Initially, I was not particularly excited to see Where The Wild Things Are. I kind-of-sorta-maybe-almost-vaguely remember glancing at the book as a kid. In my childhood the only wild things were drug addicts on Lenox Avenue who could navigate the streets of Harlem at an abnormally quick pace, while greeting you, asking for money and then promising to pay you back all in one breath.
This film is not a traditional film for kids. It is more of a how to find your inner child movie for adults. The importance of such a reflective process is underrated.
The dialogue’s architecture feels like home. Exhibiting the familiar truths buried so deep they become foreign, this movie takes you back. Seamless.
The wonders of childhood contemplation are transposed into exquisite visuals that are back dropped with the vocals of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s front woman Karen O. The instruments used to produce the soundtrack include the broken hearts of children and the promises made by an adult world. Honest.
The cinematography of Lance Acord takes the viewer on a first class flight through an imagination that is at once dark and colored brilliant with basic human emotions. Masterful.
What heightens the level of sincerity is the character of the artists involved and their creative integrity. In an interview with MTV, Karen O declared that both her and director Spike Jonze are “kids trapped in adult bodies.” No kidding. Spike Jonze has frequent play dates with big kid Kanye West, where they scribble outside the lines, with the crayons of artistic imagination.
Brilliant. There is a “Spaz if you want to”, say what you feel, wherever you need to say it, fuck what people say feeling to this work of art. Its honesty makes it timeless and universal. Freedom.
Thank you, to artists everywhere who break boxes, interrupt thank you speeches, throw tantrums, in the name of just getting things off their chests. They remind us that we should act like the children that we are more often. -Janine
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Karen O And The Kids – “Hidaway”
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One Comment
you are great at making your point. =)
but you know i stand on the other side of the fence with this one.
i actually love this movie, and agree with 90% of this article. yes, there is a child in all of us, that unfortunately, humans loose that child as the more they get consumed by the world. so most of them long for that feeling to be fearless and innovative again.
i draw the line when when outlandish and interruptive behavior (like Max, Kanye West, Joe Wilson, or The Guy Who Threw the Shoe at Bush) becomes accepted. when an adult acts like this, they are no longer exercising innovation, freedom, or fearlessness. they are actually doing the total opposite of the three.
Granted, there are times we all feel like “throwing tantrums”, but really does it help? it doesn’t solve anything. And there are a lot of excuses and apologies following. A child (or an adult that still acts like a child) must learn to find balance and a sense of consciousness (of space) in their actions. And doing this will not hinder any rights for him/her to be an expressive individual. Or even to disagree.
Being mindful of personal contributions (whether its a pro or con) *circulates the freedom to be*. It actually encourages innovation and fearlessness.
Spike Jonze did it! He used his right to create through film. You just did by writing this article. And I’m doing it now. All of which, we did (are doing) in a conscious manner. Nonetheless, there are universal laws for expression (whether its art or dialogue).
Which is essentially the lesson that Max learned at the end of the movie.
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I know just I went in, but isnt that what this blog is all about?
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