Where The Wild Things Are

Rating:

* * *

Verdict:

Kid's classic adaptation with vivid imagination but slight story.

If you know Maurice Sendak's classic's kids book - all 10 sentences and 20 illustrated pages of it - you might worry there's not quite enough of a movie in there.

But don't. Sendak's illustrations obviously sparked brightly in the imagination of director Spike Jonze, whose askew sensibilities previously helped make

Being John Malkovich

and

Adaptation

such mind-bending treats.

Here's he delivered another, at least in terms of how he's visually translated the two worlds of young troubled Max, who finds himself in a land of monsters who make him their king.

The giant beasts (with animated mouths) from the Jim Henson Creature Shop are convincing in their hairy heftiness - complete with snotty noses and vast neuroses - and the film easily wraps you up in its fantasy world.

And care of a fine voice cast - led by James Gandolfini who is terrific as vulnerable, fearsome furball Carol - and an infectious soundtrack by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, it sounds as good as it looks.

Unfortunately, though, after its affecting opening which introduces Max as a 9-year-old ball of anger and anxiety and his introduction to the wild things, it runs out of narrative gas along the way.

The extended story is mostly centred on Max and Carol, who is the moodiest big kid of the amusingly juvenile monsters, and what turns out to be a bumpy friendship. Well, when one mate could make good on his threat to eat the other, it can add some tension to the relationship.

King Max instigates dirt fights and fort-building but eventually finds his impressive recreational and engineering projects aren't quite the team-building exercises he had hoped.

And while the jumping, thumping, falling over bits of those cartoonish episodes should be enough to keep kids amused, its frequent scenes of bickering beasties can start to drain the life out of a film which can feel by the end like one of those movies about childhood that speaks more to adults.

For all of its story-sustaining weakness, it's driven by a spirit of boyish exuberance that is madly infectious. That's helped by young Max Records who is scarily good as Max. It's hard not to be entranced throughout by the boy in the wolf suit as he runs wild, but eventually goes home a little wiser.

Russell Baillie

Cast:

Catherine Keener, Max Records, James Gandolfini

Director:

Spike Jonze

Rating:

PG (some scenes may scare very young children)

Running time:

101 mins