Wild Things misses book’s magic

Kaylee Micu/Staff Writer

“Rawr!” A little boy in a white wolf costume yells at huge furry monsters with sharp teeth and horns.

Most of us can recall this image from Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book, and this is exactly what happened in the film adaptation from Where the Wild Things Are, released last weekend.

On Friday, Oct. 16, I went to the grand opening. I enjoyed the book when I was younger, and I was curious as to how the movie would turn out.
In the beginning, we are introduced to our main character, Max, a young boy who is full of imagination. As the story moves along, Max gets into a fight with his mother and “runs away” from his home to a small wooded area with a boat.

Using his imagination, Max sails across the ocean to an island inhabited by seven monsters: Carol, KW, Douglas, Judith, Ira, Alexander and The Bull. Max befriends the monsters and ends up becoming their king.

As the movie progresses, Max works with the monsters to build a giant fort where “… all the things you’d want to happen, would happen.” Soon, the once peaceful island begins to turn into a madhouse, including when Carol gets mad at Max for being a false king and threatens to eat him.
In the end, Max returns home to his mother’s warm embrace and some chocolate cake.

I did not really enjoy this film. The plot never seemed to flow smoothly, and there were times when I was just wishing for the film to finally end.
For one, Max never once ate when he was on the “monster island.” Also, Carol was just too angry in many of the scenes.

I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone — especially not young kids for one particular scene was rather violent for little children.

Class of 2014

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