Where the Wild Things Are

When I saw Lord of the Rings I said it would be the movie by which other movies would be compared against when it game to visual effects. I said that would stand for 10 years. I was wrong, because Where the Wild Things Are is the new bar to reach for future movies. But the best part…this wasn’t an effects film.

Lord of the Rings had a lot of story…maybe too much story, but no matter how “good” LoTR is in the story department, those movies will be considered special effects films. That’s just how much impact the effects made on people. Where the Wild Things Are doesn’t have the volume of effects Rings has…maybe…but it looks much better. The effects in Wild Things Are is damn well close to seamless. For just about every scene I wasn’t sure where the practical effects ended and where special effects began…and vice versa. Wild Things Are nailed the emotion, the story, and accuracy of the book with it’s effects so much that you forgot it they were special effects.

And that’s the beauty of it

The effects weren’t so well blended that it never took you out of the moment. This timeless children’s story jumps right from the pages as it one could only have hoped. Now I haven’t read the book since I was in elementary school, but it’s safe to say the movie takes the story to a new level. Whereas I remember little Max was just a bratty little kid, the movie digs deeper into his “problems” and takes that the magical island where monsters live.

I’m not usually one that likes a movie where the moral of the tale is so obvious, but Wild Things Are was produced to a point that I just didn’t mind. It was wonderfully handled, albeit really obvious to see where imagination land mimmics reality so that Max can change.

When I was little there were and handful of movies I played over and over and over…if I was a kid now, Where the Wild Things Are would have been one of them. It’s just so fantastic, dark-yet-cheerful, and it will really make you think about your own life (both past and present).

Fairy tales are meant to be scary

There seemed to be some hubbub that Wild Things Are was too scary for children. For one, that’s just straight up crap. Kids see worse on normal television and I hate to say it, but part of the point of the tail is to be scary. That’s the whole premise of fairy tales to begin with…to scare children into behaving. Frankly, I don’t think we have enough to scare kids these days…at least not when it comes to TV and film. If that’s what they’re going to be paying attention to, that’s where the fear needs to be. Parents just need to relax and let their kids enjoy the movie.

If you’re looking for action or crazy adventure, then Wild Things Are is not one you should rush to see. It’s pace is pretty slow despite the frantic camera movement throughout the picture (why do we have to keep shaking the camera?!). This is a movie about characters and emotion, as was the book, but the movie turns it up to 11 and doesn’t disappoint at any point. Is it better than Lord of the Rings? No, not really, it’s hardly fair to compare the two, but when it comes to visual effects Where the Wild Things Are is the one to beat now.