Where the Wild Things Are

Perhaps the most daunting challenge for director Spike Jonze in adapting Maurice Sendak's beloved story was the realization that the entire book contains less than 10 sentences. Working with co-screenwriter Dave Eggers as well as Sendak, Jonze ably creates the visual fantasy world that has sparked so many children's imaginations over the years, mixing live action with state-of-the-art puppetry and computer animation. Nine-year-old Max (Max Records) is frustrated and angry—his parents are divorced, his teenage sister is focused on boyfriends, and his hard-working mother (Catherine Keener) is stressed out. No one has time for him, so he dons his wolf suit and runs away, yearning for a place where he's the center of attention. The adventure that follows finds Max landing on an island where he meets a variety of gigantic, growling creatures and becomes their king. There's Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini), a natural leader with a dependable rooster-like sidekick named Douglas (Chris Cooper); KW (Lauren Ambrose), a maternal presence; caustic Judith (Catherine O'Hara) and her companion Ira (Forest Whitaker), who loves to punch holes in things; and goat-horned Alexander (Paul Dano), whom nobody listens to. Obviously, they're all bestial manifestations of Max's conflicting, turbulent emotions, and the boy finds that being in charge isn't as easy as he thought, particularly when it comes to families and building “a place where only the things you want to happen, would happen.” While Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) ventures into dark, cryptic territory, this is ultimately an endearing, engaging story, earning a place of honor among family-friendly films. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “The Absurd Difficulty of Filming a Dog Running and Barking at the Same Time” (6 min.), “When Kids Take Over the Picture” (5 min.), and “The Big Prank” (3 min.), a brief “Vampire Attack” clip, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is “Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More To Life”—a new live-action/animated adaptation of Maurice Sendak's book (24 min.), a HBO First Look segment (13 min.), a featurette about “The Records Family” and star Max Records (7 min.), a “Max and Spike” featurette on Records and director Spike Jonze (7 min.), a featurette on composer Carter Burwell (5 min.), and a “Maurice & Spike” segment on Jonze and Sendak (3 min.). Bottom line: a fine extras package—especially on Blu-ray—for this winning adaptation.] (S. Granger)