"Oh please don't go...."

we'll eat you up-we love you so!

Took my little guy to see "Where the Wild Things Are" today.  

Wow.  Please go.  You need to see this movie.

What a wonderful film.  Beautiful scenery, a touching story and creatures with such personality they made me (and my 6 year old) forget they weren't really real.   I have been waiting months for the release of this movie.  And I couldn't help but wonder how Spike Jonze would be able to turn a 338 word children's book into a 98 minute flick.  Somehow he pulled it off.  Perfectly. 

I enjoyed this movie on so many levels.  As an audience member, I was thoroughly entertained.  I laughed, I cried, I totally lost track of time.  As a mom, I could relate to having a rambunctious son (or two or three) who doesn't like frozen corn.  I could relate as a sister to a younger brother, and as a worried child who feared the sun would fail to rise in the morning.

And as an artist I couldn't help but wonder what it must feel like to watch a book you've illustrated be transformed onto the big screen.  Forty six years ago, Maurice Sendak couldn't possibly have known he was creating a story that would live on for generations.  Awe inspiring to think about.  I also found it interesting that the book's original title was to be "Where the Wild Horses Are".   After realizing Sendak had no ability to draw horses, he changed the title and subject matter.  The large noses and fat bellies of the wild things are modeled after his own relatives, and I'd love to know if the names in the movie are in honor of his aunts and uncles as well.

I was surprised (and a little nervous) that my son was one of only a handful of children in the theater.  There were dark, somewhat scary scenes, but he was not afraid.  There were also funny scenes and he laughed right along with me.  At times he was a little sad.  But he was mesmerized by the film just like I was.

Please go.

You really will love it so.