Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Why not the next big story?

Another note from Zya ~

Where the Wild Things Are - the Movie.
17 pages in the book, and 6 don't even have words!
I used to have that Where the Wild Things Are memorized for babysitting.. strange how those images could rile up kids and then, turn around and put them to sleep.

If you don't want spoilers for this simple movie or book (if you haven't read it - do yourself a favor, get it now!) there are other things you can do while I ramble on.. go make a fort out of your mom's tablecloths or practice singing while balancing on one foot.

The glorious thing about the book is that there was SO MUCH left to the imagination! My little charges and I were so creatively enthused that we'd not only be Wild Things, but we would draw and color and cut them out and put them on the walls.

Let the wild rumpus start!

The sad ting about the Movie is that there is no Dream Sequence where "that night in Max's room a forest grew, and grew, and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the works all around.."
instead, in the Movie, Max runs off in a temper and just finds a boat and sails away.

Hard to call your little darling a WILD THING! and then have to say "oh, throwing dirtballs at your friends is not nice.. some one could get hurt!" There are relationship highlights, even some kind of romance - and it works.

Overall I do say that this is VERY well done but honestly, the movie -had- to find some way to extend it, to hook all the Mommys and Daddys who grew up with that story. Divorce, finances, job stress, typical siblings and traditional family troubles.

I could see it done as an Indie film, but really, why bother? It's now a movie you can talk about with your kindergartner as well as your high school senior.. perhaps one of the great stories for the entire family.