A movie based on one of the world's most beloved children's books has a lot to live up to.  Maurice Sendak's classic tale is short and simple: a boy escapes to a world of monsters where he can be king. But director Spike Jonze's adaptation has a much deeper story.  Where the Wild Things are isn't so much a children's movie as it is a movie about childhood, it's an emotional journey that everyone can connect with and enjoy.

Where the Wild Things Are is about a boy named Max (Max Records) who is dealing with life as any 12-year-old boy would.  He is lonely, disobedient, and feeling unwanted by his family.  When his acting out and need for attention leads to confrontation with his mom, he runs away on a journey to a land of his own creation; a land of wild things.  He tells these creatures that he is a great king with magical powers and they make him their leader, but keeping wild things happy is harder than it seems.

The second the movie starts you feel a connection to Max.  The things he does and the way he acts makes us recall moments from our own childhood, reconnecting us with that childlike state of mind we all once had.  Having a character that so easily embodies the essence of youth is difficult, but Jonze makes it look simple.

It's the land of the wild things though where the films message really takes off.  The creatures are frightening and voiced by various adult actors (such as James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara), but they act with the same immature attitude that Max has.  The creatures all represent Max's various emotions: anger, insecurity, and loneliness.  And with Max still young himself, he handles their problems the only way he knows how, with improbable scenarios and impossible answers that only a little boy's imagination can think of.

It's this form of storytelling that makes such an extraordinary movie.  While some might scoff at it straying from the original material or it not being very kid friendly for a children's book adaptation, the movie is actually better for it.  Spike Jonze took Sendak's story and expanded upon it, making a truly meaningful tale out of just a few pages.  And while your kids may not get the underlying themes as much as you do, it still sticks to the PG rating without anything that I would really warn parents about their children seeing.

Even the music here fits wonderfully in the world of the wild things.  All of the songs are written and composed by Karen 0. (lead vocalist for the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's)  and they all mesh perfectly with the imagery.   Whether it's a wild rumpus or a tense confrontation on screen, the songs compliment it better then any movie I have seen in years.

The movie isn't quite perfect though.  It starts to loose some of its momentum half way through, as the characters become commonplace and their eccentricities well known.  The movie never becomes boring, just the wonder of it begins to wear off.  This, combined with its lack of it being a close adaptation and a real children's movie, could keep some away from the theaters.

But these problems are small, and should not keep those interested in this movie from seeing it.  It's a truly unique film, one that is sure to make you feel for its characters.  It tells a wonderful story with perhaps even more wonderful music to go along with it.  Where the Wild Things Are was a book you loved as a child and is sure to become a movie you love as an adult.

Grade: A-

By Nick Baker