|
|
Article: Review: 'Where the Wild Things Are' ; Classic children's tale doesn't quite work on the big screen
- Article from:
- St. Joseph News-Press
- Article date:
- October 16, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 St. Joseph News-Press. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
The few hundred words, playful drawings, beastly characters and
lessons of childhood emotion in Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild
Things Are" has helped it to become a cultural landmark in
children's literature. But it's also made the task of adapting it
for the big screen without losing the book's essence seem impossibly
daunting. This is left up to the imagination of visionary writer/
director Spike Jonze, who even with a talented voice-over cast and
spectacular images, only gets half the job done.
But that isn't due to them veering off course from the original
material. The faithful film adaptation incorporates a backstory but
still focuses on Max (Max Records), a rambunctious young boy ...