Newswise — “Wild Things” will invade movie theaters this weekend as director Spike Jonze brings the characters of Maurice Sendak’s classic 20th century children’s book to life on the big screen.
Where the Wild Things Are, the story of Max, a young boy who defies his mother and imagines a magical world, where he becomes “king of all Wild Things,” is “a classic hero’s story--or home-adventure-home journey--in which the protagonist undertakes a journey and returns a wiser person,” says Rowan University education professor Holly Willett.
“This story structure satisfies human beings’ desire for things to come out right in the end,” says Willett, an expert in children’s literature. “It’s the story of Wild Things and The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and also of Homer’s Odyssey and James Joyce’s Ulysses, and numerous other stories.”
In the story, Max misbehaves and is sent to bed without dinner. He sails across the ocean to the forest, where he encounters the “Wild Things”—boisterous, hairy, toothy monsters. After a “wild rumpus” with them, he eventually returns home, where his dinner, still warm, is waiting for him.
Sendak, says Willett, “understands the emotional world of the child…the need to assert oneself from a position of powerlessness while still retaining the care and nurturing of one’s mother, which children need to survive. By creating the monsters and ruling them, Max takes charge of his own feelings without giving in to his mother’s demand for good behavior.”
While some adults believe Max is a “naughty” child because he defies his mother—and others are put off because they find the monsters scary for youngsters—children generally enjoy the storyline…and the “Wild Things,” says Willett.
“I think children like the way that Max comes out on top, so to speak,” says Willett, who adds that many children’s books have themes in which children prevail over adults. “Children are fascinated by the monsters, too, which Sendak takes care to make comical—and even goofy—rather than scary.
“Sendak, in particular, knows that kids have many difficult feelings, as well as feelings that adults have forgotten about,” she continues. “ He has said that children look at Max and see that he comes out OK. Then they know that they’re OK.”
While the Jonze movie trailers look promising, Willett advocates that parents and children enjoy the book—and its themes—before taking in the film.
“The text is simple, but not simplistic, and quite straightforward,” Willett says. “It’s really worth taking the time to look closely at the illustrations. They carry the emotional and psychological ‘freight’ of the plot.”
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