# Where The Wild Things Are is really bad. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647 "2013-01-18T20:17:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/1 "2013-01-18T20:17:46Z")
Late to the party and I’m not entirely sure a good live action feature length movie could have been made from the book. My problem? The interaction between Max and the Things, the Things sound like twentysomething slackers full of self pity and whining. I dunno it just had a totally wrong mood, I was reminded of a million sitcoms where a group of friends sits around whining. I never imagined the Things sounding like Tony Soprano and Phoebe from Friends 😛 I just found myself hoping it would be over already, and then it just became background noise. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/2 "2013-01-18T20:39:35Z")
They’re making a sequel featuring Vin Diesel. It’s sure to be a wild rumpus. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/3 "2013-01-18T20:49:26Z")
We turned it off after ten minutes. It was just sad and dull. Who needs that? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/4 "2013-01-18T20:58:08Z")
The book is one of the most perfect books I’ve ever read, pure poetry. It’s not realistic, it’s not slapstick, it’s mythic. The movie looked as though the parties involved didn’t even know what genre the book is, much less understand its power. I saw no reason to watch it. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Made_French_Toast_For_You)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/5 "2013-01-18T21:34:15Z")
I think the WtWTA film is one of those “love it or hate it” movies (probably due to its legendary source material). I think it’s one of the best, most underrated movies of the 2000s, and can’t think of another movie, ever, that portrays childhood so perfectly. (And the Karen O soundtrack is superb!) But I have friends who dismiss it entirely. ::shrugs:: ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/6 "2013-01-18T21:35:07Z")
I made it as far as the first encounter with the things before giving up in disgust. It has to be in the running for worst adaptation ever IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/7 "2013-01-18T21:46:20Z")
> [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](#): > > I think the WtWTA film is one of those “love it or hate it” movies (probably due to its legendary source material). I think it’s one of the best, most underrated movies of the 2000s, and can’t think of another movie, ever, that portrays childhood so perfectly. (And the Karen O soundtrack is superb!) > > But I have friends who dismiss it entirely. ::shrugs:: Seconded. I think it’s wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/8 "2013-01-18T21:54:16Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > We turned it off after ten minutes. It was just sad and dull. Who needs that? Me too, but for me the fact that the main character, the kid, was written as a totally unsympathetic willfully violent and disagreeable asshole topped even the “sad and dull” thing. I wanted to smack that kid, not watch him inhabit a fantasy for 2 hours. Spike Jonze totally blew it with the script and the direction. I did like the way the Wild Things looked, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/9 "2013-01-18T22:04:34Z")
Count me in the “loved it” category. Unexpectedly delightful with an egde. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/10 "2013-01-18T22:05:30Z")
They made Max way older than he seemed in the book, which made him seem more mentally unstable as a preteen rather than a child. Max should have been younger. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/11 "2013-01-18T22:14:19Z")
I liked it. > [@grude](#): > > They made Max way older than he seemed in the book, which made him seem more mentally unstable as a preteen rather than a child. Max should have been younger. Its pretty hard to find a six year-old that can act well enough to carry a film. They kinda had to either age the character-up or relegate him to a supporting role. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/12 "2013-01-18T22:17:06Z")
> [@grude](#): > > My problem? The interaction between Max and the Things, the Things sound like twentysomething slackers full of self pity and whining. I dunno it just had a totally wrong mood, I was reminded of a million sitcoms where a group of friends sits around whining. I never imagined the Things sounding like Tony Soprano and Phoebe from Friends 😛 The Wild Things are not Max’s playmates; they are the unlikable aspects of his personality. By observing and interacting with these unsympathetic creatures, Max is forced to confront his destructive streak, his petulance, and his temper. Where the Wild Things Are is a work of literature and the creatures are metaphors; not Muppets. We aren’t supposed to like them; Max doesn’t like them, either. He’s learning lessons in how not to behave from them. The characters are jerks because Max is a little jerk. The landscape and puppets are phenomenal, but enjoying the film requires a deeper reading of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/13 "2013-01-18T22:18:23Z")
