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Every once in a long while a movie comes along that seems like it might have the capacity to cross epic differences and divisions, managing to somehow please -- in equal measure -- children and adults, men and women, snarky hipsters and earnest norms. A movie made of such undeniable win that it brings warring cinematic factions of society into harmonious agreement, instituting a temporary cease fire on "Your taste sucks!"/"No, YOUR taste sucks!" moviegoer conflicts simmering everywhere, particularly upon the release of sequels with trailing numerals greater than 2 and films whose titles contain the words "Traveling Pants." In the recent past, Wall-E fit that mold nicely (I mean, who doesn't love doe-eyed robots?), and now I'm all but convinced that the coming film adaptation of "Where The Wild Things Are" will prove to be the next of Wall-E's unifying kind.
For anyone not versed in the 1963 Maurice Sendak classic and its many charms, "Where The Wild Things Are" is a story primarily about imagination: a mischievous boy named Max is sent to bed without supper, dreams up a kingdom of fearsome beasts, has many adventures, but soon misses home and returns to his bedroom where his supper sits waiting for him. The story itself is a grand total of 10 lines in length -- not a lot of actual material to work with -- but as the narrative is one about the generative power of imagination, the gaps left for the reader (or screenwriters, ahem-cough) to fill in are huge. Filled in the right way, the results could be magical. Filled the wrong way? We could be looking at another "Space Chimps."
But odds look good that my abundant enthusiasm is merited. The screenplay for the film was written by the film's director, quirktastic auteur Spike Jonze, along with indie publishing powerhouse Dave Eggers of McSweeney's fame. Both have a long history of producing work in their respective mediums that is daring, witty, and notably infused with an uncommon depth of thought and feeling. And though perhaps I'm giving it too much weight, the first trailer for the film -- released just this week -- provides basis for belief that, indeed, the best facets of Jonze and Egger's talents may be brought to life in this movie:
On a personal note, I actually wept the first time I watched that trailer. I WEPT AT A STINKIN' MOVIE TRAILER, PEOPLE. True story!
The rousing tune accompanying the visuals in the trailer is "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire, a song from their 2004 album Funeral, which seems here to capture layers of inarticulable feeling in the way only music can. And that brings me to yet another thing this film has going for it: the soundtrack was created by Yeah Yeah Yeah's front-woman Karen O -- a daring and inspired choice. And hey, if that woman can use her musical talents to make maps sound romantic, who knows what she'll be able to accomplish with material this good, right?
The film also features actors Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo and Catherine Keener. Which, gah, dream team much?
But my gushing aside, there are, of course, naysayers out there. Some think perhaps the film will be too frightening and intense for young children (to which I say: have you watched "Star Wars" lately, holmes? You know, the movie with the menacing man in black who chokes people just by flexing his fist?), and some have called the film's poster "creepy," which I am at a complete and utter loss to understand (doesn't Max look like he's bellowing wildly and happily in that image, the beast's paw lovingly and protectively resting on his shoulder? Am I missing something?). But from what I've seen and read of late, the killjoys are few.
Because it's hard to not get excited about a beloved classic from our childhoods (and, for some of us, the childhoods of our own children) given life and depth by artists who have the capacity to make real magic from those 10 short lines of text -- or at the very least have the capacity to not screw it up terribly. And so, all things considered, it's hard to not hope for greatness. But if the movie ends up being even half as awesome as its two minute trailer when it's finally released this October 16th, I suspect the
