Simon Crossley (harrcross)

As a children?s story Where The Wild Things Are is nothing like I have seen before.
It has a sparse plot littered with fluffy childish oversized monsters. Yet it gripped me as well as my young son with its wild imagination. Its tough approach will prevent it from being a classic but still long in viewers? memories. Action scenes are kids? fights but equally gripping to watch than any cgi. But for this reason it stands out from typical movies. Instead it is more of a bittersweet look back at our childhood when we realise how we are only a small fish in fierce pond.
The lead role is Max, a child struggling with his broken childhood magics up his own world. The monsters are also childlike in a twisted way, threatening to break up and form competing gangs. Each monster is a different character reflecting Max?s own personality. There are dark themes around his relationship with his single mom and trying sister. Expressed through these childlike hairy creatures is at one strange but in another oddly believable.
Lacking in fun this movie is a challenge for children to enjoy but will entrance their imagination. The emotional journey through childhood will entrance adults. The rough and tough play will entice us more than the fluffiness of Disney.
Ultimately, this is a movie that demands attention and emotional investment. It will bring back plenty memories of games in the field across the way.