Story
Based on the picture book by Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are is about a young boy named Max (Max Records) with a vivid imagination. He travels to an island by boat and befriends the wild monsters who live there. The movie differs from the book in that Max runs away from home and actually goes to the island after an argument with his mum (Catherine Keener).
Max travels across the ocean. He is washed up in a storm onto an island where monstrous Wild Things live. They look very much like savage children themselves. An aggressive male Wild Thing named Carol (voice of James Gandolfini) decides not to eat Max and becomes his friend. A depressed Judith (voice of Catherine O’Hara) is not so sure and is more suspicious of Max. To save his life, Max tells them that he has special powers that can fix their problems. So they decide to make him King of all Wild Things, believing that they will be happy and everything will be exactly as they have always dreamed it could be.
At first Max does a great job. His wild rumpus brings them all together. His plans for a huge fortress where they can all sleep in a big pile go well. Everyone helps and works together. But disagreements come up, loyalties are questioned, and Carol starts to show a darker and more dangerous side. After Max barely escapes with his life, he begins to appreciate what he had before. He also realises that what the Wild Things need is not king, but a mum.
Themes
Loneliness; family relationships and breakdown; depression; elements of domestic violence
Violence
This movie contains some violence. For example:
Sexual references
None of concern
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
This movie contains some use of substances. For example, Max’s mother has a glass of wine with a male friend.
Nudity and sexual activity
None of concern
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
None of concern
Ideas to discuss with your children
Where the Wild Things Are is a dark fantasy adventure being promoted as a children’s movie. This movie is, however, entirely unsuitable for young audiences. Fans of the book might well want to see it. They should be aware, though, that the only things the book and the movie share are costumes and characters. The plot of the movie heads in a far more sinister direction. There is also a lot of handheld camera footage.
The main messages from this movie are that sometimes you don’t realise what you have until it’s gone. Be grateful for family and for people who love you for who or what you are.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include independence, resourcefulness, responsibility and forgiveness.
This movie could give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life attitudes and behaviours such as:
- running away from your problems instead of facing them or talking about them
- using violence as a way to solve problems
- taking out your anger on other people
- taking unnecessary or dangerous risks
- destroying other people’s things
- not talking with your parents
- making other people believe that you’re something you’re not.
You could also talk about role reversals and the fact that Max took on the role of leader or grown-up for the Wild Things, even though he is just a child himself.