Best These Wild Things. What To Think of Them.

Above photo stolen from the flickr of a fellow who's lens collection and talent in using such I very much admire.

This Where the Wild Things Are movie, mostly I didn't flat out like it...but I've been thinking about it. I've been wondering what the purpose of that movie was, what the point was, who it was for. This was definitely not a children's film, oh man, I'd never take a kid to see Where the Wild Things Are. They'd come home acting so horribly rambunctious. The movie would give them too many ideas of ways to tear around the house or backyard, I'd rather kids come up with mean little dirtclod games on their own. But is this movie for adults? Do adults need a movie to remember that it's sad and lonely to be a kid when I think we'd rather grow more nostalgic for our youth by the day. Is that the point of WTWTA? To take all the grown ups that said "Oh, a Wild Things Are movie, how wonderful! I loved that book so much in my idyllic idealized childhood, this movie will be such a wonderful, glorious stroll through the joy and innocence of youth!" and then shock them with the site of a confused, unhappy childhood and remind them of all the confusion and unhappiness in childhood? I don't know.

But I can say there were definitely five things I liked about this movie. One, the heartbroken, gut-sobbing face of Max when he emerges from his demolished igloo. Two, when Carol says to Max (I paraphrase) "This is all yours...except for that hole...and that stick...but everything else is yours!" Three, the flowers coming out of the fort. Four, Bob and Terry--everything about or featuring Bob and Terry was great, they appealed on the level I think we all hoped the movie would appeal. Finally, five, in the very last seconds of the film, when Max gets home and wolfs down his dinner and the last thing he has is that piece of chocolate cake (and this all happens so fast, dinner is probably 6 seconds long if anything at all) and I couldn't help but thinking: "That's a good feeling, the feeling of having some chocolate cake that your mom gave to you."

So that's a bit of my thoughts on Where the Wild Things Are.

Oh, and I can't believe how that guy had his arm ripped off. Sheesh!