[NF] NFers...Where The Wild Things Are?

[Laurie]

^See! It's not just me!

 

[Charmed Justice]

^See! It's not just me!

Haha! Ok, I guess I just have to accept that it's not a universal childhood favorite. When did you first read the book?

My company publishes this book and it is reprinting literally hundreds of thousands of copies at the moment, which for any book is incredible and for a picture book is unbelievable. I was never a huge fan of this book, actually. I recognize its importance and significance and all that but it just never quite clicked with me. As for the movie, I saw the trailer and it looks fun but it also looks nothing like the book, which I find somewhat off-putting (and yeah, I know that doing a movie of a picture book which actually sticks to the book is basically impossible. There's no pleasing me! )

Really? The movie trailer kinda felt like everything I imagined beyond the book as a kid.

What is the significance of this movie? Why do you think so many children and adults are drawn to it?

 

[Kyrielle]

I can't wait to see this. And the best part is my brother is coming home today, so we can go see it together! We both loved this book as children, and my brother is in the mood to watch The Brave Little Toaster for the first time in 10-15 years this weekend, so I'm sure I can persuade him to go see Where the Wild Things Are with me.

I've also been excited ever since I saw the first trailer for it. (In fact, I think the first thing I said when I saw that they were doing the movie was, "No way... Awesome!!")

 

[SilkRoad]

Really? The movie trailer kinda felt like everything I imagined beyond the book as a kid.

What is the significance of this movie? Why do you think so many children and adults are drawn to it?

Well, I can totally relate to you loving the book so much that you imagined a wider story and the world of the story in more depth than is actually in the book. I am passionate about books of all sorts and I have done that with so many favourite books, and especially as a child. So I can imagine that if I had loved the book, the movie might seem to me to capture the spirit very nicely, or the wider story, or whatever. I mean, it wouldn’t be too much a movie if the kid just went and had a wild rumpus with the Wild Things, the end…it would last about ten minutes…

I certainly don’t dislike the book, I just never loved it. When it’s a book which is widely popular and which I also adore (like Lord of the Rings, let’s say) I never have a hard time understanding why so many people also adore it But I have to say that although I knew this was considered a great classic of picture books, I never knew there were so many people who were so passionately fond of it. And I guess it does bode well for the “spirit” of the book that most of them seem excited, rather than put off, by the trailer etc.

I always have mixed feelings about movies of great books, too. People seem to elevate the movies way above the books, somehow, even if the movie's whole existence relies on the excellence of the book (regardless of how well the movie turns out.) It always seems as though there are loads of people who have barely heard of the book who get terribly excited about the movie, one way or another. This always prompts me to start dark mutterings like "get a life! read more books!"

For those of you who love this book, did you also have a lot of other books around as a kid? Including lots of other picture books? Or did you just have a few, including this one?

Although everyone in my family is obsessed with books, and I started reading when I was three (and was very soon reading way, way ahead of my age...though I loved picture books at the normal age for them too), I/we didn't necessarily love all the "childhood favourites." Some, yes, but not all. I never got into Dr Seuss either.

 

[jtanSis1]

I am Max, only older. I am so not kidding. "Let the wild rumpus start."

 

[StoryToTell]

Saw this. Not too wild about it (pun noted).
I thought the visuals were spectacular and honestly they combined all kinds of things that had me smitten: Max's sweater at the beginning (I want to knit it!), an octopus toy, the Sahara desert, forests, late afternoon sunshine that lit through the Wild Things' fur, the whimsy.
But the character interactions were awkward. I don't know how else to describe it. The Wild Things had weird dynamics going on between each other that were more suited to an adult movie (though it wasn't sexual or anything like that) and there didn't seem to be much character development. Not to mention no plot. And the "quirky" "indie" soundtrack.

But seriously, visually the best movie I've ever seen.

 

[BlahBlahNounBlah]

I loved this book as a kid. Looking forward to seeing the movie.

 

[violaine]

I have no desire to see this movie at all. It looks like one of those cool-by-numbers movies that I can totally imagine being pitched. 'Quirky' director: check! Retro, cutesy book idea: check! Band soundtrack: check! I have no other way to describe it but that it puts me in mind of the special insipidity Death Cab for Cutie possess and knitted cardigans and boy bangs. Bleh.

 

[mrconfusion87]

Never read the book but I LOVED the trailer so I'm surely gonna see this when it comes out in my area...

 

[Orangey]

I liked it. Why did people think a movie directed by Spike Jonze would be a kiddie movie?

 

[Charmed Justice]

I always have mixed feelings about movies of great books, too. People seem to elevate the movies way above the books, somehow, even if the movie's whole existence relies on the excellence of the book (regardless of how well the movie turns out.) It always seems as though there are loads of people who have barely heard of the book who get terribly excited about the movie, one way or another. This always prompts me to start dark mutterings like "get a life! read more books!"

Tell me about it. I usually don't watch movies that are based on books at all. Especially, books that I love. They usually let me down. One that didn't was Les Misérables, which I read in the 7th grade. It was one of my favorite books as a young one, and also one of my favorite movies when it came out in the late 90's.

For those of you who love this book, did you also have a lot of other books around as a kid? Including lots of other picture books? Or did you just have a few, including this one?

Although everyone in my family is obsessed with books, and I started reading when I was three (and was very soon reading way, way ahead of my age...though I loved picture books at the normal age for them too), I/we didn't necessarily love all the "childhood favourites." Some, yes, but not all. I never got into Dr Seuss either.

I was swamped in books growing up. Still am. Literally, swamped. Imagine an ENFP with 20+ years of books. It's a jungle.

I had a dedicated library in my house growing up. When I was younger, I would crawl under a chair drapped with a blanket to make it dark and just stare at the pictures in this book. Sometimes I'd put on my "dangerous" music, Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, and escape to wherever the wild things were. Escape. I think that is what the book is about. A temporary escape from childhood and the frustrations that come with it, and into the wide world of independence and freedom. I know that's why I could always relate to Max. I wonder if that is the draw for so many others.

And I have no love of Dr. Suess either. Now that one, I don't get. But my son does.

 

[OrangeAppled]

For those of you who love this book, did you also have a lot of other books around as a kid? Including lots of other picture books? Or did you just have a few, including this one?

I liked this book as a very young child, just learning to read at like age 4, and probably before that (my mom took us to the library from birth practically, and I owned TONS of books). It was the pictures I enjoyed. The illustrations are truly great, and they've always stuck in my mind. I draw though, so maybe that is why I get impressed by strongly visual things.

My favorite childhood books were actually The Phantom Tollbooth and the Ramona Quimby books, but this was a memorable picture book for me as a child.

So yeah, I would like to see the movie. From what I've seen of the previews, I don't think it visually looks like the book though. The book has more of a jungle/island feel, with a lot of texture and vivid color, and I didn't notice that in the preview (more woodsy and light/bright looking). I like Karen O (most visually interesting frontwoman since Siouxsie Sioux, IMO), so the soundtrack concept works for me, although it kind of sounds like Yeah Yeah Yeah album rejects.....