Where the Wild Things Are

Release Year: 2009

Director: Spike Jonze

Review: It's rare to find a movie that so totally encapsulates childhood.   Spike Jonze had huge expectations to fulfill with "Where the Wild Things Are", with nearly everyone having fond memories of the book from their childhood.  I went back to the bookstore and reread the book for the first time since I was a child and more than anything its the wonderful mood and imagination that pulls you and makes the book so magical.  Jonze manages to capture that essence perfectly and turn a short book into a major motion picture.  This is no small feat.  The movie is gorgeous to look at.  I was ecstatic to see the muppet style look he gave to the creatures.  By making them into essentially big stuffed animals it not only brings a fresh look at these very strange creatures but also reminds us that this story is rooted in the imagination of a little boy.  That is the charm to the film.  The thoughts, touches and details are so reminiscent of how children think that it is easily relatable.  The story does drag a little bit in the third act, but it does not diminish the joy that I had in seeing my childhood imagination so artfully and emotively expressed in this movie.
Rating: 4/5