But a child may not be able to consciously grasp the obstacles Max faces.
Max uses his fantasy world to explore the ambiguities he faces in reality. He is comfortable there and allowed leeway by the gullible wild things, who trust his every word.
Jonze and co-writer Dave Eggers’ screenplay is an exercise that expands upon the emotions of the 10-line original. That the pace is slow at some points should be no surprise. It’s uncompromising; they put what they wanted in and left everything else out.
For the times the narrative is a little thin, it helps that the wild things are so fun to watch. Created in Jim Henson’s Creature Workshop, the wild things are puppets controlled from the inside. The wild things are characters just as intimate as Max, so the writers made them feel just as real.  James Gandolfini, Chris Cooper and Forest Whitaker lend their voice talents to the wild things.
Jonze is a visionary director of music videos. His awareness of how music can heighten what’s on screen is well-suited for this wild rumpus of dirt clod fights, dog piles and destruction. Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ singer Karen O. created a childlike sing-along soundtrack that reminds us how easy it was to have fun when we were young.
Jonze and director of photography Lance Acord are also familiar with the blending of fantasy and reality. They have worked together on the complex, inventive scripts of Charlie Kaufman in “Adaptation” and “Being John Malcovich.” Here, Acord uses the lens to capture the perspective of a child. Intimate close-ups and hyper handheld movements further the viewer’s ability to think like a child.
For a book that received its share of praise and criticism, “Where the Wild Things Are” has had a long life. So, the film might not kill at the box office, but it will continue to resonate with people of all ages, on their DVD shelves or on their bed sheet fort big screen.