I adored it. I thought it was beautiful, unusual, and deeply affecting. But I’ve never read the book. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/14 "2013-01-18T23:02:05Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > The Wild Things are not Max’s playmates; they are the unlikable aspects of his personality. By observing and interacting with these unsympathetic creatures, Max is forced to confront his destructive streak, his petulance, and his temper. > > Where the Wild Things Are is a work of literature and the creatures are metaphors; not Muppets. We aren’t supposed to like them; Max doesn’t like them, either. He’s learning lessons in how not to behave from them. The characters are jerks because Max is a little jerk. The landscape and puppets are phenomenal, but enjoying the film requires a deeper reading of the story. How then does one aspect of Max’s personality having the hots for another aspect make a lick of sense? I get this meta view, it didn’t make the movie any more enjoyable. I can understand intentionally unlikeable characters, but at some point it breaks the movie as entertainment if nothing is enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/15 "2013-01-18T23:10:26Z")
> [@grude](#): > > How then does one aspect of Max’s personality having the hots for another aspect make a lick of sense? > > I get this meta view, it didn’t make the movie any more enjoyable. I can understand intentionally unlikeable characters, but at some point it breaks the movie as entertainment if nothing is enjoyable. His mom’s relationship with the new boyfriend and his sister who is quickly outgrowing him as puberty brings new boyfriends/rivals for his attention. Max has to make sense of relationships that he isn’t mature enough to experience yet ergo the lusty characters. I agree it’s painful to watch, but I think parents get it. I think a lot of kids get it. Kids and their impulses aren’t rational. They are crazy, destructive, angry, unpredictable force that rules the household from ages 8 - 18, and we need both a scapegoat and a big fuzzy something to love about them despite it all. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/16 "2013-01-18T23:15:03Z")
> [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](#): > > I think the WtWTA film is one of those “love it or hate it” movies (probably due to its legendary source material). Count me in as the one with mixed feelings about it. I found it by turns moving, boring, and infuriating. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/17 "2013-01-18T23:15:48Z")
Well, it didn’t have much to go on. You guys know the original book is like 10 lines of text? But if it’s confusing, I have help. Have “Christopher Walken” explain it to you: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KKNaYlzssbc/hqdefault.jpg "Where the Wild Things Are (as read by Christopher Walken)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKNaYlzssbc) I think they’d have to make some changes for a “In the Night Kitchen” film. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/18 "2013-01-18T23:27:54Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Well, it didn’t have much to go on. You guys know the original book is like 10 lines of text? We have the author’s input. [Here’s a great interview on PBS with Bill Moyers](http://www.pbs.org/now/arts/sendak.html). Some choice quotes: MOYERS: But do you believe it’s true? Do we all, adults and children, have to come to grips with our own untamed passions and… SENDAK: Oh, yes. We’re animals. We’re violent. We’re criminal. We’re not so far away from the gorillas and the apes, those beautiful creatures. So, of course. And then, we’re supposed to be civilized. We’re supposed to go to work every day. We’re supposed to be nice to our friends and send Christmas cards to our parents. We’re supposed to do all these things which trouble us deeply because it’s so against what we naturally would want to do. And if I’ve done anything, I’ve had kids express themselves as they are, impolitely, lovingly… they don’t mean any harm. They just don’t know what the right way is. And as it turns out sometimes the so-called “right way” is utterly the wrong way. What a monstrous confusion." ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/19 "2013-01-19T00:13:38Z")
> [@Monkey\_Chews](#): > > I adored it. I thought it was beautiful, unusual, and deeply affecting. This is how I feel. It’s definitely an unusual movie, and isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste. But I was totally swept up in it, and I did get a little misty-eyed at some points. Even my five-year-old nephew liked it, which surprised me. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647/20 "2013-01-19T01:33:03Z")
The Kid and I loved it. She’d never read the book (remiss of me, I know) and we had great discussions about different things in the story and how they illiustrated real life issues. The bird whose arm was ripped off (his \*favourite \*arm, too!), forgave the Thing that injured him, but still had to use the branch, because sometimes, even when you say sorry and are genuinely forgiven, the damage remains. I think Troppus has explained it brilliantly. Eventually the Kid started asking how things were explained in the book and I took her to the bookshop to flick through it. We both thought that the movie was true to the book and that they did a great job expanding on such minimal material. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-wild-things-are-is-really-bad/647647.md?page=2)