Concept Comes First

My opinion after seeing a sneak preview of Spike Jonze’s new movie with a test audience? Don’t see movies with a test audience.

Where the Wild Things Are is a heavy little movie. Really heavy. Younger kids might walk away from this movie a little shaken at the themes. If you are the kind of parent/guardian/babysitter/au pair who feels the need to shelter your children from life’s little emotions, this is not the movie for you. However, as Jonze himself said after the film ended, this is not a kids movie. This is a movie about kids.

Our hero, Max, deals with all the helplessness and disappointment that comes with being six years old. After getting into a heated fight with his mother, he runs away from home and disappears into (what I’m assuming is) his own imagination: A forest populated with beasts with personalities only a child could concoct.

The movie immediately gets into exploring emotions like rage, heartache, jealousy, love, wonder and awe. The relationships between the monsters and Max were almost senseless at first, but on closer inspection, they are perfectly in line with the logic available to a six-year-old. The play, friendships and conflict will remind most of the viewers what it felt like to be young and helpless and aching for control over the world around them.

I couldn’t actually tell you how successful the movie was in this regard. The audience ruined the first half of the movie a bit. Spike Jonez and Catherine Keener were in the theater for the post-show Q and A, and our little hero Max answered questions before the movie began. This turned out to be a little bit of a problem: The audience—enamored with the celebrities present—began laughing and ooh-ing and ah-ing even before the first word was spoken onscreen. (”Spike, I love your movie, it’s so great! Listen to how hard I’m laughing—this is all for you!” Something like that.) It took everyone nearly 45 minutes to settle down and really enter the movie. I couldn’t watch the film without being overaware of the theater, the people around me, and the nervous energy boiling up in the room.

Also, it didn’t help that my wallet was digging into my ass all night. The seats at the Music Box can be unforgiving.

All in all, the movie was good, and it hit the nice emotional high note I was waiting for. It’s probably not a story you’ll understand in the first few minutes of leaving the theater. This film took a while for me to ponder—I was happier when I did, anyway—and I guess that’s a mark of something great deeper in the writing. Dave Eggers helped write the screenplay, so it can’t be too shabby.

I’ll just say this: Adults should not ignore this movie, and if you want to spark a real conversation with your kids about life and growing up, this would be a great flick to see. If you are expecting Toy Story 2 with more fur, you’d best stay home.