The Halloween MEGA REVIEW! Part 1: "Where The Wild Things Are."

Hey, all. So I got back from seeing Where the Wild Things Are, and I hate to say this, but I wasn't impressed too much. I liked it, but it could have been so much better than it was, that it was painful to watch it at points. And the worst part of this was that we saw the movie in a theater with children inside, and they weren't impressed by the sound of it. And I can explain why this is: it was too adult.

Now, I may end up getting flak because the movie wasn't advertised as a children's movie, and that I'm assuming that it's a children's movie because it's based on a children's book. But, that's just it, adults are going to bring their children to this movie because it's based on a children's book. If it was a Harlequin novel, no sane parent would think to bring their kid to the movie. But, upon seeing something based on a forty-year-old picture book, there shouldn't be the issue of a movie being too adult.

I'm going to get to the good things first, though. Firstly, the monsters were very well done. Instead of being completely computer generated, the were people in costumes, and the mouths were CG'ed. For the most part, it was seamless, save for Douglas, the bird. I also liked the parts where Max was having fun with the monsters, because it was fun. It reminded me of being a kid. Luckily, that's most of the movie. Finally, a little bit of a spoiler here, the ending was great and fit perfectly, even if it was sad. They changed the reason of why Max is leaving, as well as the context of the famous phrase "I don't want you to go, I'll eat you up-- I love you so!" Instead of the monster's being conflicted, one of them says it to Max as he boards the boat rather sadly, expressing that they don't want him to leave.

But, again, why is this movie so sad? It deals with divorce, running away, being eaten, letting people down, missing your family, and oddly enough, the existence of God. And, more than anything, its the last one that bothers me the most. Again, spoiler: at one point Douglas tells Carol that Max isn't a king, because no being exist that has the powers to "create and destroy worlds" that Max claimed to have. That was kind of extremely not subtle at all. In fact, that was kind of alienating.

For a movie that's about letting the "wild rumpus start," when it does, it's aimed at kids. Then it shifts to being aimed to adults, back to kids, to adults, etc, etc. It never picks one directly, and when it does, the movie comes off as more confusing than anything. At one point, Carol and Max are walking through a desert to see Max's kingdom. In the background, a giant sheepdog is walking around. I waited until the last fifteen minutes of the movie, wondering what the point of the dog was, and I'm still have no idea. It was, for lack of a better word, a Big-Lipped-Alligator Moment.

Finally, the tone of the movie is extremely depressing, and, that's just wrong. The monsters all mope around, nearly crying, almost constantly. When they aren't depressed, they're fun to watch, but, its short lived. I was wondering if Carol or Alexander the Goat Boy was going to kill themselves for a while there. Instead, and I wish I was making this up, we have Carol ripping another monster's arm off. Like the dog, it came out of left field, and more or less confused the viewers and scared kids. What's worse was that towards the end, the monster shoves a stick in his "arm socket." It just looked awkward.

I can't suggest paying full price to see the movie, but I can't say I hated it. It was good, but not what you'd expect. It's mature, if not too mature, depressing, but still fun, and amazing to watch on the big screen with the monsters. Oh, and Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's did the soundtrack, which was really interesting. I'd wait for this to come out on rental to see the movie, but for the whole experience, you need the theater. Wait for it to come to a dollar theater.

I give it 3 out of 6 rumpusing monsters.