| Reference Type |
The Star Phoenix
newspaper
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| Title |
The Star Phoenix - Not a 'children's movie |
| Author(s) | Bob Thompson |
| State |
Unknown |
| Country |
Canada |
| Publication Date |
17-10-2009 |
| Citation Date |
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| Comments |
This article was a fantastic resource to find. It provided much needed detail about the troubles that faced the production of Where the Wild Things Are. As I conducted my research, I discovered that the original cut of the film had failed to please audiences and Warner Bros. had delayed the release of the film to re-shoot part of the film. The general consensus had been that the film was too scary for children. However this article sheds more light on the issue by saying that Spike Jonze was not making a children's film but rather a film about childhood.
As it was printed in a newspaper, the text is intended for a general audience and more specifically those interested in the book or entertainment news. The information found in the article could be used for academic purposes or just for general knowledge. I found the information significant as it added another side to the story to the issue of the filmsâ delayed release.
The article itself doesnât offer a particularly complex argument. However it provides more detail in the fact that it contains information from Spike Jonze himself. For the same reason I believe the information to be reliable as it comes from a well researched, original source.
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| Synopsis |
Occupying time with peculiar creative projects has been a Spike Jonze trademark. He is, after all, the director who shaped the strange Being John Malkovich and the odd Adaptation.
However, Jonze had no idea what he was up against when he decided to re-imagine Maurice Sendak's nine sentence, 20-page children's picture book Where The Wild Things Are.
Opening this weekend, the finished film product is a combination of live action shot in remote areas of Australia, animatronics, puppetry and voice performances and a limited number of computer-generated special effects.
No wonder the movie translation, which dramatically expands on the original book, took Jonze more than six years to pull together. That was after author Sendak personally selected Jonze to re-imagine his 1963 classic.
"The main goal," says Jonze, "wasn't to make a children's movie. I wanted to make a movie about childhood."
In the picture co-written by David Eggers, we follow the fantastic adventures of Max (Max Records) who is sent to his room by his mother (Catherine Keener) after misbehaving. Instead, he runs away from home and then escapes into his imagination.
That's when he sails to an isolated island inhabited by seven hairy monsters called Wild Things. Suspicious of Max when he first arrives, the Wild Things are leery but compromised by their leader, which convinces the rest to crown Max the ruler of the forest.
The Sopranos fans might recognize the voice of James Gandolfini as Carol, the Wild Things boss. Other Wild Things voice actors include Forest Whitaker, Catherine O'Hara, Lauren Ambrose, Paul Dano and Chris Cooper. Mark Ruffalo shows up in the live action portion as the boyfriend of Max's mother.
It's quite a mix. Throw in a few life lessons and depictions of caring with a folk-pop soundtrack, and there it is; a feature for the whole family who are looking for something completely different from a director with an inclination for the offbeat.
Unfortunately, the final cut wasn't fully embraced after Jonze shot the live action footage near Melbourne, Australia, in 2006 and edited the movie in 2007.
There's no question the Jonze version is far from typical. Where The Wild Things Are exists in a surreal land of forest, jungle, ocean coast and desert. Time, seasons, weather and daylight shift for no reason and at any time. And even Max can be as whimsical as he is vengeful.
After some more editing and some more negotiating over the last year, the film is finally getting the high-profile showcase the cast and crew think it deserves.
"It wasn't always easy in the end," Jonze says. "But I got to make the movie I wanted to make."
And he did it with the actors he wanted, although there were doubts whether newcomer Records, who had previously appeared in two pop music videos, could pull off the complex part of the child who goes on a magical journey.
"It's a demanding role for any actor," says Jonze of the Max part. "He has to show his reckless side and the interior part of Max throughout the movie."
The director helped his lead comprehend the inner workings of Max and showed him how "the Wild Things in the film stood for the wild emotions of children."
Generally, the cast seems thrilled with the achievement. Keener, also an associate producer, marvels at Jonze's youthful enthusiasm -- whether it was in Australia or at the mini-soundstage where the voice actors did their characters' movements as they delivered the lines.
Whitaker maintains that "it was a blast" doing his voice job playing Ira. And he agrees that Max in the film could very well represent Jonze's inner-spirit as the boy-man he's often been labelled.
He substituted for Max in a lot of our scenes," reports Whitaker of their portion of the L.A. filming. "So I can't help but think that way when I see the film."
Ambrose, who voices the Wild Thing outsider KW, maintains that the director was in familiar territory creatively. "I love how Spike used his imagination to flesh out this story of imagination," she says.
Since 1992, Jonze has managed that sort of variety in his multi-faceted career. He also acts in the occasional movie, directs award-winning music videos, commercials and produces notorious films and TV shows, including MTV's Jackass.
Besides his helming efforts with Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, and co-starring opposite George Clooney in Three Kings, Jonze is also fondly remembered as the leader of the faux Torrance Community Dance Group leading his troupe during Fatboy Slim's Praise You.
Where The Wild Things Are exists in that Jonze milieu, which is a little left of centre just before obscure.
Whether his latest will receive the accolades of his two previous films is difficult to say. But one thing is certain. What ever he does next won't be boring.
And now that he's about to turn 40 on Oct. 22, maybe he can use those creative tools to concoct a movie about turning 40.
"I think I did that," says a smirking Jonze referring to Adaptation, "when I was 30."
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tags: Maurice Sendak Melbourne, Australia Spike Jonze
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