Wild Thinged?
Written by Brett, Posted in General & Random
The Gay Uncle wants to write a follow up piece to his review of Where The Wild Things Are, in which he gathers anecdotes and insights from parents who ignored his advice and brought their wee ones to see the movie. But he needs your help. Did you take your wee ones to see the movie? How did they fare? Did they cry or scream? Do they now suffer symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Did they need to be hospitalized? Are they perfectly normal, at least in appearance (psychic scars are often invisible)?
Go down to comments and let him know, or email him direct at GayUnclesGuide at mac dot com.
Brett,
First of all, let me begin by thanking you for all of your articles and posts. I am often in stiches reading what I am sure you have writen about me or the crazy mom down the street who drives me nuts!
As for your review of “Where the Wild Things Are.”, you were right on! Although my six year old son loved it (the book is his ultimate favorite book of all time, and has been for the last 5 years) and has suffered no ill consiquences as of yet, I on the other hand, may need hospitalization!
My sons, 4 and 5.5, saw the film before I read your review and thought it was less disturbing to them than “Up” was — for a week after that one, my four year old would not sleep because he was afraid I was going to die. I think this movie was challenging, but not, in the end, wholly inappropriate. After all, on the playground this afternoon, I noticed the wild rumpus get quite out of control and the negotiations there were not far off from this film. The Lord of the Flies is very much a first grade experience, I guess. Actually, this also reminded me a lot of “The Wizard of Oz” in a way – the extermalization of a dream state in which complex challenging feelings are worked out so that the protagonist can “return home” with a new appreciation for the comfort, safety and love home represents is a parallel theme that I think appeals to my kids. They watch that movie and listen to the audio book repeatedly.
The boys were mesmerized by it, but the elder did remark afterwards that he “didn’t like when Max bit his Mommy.” The younger one surprised me: he actually thought it was very funny when Max hid inside the wild thing (and saw a raccoon in there, too), but noted that he was taking a break because they were fighting (just like he and his brother need to do sometimes); they were both visibly relieved that the wild things could fight and make up, just like real kids do. Perhaps it was no scarier than Red Riding Hood’s wolf eating Grandma or the version of Jonah and the Whale they learned at Hebrew School. They are both very familiar with the book and were anxious for the wild rumpus to begin, but I am not sure they were prepared for the scene where the bigger boys wrecked the igloo fort and the sister didn’t stop them. They both remarked that that was “mean” and noticed that Max was very sad. So, they followed the basic emotional arc of the film if not the complex emotional truths they revealed to adults; I don’t think they were put off by it — they empathized with him. They did not seem scared by the visuals (although the lightning storm had my four year old covering his ears, but he did that through the entire length of Ice Age 3). Rather, they reacted to the fort they built and the miniature model of the wild things as magical, with gasps of delight. That these things were destroyed was a bit disturbing, but the end scene seemed to “make up” for whatever psychic distress they were feeling about the wild things and Max having a tough time getting along. I do think they both identified, on a very basic level, with Max and perhaps, the level of loss of control in the movie was frightening for them, but they might have also found it ultimately cathartic. In the end, when I asked my older son what he thought the movie was about, he said “that the Mommy loves Max, no matter what.” Just like I love my wild things. Truly, there’s no place like home in this film, too.