Wednesday, November 26, 2008

wild things






It's my opinion that Where the Wild Things Are might be the most perfect picture book ever written. Sendak's choice of words, the story's rhythm, the gorgeous earthy tones and fabulous detail of his illustrations---every element is flawless. So when I found out that a movie version of this precious tale was in the works, I kinda panicked. You know how Hollywood likes to ruin most of what it touches. (Ahem...live action Cat in the Hat & The Grinch Who Stole Christmas...I'm talking to YOU) I actually found myself feeling angry. I mean, this book is SPECIAL to me. It was one of the first books Angus every memorized and began to recite verbatim, reading it to me instead of the reverse for the first time. And then Noah fell in love with Max so hard that we dressed him in his very own wolf suit this Halloween, thanks to the hard work of one super awesome Grandma Mary.

But yesterday I read an article on geeksofdoom that put my mind at ease about the movie that is being made. Spike Jonze seems intent on making it beautiful in its own way. The stills are amazing. I can breathe a sigh of relief and be hopeful that he's crafting something that we will want to watch over and over again.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do hope it's good. James' favorite, Tale of Despereaux is being made into a movie, and I can tell it will not be good. It will be his first experience with that. I mentioned at flickr how I wanted him to be Max for Halloween. Such a wonderful costume.

Purl Scout said...

thanks for the costume compliment. my mom worked so hard on it and it turned out just as i'd hoped.
as for the movie....if it isn't good, i will boycott all books-to-movie renditions from here on out. (after cormac mccarthy's The Road, i mean)
happy thanksgiving, holly!

Unknown said...

so cute. The Road better be good. Oscar or not, I'm still iffy about Charlize Theron.

sarah said...

oh, i hope so too. i like you panicked when i heard it was coming to film. sometimes the movement in books is best left imagined. i do hope it's as good as the book is in my mind's eye.

Purl Scout said...

amen, sarah. let's all keep our fingers crossed for WTWTA and the road.

danielle, i see it like this...
viggo mortensen is like paper to theron's rock. and her part is so small in the book, like 4 pages, tops. let's hope they keep it that way on film, too.

Anonymous said...

i'm feeling equally excited/apprehensive for all the same reasons...