Where the Wild Things Are

Melancholy tale about a boy who, after misbehaving, imagines sailing away to an island inhabited by wild creatures. Author Maurice Sendak’s almost wordless book (it contained ten sentences) was memorable for its gorgeous pictures. Director Spike Jonze beautifully captures the look of the book and for that reason, the film is successful. However, the original children’s story had a sense of awe. In the film, his attempts to flesh out the story cause the creatures to come off as more depressing than wonderful. Although the film is visually stunning, the thematically dark tone will not please fans of the original book.