Book vs Movie - Where the Wild Things Are

Book Vs. Movie – Where the Wild Things Are

            While watching “Where the Wild Things Are,” I was brought back to when this movie was first released in theatres. I remember being so excited to see one of my favorite childhood books being brought to life and wondered how they would approach making a film from such a short book. After my 19-year-old self watched it, something didn’t sit right, but I didn’t understand why. I haven’t watched it since. Watching it now that I am older, I understand why something felt so off. The movie itself is very depressing, and it took what I thought was a very lighthearted children’s book and made it increasingly dark. I prefer the book over the movie for multiple reasons, but I don’t think I am alone.

            As a kid, I remember a book where I was taken away from reality and brought to a magical land where wild things existed. Nothing could hurt me there, and any sense of imagination was welcome. I could visualize myself walking with the wild things and wondered if they would welcome me as their leader as quickly as they did Max. What would the wild things and I do together? Would we have the same adventures as they did in the book? Being taken away in the story let me cope with the reality of the world around me.

            An issue I had with the movie happened within the first twenty minutes because they made Max out to be way more rambunctious and wilder than I thought he was in the book. Part of me wonders if the directors added this to show the audience further how wild of a child Max is. The part that got to me is that before setting off to the wild things and running away, we see that he is struggling with his divorced parents, and while his mom is on a date, he bites his mom. This scene sets the pace for the rest of the movie as she yells, “What’s wrong with you.” After that, he sets off on his boat to find where he belongs. Once he reaches the Wild Things, he is greeted with fire, and one of the main characters destroys their village. I was immediately drawn in because this showed how chaotic Max's nature was, even in his imagination. Feeling like he isn’t accepted at home by his sister and mother, he tries to convince them why they should trust him; the only problem with this is that he lies. The book doesn’t offer this level of dishonesty and trust issues portrayed after Max meets them.              

What I did find as a fun little detail is that the book and the movie kept much of the major dialogue the same. This offered avid readers of the book a little insight into the movie that most people may not have gotten. When Max yells, “Let the rumpus start,” I know what will happen next. In the book, they all have fun together and seem to play, but the movie takes a completely different approach as they all seem more destructive than otherwise. They start tearing down their homes and being more chaotic than the book initially portrayed. A part of the movie I liked was how they gave the Wild Things a deeper emotional context. They all had personalities and achieved character growth throughout the film.

One big thing to note is that when Max is first crowned king of the Wild Things, he promises them no more loneliness. Although this seems like a lovely and genuine promise to make, as the movie goes on, we see how unrealistic it is. With all the characters being so diverse, no one person could make them all happy. This is where the movie takes a sadder turn because even in Max’s imagination, his newfound friends don’t want to hang out with him after many issues and disagreements, much like in the reality he was facing at home. His home with the Wild Things is just as broken as he shares with his mom and sister. In the article from Course Hero called Where the Wild Things Are, Themes, it states that “Many emotions that Sendak says are "an ordinary part of children's lives" are ones they "perceive as ungovernable and dangerous forces." These problematic emotions include anger, frustration, anxiety, fear, and even hate. In Where the Wild Things Are, Max struggles with frustration and anger” (Course Hero). Another example is Vox's article titled Many banned books were made into movies. Where the Wild Things Are may be the greatest, it is stated: “The film isn’t too explicit on that last point. But its recognition that Where the Wild Things Are has always been a kind of psychodrama — and its subsequent embrace of that aspect of the book in shaping the Wild Things’ fears, hopes, and conversations with Max — makes the whole story much richer and resonant with a wider range of ages than the picture-book crowd. Adults get sad, mad, angry, and torn up inside, too. Adults also sometimes need a Wild Rumpus to make sense of their real lives” (Wilkinson).

Although this children’s book has many fans, many of them found the movie very depressing. From the broken home to the inner anger and unresolved issues, many watchers could find this movie relatable in some way, but this usually only happens with an older audience. I think that the article from Vox has a very good point as it states, “Instead of focusing on a narrow audience segment — just kids, or just adults who like fantasy, or just families with particularly mature young children — it manages to capture the universal experience of having difficult emotions and transform them into a story that’s already beloved by millions of kids, and those who used to be kids. It’s a quiet reminder of the power of scary-ish stories, made with warmth, humor, and wisdom” (Wilkinson). After watching this movie, I was left with a new perspective on how to view the story and be given more context into what the author was going for. I felt captivated by the story, much like my younger self was, while also being more depressed by the real life behind the story.

©️The Rosebud Writings