Retroactive-Flashback Movie Review: Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things AreWith the release of Where the Wild Things Are on DVD, the ad campaigns and cross over ads have brought back strange sentiments from my viewing of the film... and oddly embarrassing moments from my childhood. I'm not sure why I had them, but one thing's for sure: I didn't like the creepy feelings.

Maybe Spike Jonze did his job TOO well, or maybe he just got all mingled up in his own murky childhood, but this movie made me need a cold shower today, where I scrubbed... and it's been seven months since I saw the film. I know Jonze took liberties with the film adaptation, and who wouldn't. A 12-page kids book isn't exactly a turn-key film script.

I'll give Jonze credit in one area, visuals. And since this is a stoner film review, that goes a long way. However, there was still this underlying sadness there that was overpowering my hydro-Chronic Dutch treat bud, which is tough to do. There was also a sense of failure and sadness for the boy, Max. Was it his own failure at trying to stay a boy, being king or maybe his realization that nothing is perfect? I don't know. Whatever it was, it made me sad, and the book didn't. So that sucked too.

I'm not the only one either: David Denby from The New Yorker said, "I have a vision of eight-year-olds leaving the movie in bewilderment. Why are the creatures so unhappy?"

Alright, the film wasn't for kids, exactly, but I still feel it got a little too close to something I didn't want it near. Maybe my psychology wasn't right to be dragged through the defeats and lost hopes of childhood. I want to give it 2 Twinkies, but because of the bold vision and great visuals, 3 out of 5 Twinkies from Ganjarama.