Jonze dives into world of 'Wild Things,' escapes with richer story

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Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are” is only 10 sentences long and takes less than five minutes to read, if you don’t linger over the pictures.

How could any filmmaker, even one as unorthodox and inventive as Spike Jonze (“Being John Malkovich”), stretch that microfiber of a story into a feature film? The question is relevant if your memory remains singed by the big-screen monstrosities made of Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Cat in the Hat.”

Jonze’s solution is radical yet subtle. The film “Where the Wild Things Are” is not a linear expansion of Sendak’s book, not really. Adapting the script with author Dave Eggers, Jonze takes the salient elements from Sendak’s work (which is most of them – it’s a small book, after all) and creates a richer story that mirrors the book without copying it.

The main departure from the text is notable. In the book, angry child Max is sent to bed without his supper, and his bedroom becomes first an ocean then an island filled with Wild Things. In the movie, Max (Max Records) runs away from home after fighting with his mother (Catherine Keener) and discovers the little sailboat that carries him to the island. The change makes Max’s story more of a journey, even if it comes uncomfortably close to a dark version of “H.R. Pufnstuf’s” setup.

By necessity, Jonze includes a prologue that explains what makes Max angry and wild. He is an imaginative but lonely 9-year-old with no friends in the neighborhood. Max’s abandonment issues stem from a family he fears is falling apart. His parents are divorced and his father lives elsewhere. His sister is an adolescent now with friends who drive, so she has no time for a needy little brother.

Max’s mother, stressed-out by her job but always able to comfort her son, is his rock. When she brings a boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) home for dinner, Max flips out.

Jonze conveys all this not through the pedantic dialogue common to children’s films (“I wish we could be a family again!”), but through actions, images and a remarkably believable performance from newcomer Records.

“Wild Thing’s” opening is a surprisingly honest portrayal of a painful – but not traumatic – childhood.

If anything, Jonze goes overboard with the jangling handheld camera and jump cuts here, pushing family audiences too far outside their comfort zone when they most need to connect to the story.

Once Max reaches the island the technique becomes more relaxed (long shots instead of tight close-ups, for example), but not the emotions. Max discovers a group of tall furry monsters who have formed a family more dysfunctional than his own. The creatures, voiced by indie-film stalwarts and played by puppeteers in costumes built by the Jim Henson Creature Shop, reflect different aspects of Max’s personality. For example, the goat-like Alexander (voiced by Paul Dano) worries that everyone ignores him.

Max’s soul mate among the Wild Things is Carol, perhaps the most familiar monster from Sendak’s illustrations, who is voiced by James Gandolfini. Carol shares Max’s dreams. “There’s got to be a place,” Carol says, “where everything you want to have happen really happens.”

But Carol shares Max’s fears as well, particularly of abandonment. Like Max, Carol acts out when angry. Because he is 12 feet tall, Carol’s temper is far more dangerous. It is difficult not to picture Tony Soprano when Gandolfini’s voice tightens, but the comparison actually strengthens the conflict for adult viewers.

KW (voiced by Lauren Ambrose) is the only monster who doesn’t represent a part of Max. She is a mother figure as well as the accommodating older sister Max wishes he still had. KW is also the source of Carol’s angst because she has friends outside the group.

Yet “Where the Wild Things Are” is not a Tennessee Williams play with giant furry creatures and a boy in a wolf costume. Max’s adventures on the island include such rollicking boyhood activities as exploring and dirt-clot battles and building a fort. The creature’s fortress is a glorious stick-and-stone construction that resembles a Frank Gehry bird’s nest (or is that redundant?).

While the Wild Things may be a petulant bunch, they are fun companions. Catherine O’Hara in particular is hilarious as the most contrary beast, Judith.

Cinematographer Lance Acord, production designer K.K. Barrett and a host of technicians create a fantasy realm that faithfully reproduces Sendak’s unforgettable illustrations. Jonze wisely keeps computer imagery minimal and unobtrusive. You have to look closely to realize the creature’s facial expressions are computer animated.

“Where the Wild Things Are” contains images as breathtaking and magical as only the best children’s films, from “The Wizard of Oz” to this year’s “Coraline,” can provide. Jonze creates perhaps the most artful film aimed at children since “The Red Balloon,” and one with unusually deep emotional resonance.

3-1/2 stars
Rated: PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language
Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Written by: Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener and the voices of James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara