Photo by Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. P
Max gets ready for the wild rumpus in "Where the Wild Things Are."
The film tells the story of Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy who feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. ...
Rating: PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language
Length: 94 minutes
Released: October 16, 2009 Nationwide
Cast: Catherine Keener, Max Records, Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Ambrose, James Gandolfini
Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Michael Goldenberg, Dave Eggers, Spike Jonze
There are fans of the movie version of "Where the Wild Things Are." And there are fans of Maurice Sendak's classic and beloved 46-year-old children's book.
But apparently, with parents of small children, the two subsets don't overlap much.
Heather Eddington and her 4-year-old daughter, Emily Eddington, and 11-year-old son, Shea Pascale, haven't read the book, but they raved about the movie after a recent viewing at Regal Cinemas Pinnacle 18 in Turkey Creek.
Heather Eddington said the movie had a good lesson about controlling your emotions, and Shea said other children would enjoy the film.
Emily admitted that she had to close her eyes during one particularly harrowing scene, but otherwise she was impressed.
"Great movie, mommy," she said.
The family is far from alone in enjoying Spike Jonze's cinematic rendering of the classic children's tale about a mischievous boy and his incredible imagination. "Where the Wild Things Are" was the top movie last weekend, drawing in $32.7 million, according to boxofficemojo.com. And it received a 69 percent "fresh" rating on rottentomatoes.com, a Web site that aggregates the reviews of top movie critics.
At the Oak Ridge Public Library, children's librarian Will Worthy said not that many parents have come in asking about the movie or book. While most movies based on children's books - including the current "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" - prompt copies of the book to fly off the shelf, Worthy said there had not been any rush for "Where the Wild Things Are."
"I think most parents realize there can't be a whole lot of connectivity between this 35-page children's picture book and a feature-length film," he said.
Many lovers of the book are undeterred. Kristi Kristy, president of the Bonny Kate Elementary School PTA, said she figured her 10-year-old triplets would be OK with the movie since they already handled some of the darker parts of the "Harry Potter" series.
In fact, her children have been begging to see "Where the Wild Things Are," and Kristy said she was excited to go this weekend.
"I've heard it is going to be a classic but just maybe not a children's classic," she said.
Deciding whether to see the movie is proving difficult for many parents, particularly those with small children.
While Sendak's book has long been a staple of children's literature, the movie is a bit more serious and intense than its "PG" rating might suggest. There is melancholy music, private moments of despair, a dreary color scheme and, of course, a bunch of combustible, frightening "wild things."
Many parents have accordingly decided to avoid the movie. Jennifer Nagel, president of the Pleasant Ridge Elementary School PTO, said she had no real interest in seeing the movie with her three children - all under age 8 - after hearing it wasn't "geared toward kids."
For Lisa and Jason Brown, the "wild things," with their enormous dimensions and menacing teeth, are keeping their 4-year-old daughter, Isabel, away from the theaters. The South Knoxville couple knows Isabel can be frightened by scenes where animals snarl their teeth and chase down other characters - aspects that play heavily into "Where the Wild Things Are."
"In the movie theater, there is loud, dramatic music, and everything is rushing by," Lisa Brown said. "It can get very real for kids."
But Isabel - and her parents - are fans of the book, and they want to see the film eventually. They will wait for the movie to come out on DVD, so they can better control the experience.
"That way it will be on a smaller screen, and we can speed up some of the scenes if we need to," Lisa Brown said.
Tom Benning is a freelance contributor for the News Sentinel.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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