Where the Wild Things Are
Francis Spufford describes Where the Wild Things Are as ‘one of the very few picture books to make an entirely deliberate, and beautiful, use of the psychoanalytic story of anger’ in his discussion, The Child that Books Built. Spufford notes the transformation of Max’s room to, ‘the private forest of fantasy and the unconscious, from which Max journeys(in ”a private boat”) to meet the Wild Things of his Anger’. He goes on to detail why he doesn’t see the story as one of fright, ‘It didn’t occur to me to fear the bedposts bursting into leaf, or the terrible teeth the Wild Things gnash, or the terrible eyes that roll. I thought the end took away the risk from it all.’ Mr Spufford makes a great point in retrospect, but to a young reader discovering Maurice Sendak’s book for the first time, it can be very intense.
When you first experience Where the Wild Things Are, you are blown away by its’ vivid imagery. Usually at an age where dinosaurs dominate attentions spans, most everyone discovers this book in grade school. The cover wears a Pulitzer sticker so you know it means business, and each page is sparse with words. But those few words were all powerfully chosen to mesmorize when read.
‘His mother called him WILD THING!’
And Max said, ‘I’ll eat you up!’
At his age, we all had an inner rascal similar to Max, so its easy to feel for the kid when he was sent to his room without dinner. And thanks to the Muppet Babies and their ‘close your eyes and make believe and you can be anywhereeee’ philosophy we can journey with Max when his room transforms.
But when the Wilds entered the picture and, ‘Roaaaarrrrrred their terrrrrrrible rrrrrrrroooooaaaarrrrrr,’ things got hectic quick. And thats the queue where the teacher or whomever is reading starts speaking slooooww and it looks like its overs for Max. By the time this fool shows up gnashing his terrible teeth, most everyone is ready for recess!
You gotta give it up to the kid, instead of running from the Wild Things, he confronts them to claim that he, alone, was the Wildest of the Wild.
Spufford reveals that this story is a look at ‘behavior as well as psychology.’ The young Max embraces his inner wild rumpus and learns that there’s a place for it but that place is lonely. These are some heavy undertones for kids, especially at an age where velco shoes are preferred for their ease of operation. But the great thing about this story is that it can be returned to at any age.
We’re excited to see Spike Jonze’s direction of Where the Wild Things Are. Adaptation and Being John Malkovich were fun stories, and who doesn’t love his music video work? There’s something unique about his vision that runs wild in alternate worlds. Spufford took notice that the child like ego of Max revealed much about his author. Sendak was once asked why he never had any children himself and answered because he ‘couldn’t take the competition.’ This story was meant to be told by someone who can take viewers to that fantasy world alive in the minds of children. We believe Spike Jonze is the right story teller for the job. Where the Wild Things Are hits theaters October 16th 2009. Heres the trailer:
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Tags: spike jonze, where the wild things are
