Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are

The film Where the Wild Things Are is daring like the original story, creative, demanding and captivating. Adapting a children’s book to film is an art that takes a lot of talent and knowledge of the original story, which I can say that director Maurice Sendak has, even though there are many differences between the two. There are many different criteria for adaptations according to Peter Brooker from ‘The Cambridge Companion to Literature on Screen’, including characterization, audience, message, and length (Cartmell Whelehan).

Characterization of adaptation is one of the major criteria that makes the film a success or not. Characters of Where the Wild Things Are are represented well in the manor of physical features in the film compared to the children’s book, but didn’t convey the same personalities. Max, the main character of both the book and the film has the most similarities in characters. Although Max was represented well, the “wild things” are a different story. A huge difference between the book and the adaptation was that the monsters, unlike in the book, had names and personalities, which in some ways was a beneficial choice. “In each case, a writer draws on a powerful model but spins it in a different direction by changing the historical milieu. In this way, one can provide the pleasure of allusion without the restriction on artistic scope required by representation. The original text becomes less a concrete source than a moral resonance” (Grossman). This quote is saying that change is not always a bad thing in adaptations. For example, the physical features of the monsters were right on with what the book illustrated; they have the feet of humans, and the bodies of “wild things”. Personality of the monsters however had a darker, more malevolent personality than what the story lead on, but the film made each of the monsters somewhat relatable to children, which was a beneficial change that the director made. Ira was the monster that wanted everyone to get along because of his calming attitude, Alexander always felt ignored because no one paid attention to him, and Judith was misunderstood because everyone thought that she was just always grumpy, but they didn’t realize why she was grumpy; she just wanted to be a mother. Having characters that can be related to intrigues the audience and grabs their emotions, which then in most cases leads to a good outcome.

Audience and the message are also two very critical criteria for an adaptation. The book doesn’t really portray a message like the film does, considering the elaboration the film places on the story. Film wise however, the message stated is that you cannot please yourself and others at the same time; it just doesn’t work. The audience that the children’s book is aimed at and the one that the film is aimed are very different. “ To evaluate any adaptation often ultimately