After long delays and much anticipation, Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers' adaptation of Maurice Sendak's much-loved children's book Where the Wild Things Are comes out in theaters (and IMAX) this Friday. I know some of you just want to see it already—I just saw the movie myself and it's a brilliant work of art, already in the running for my top pick of the year—but to make the wait more tolerable, here are some very cool things that might help the wait go smoother.
• • •
The Book
Of course, the one that started it all. If you want to see what the book that captured so many people's imaginations look like, it'll take all but ten minutes of your time. I'm surprised not everybody knows this already, but Where the Wild Things Are is an extremely short illustrated book. It contains only nine sentences.
It's still available
The Other Book
Curious how Jonze and Eggers managed to turn a nine-sentence book into a feature-length movie? You can find out by getting the film's novelization written by Dave Eggers himself, titled The Wild Things. As expected, this book goes deeper into Max's anger, which is only briefly summed up in the original book as him being a "wild thing." Egger's novel details the source of Max's deep-seated anger, from the loneliness of missing his (divorced and absent) father to his frustration with his mother's new boyfriend.
Don't take it wrong, though, it is actually structurally and stylistically different from the movie. The novel definitely takes advantage of the medium's ability to get into a character's head and not rush with an immediate journey, whereas the movie—as good movies should—leaves everything ambiguous and instinctual, very much like Sendak's original book (Eggers himself has said that the novel is only loosely based on the screenplay). For example, it takes 80 pages for the novel to even have Max lash out to his mom in his wolf suit, whereas in the film it occurs within the first 15-20 minutes.
The Wild Things is available in regular form
The Exhibit
If you happen to live in San Francisco, drop by the Contemporary Jewish Museum to see the There's a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak exhibit. On loan from the Rosenbauch Museum, this is the biggest Sendak collection in the world, a comprehensive exhibit that has everything from Wild Things to rare unseen drawings.
I took the opportunity to see it last month and it was pretty eye-opening. The exhibit is divided into a several rooms, each discussing an aspect of Sendak's work. As an artist, Sendak tackled numerous difficult subjects such as the AIDS epidemic, religion, the Holocaust, war, and homeless children; hidden beneath seemingly cute caricatures on a book made for children. Sendak never liked being dishonest to children. Lest we forget that Where the Wild Things Are, as simple and boisterous as it is, was a book about a child's issues with controlling his emotions. There are several touch-screen monitors in the exhibition space which has interviews with Sendak about the history and meanings behind his long body of works.
On display are pencil sketches, watercolor paintings and original pages of comic strips to marvel at. You'll also get to see some unused material, like Sendak's mocking rendition of Adolf Hitler for one of his books that eventually had to have his looks changed.
There's even a reading room with every single book that Maurice Sendak illustrated. I saw many parents perched in and around this area, reading for their kids.
The Soundtrack
Where the Wild Things Are is a film that conveys a floaty yet anarchic feel, and its soundtrack reflects just that, composed by The Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O and her collection of musician friends, aided by an untrained kids choir.
The soundtrack is already available for purchase
The Posters
The Costume
In time for Halloween, get Max's wolf suit fully tailored to fit your size from Irongate Gallery. It's available in both adult ($149) and child ($75) form.
The Figures
Nine years ago, McFarlane Toys released a set of 7 figures based on Maurice Sendak's original book. Those figures have long been out of stock, though you can find some on eBay or other sellers. The complete set of 6 (Max and Goat Boy are packaged together) usually goes for about $400
For about half the price, you can get the upcoming vinyl figures from Japan's Medicom Toys instead. These new figures are based on movie's Wild Things designs. They will be released on November 4th, but you can already pre-order them individually (click each figures below) for $35 each.
