With the release of the new Spike Jonze re-imagining of the children’s book Where The Wild Things Are this week, it’s only natural that there is a corresponding flurry of Wild Things merchandising. This DVD, Where the Wild Things Are…And 5 More Stories By Maurice Sendak, is a re-release of the animated version of the book from 1973. It is not a re-master in any sense of the word… but that’s okay. I think that for a lot of people, myself included, seeing stories from their childhood in a pure form, unchanged from how we remember them, is comforting. In addition to the eponymous story, the collection has one other reading of In The Night Kitchen and four shorter Sendak books that were made into songs. As a collection, it is transparent; there are no improvements or rare insights. The set is for people who grew up with Sendak and want to pass his work onto their children, nieces and nephews, and so on.
Speaking of songs, it is the music that is really what makes these renditions stand apart from the books. Since the animation and the stories (or lyrics) are a direct copy from the books, it is the performance that makes the cartoons their own entities. The music in Wild Things is meant to be complementary, and it is; it sets the mood of the story and adds a sense of place. Narrator Peter Schickele reads Wild Things enthusiastically, but not over the top. You don’t lose the feeling that he’s reading the story and that you’re listening to one, rather than watching a cartoon.
The shorter story-songs are also great. The songs, composed and performed beautifully by folk songwriter Carole King, are great for newcomers and Sendak fans alike. In some of the stories, particularly Pierre, the lyrics don’t quite fit with the music as it’s composed. At heart, they are stories, rather than songs, but with that said, King brings her own method of storytelling to her iterations. The music accompanying Pierre, which is about a boy who “doesn’t care”, is melancholy in a way that connects with the story emotionally. Overall, even at their low-points, the stories don’t lose their charm in song form.
On that note, there are some flaws from the old edition that, in maintaining the tradition, have been passed on as well. The animation is from 1973: the artwork, which mimics Sendak’s, is great, but is not eye-popping in the way that today’s younger audience is used to. It simply might not hold the attention of the Pixar generation. Also, from a technical standpoint, the picture quality is quite grainy, serving as a reminder of just how old these are. In terms of the content, the second reading, In the Night Kitchen, doesn’t quite stack up when put in a collection with these other stories. In his narration, Schickele begins to sound like a beatnik poet; the music and story don’t ever quite sync up except in a few choice moments, which wouldn’t be such a big problem, except half of the story is sung.
Despite a few minor problems, Sendak’s stories are wonderful and that comes through on this collection. Like chicken soup with rice, these stories feel warm and wholesome, especially when compared to the processed offerings that are the standard today.
DVD Bonus Features
There is very little here in terms of features for Where the Wild Things Are. There is a short interview with author Maurice Sendak talking about how the book came to be. You can listen to Wild Things in French or Spanish, but not on the other stories. Lastly, it’s convenient that you can turn the “sing-along” subtitles on and off, but it doesn’t exactly make the collection. This DVD’s target audience is very young children, so the idea of putting lots of extra content seems kind of silly.
"Where The Wild Things Are… And 5 More Stories by Maurice Sendak" is on sale October 16, 2009 and is rated G. Adventure, Animation, Children & Family. Directed by N/A. Written by Maurice Sendak. Starring Carole King, Peter Schickele.
