Spike Jonze goes 'Where the Wild Things Are'
source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/14/wild.things/index.html?iref=24hours#cnnSTCText
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Get your wolf suit out, channel your inner child and get ready to howl -- it's time for the wild rumpus to start.
Spike Jonze's eagerly awaited film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic picture book "Where the Wild Things Are" arrives in cinemas across the U.S. Friday.
In adapting the timeless story, Jonze set out to make an honest film about childhood that resonates with adults and children alike.
"It was really brave to make a movie where you deal with kids and you actually deal with fears and you deal with the edge that you live in," Forest Whitaker, who voices monster Ira, told CNN.
The visually stunning film is inspired by Sendak's story for children, but it doesn't fit the prescription of a traditional family film, critics have noted.
Jonze doesn't offer an idealized view of childhood. Instead, he focuses on the confusion and frustration felt by unruly Max as tries to capture the attention of his teenage sister and single mom, played by Catherine Keener.
Outfitted in his white wolf costume, Max responds to his chaotic home life with howls and angry rampages, and one day escapes by sailing to a remote land where he discovers the wild things.
Jonze, whose work stands out for its physicality, describes the movie as an action film starring a 9-year-old. "I didn't set out to make a children's movie; I set out to make a movie about childhood," he has said.
Rather than follow a traditional story arc, the movie is anchored in the powerful emotional performances of Max, played by newcomer Max Records, and the ferocious monsters who crown him their king.
In addition to Whitaker, the movie features the vocal talents of James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos," Chris Cooper and Lauren Ambrose from "Six Feet Under" and Catherine O'Hara.
...More...
Spike Jonze's eagerly awaited film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic picture book "Where the Wild Things Are" arrives in cinemas across the U.S. Friday.
In adapting the timeless story, Jonze set out to make an honest film about childhood that resonates with adults and children alike.
"It was really brave to make a movie where you deal with kids and you actually deal with fears and you deal with the edge that you live in," Forest Whitaker, who voices monster Ira, told CNN.
The visually stunning film is inspired by Sendak's story for children, but it doesn't fit the prescription of a traditional family film, critics have noted.
Jonze doesn't offer an idealized view of childhood. Instead, he focuses on the confusion and frustration felt by unruly Max as tries to capture the attention of his teenage sister and single mom, played by Catherine Keener.
Outfitted in his white wolf costume, Max responds to his chaotic home life with howls and angry rampages, and one day escapes by sailing to a remote land where he discovers the wild things.
Jonze, whose work stands out for its physicality, describes the movie as an action film starring a 9-year-old. "I didn't set out to make a children's movie; I set out to make a movie about childhood," he has said.
Rather than follow a traditional story arc, the movie is anchored in the powerful emotional performances of Max, played by newcomer Max Records, and the ferocious monsters who crown him their king.
In addition to Whitaker, the movie features the vocal talents of James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos," Chris Cooper and Lauren Ambrose from "Six Feet Under" and Catherine O'Hara.
...More...
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- Movies, Where The Wild Things Are
