History Literature / WhereTheWildThingsAre

''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a children's book by Creator/MauriceSendak. [[VindicatedByHistory It was originally panned by critics, but has since become a beloved classic.]]

In the book, Max is an angry little boy in a wolf costume who can't control his emotions and is sent to his room. There he is ([[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane depending on your interpretation]]) either transported to or imagines a world populated by semi-feral monsters, and is crowned their king because of his wild emotions. At first happy, he eventually grows tired of acting like a wild animal and goes back home.

There are two film adaptations, the more recent one directed by Creator/SpikeJonze of ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'' fame with a soundtrack by [[Music/YeahYeahYeahs Karen O.]]

The book also spawned a little-known operatic adaptation composed by Oliver Knussen, with libretto by Sendak (who also designed the sets and costumes). Max is traditionally a CrossCastRole played by a soprano, while the titular Wild Things are played by dancers in costumes with their voices being provided in the pit. While the libretto is mostly in English, the sounds of the Wild Things are mostly phonetic gibberish.

!!Provides Examples Of:

** Another scene that stands out is after [[spoiler:Alexander warns Max not to tell Carol he's not a king.]] Max, worried as he hears Carol growling in their sleep pile, tries to make a private room just for Max to sleep in. While Carol reacts calmly, though confused as to why Max is pulling away, partway through the conversation, he [[spoiler:suddenly punches a hole into the home the group made, never even raising his voice.]]

* BodyHorror: Douglas' arm getting ripped off and sand pouring from the wound.

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: Max in the book was just a mischevious young boy who just so happened to be a bit of a troublermaker. The movie [[AdaptationExpansion expands upon this]] by portraying him as a lonely and misunderstood young boy who is having trouble coping with his parents divorce.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: In the books, The Wild Things didn't have any defined personalities aside from angry, wild creatures. In the movie however, they all define potent symbols of childhood emotions.

* InNameOnly: Of sorts. The movie does keep all of the essentials of the book including the title, the main lead Max, the creature designs, the themes of children understanding life through their imagination, and having the story center being around a "wild rumpus" between Max and the Wild Things. However, as it is an almost 2 hour movie adapted from a short children's book, the story (not surprisingly) goes through a number of changes. In short, the book focuses more on Max's anger with his mother while the movie focuses more on childhood sadness and how a kid can cope with it.

* StageAdaptation: The book also spawned a little known operatic adaptation composed by Oliver Knussen, with libretto by Sendak (who also designed the sets and costumes). Max is traditionally a CrossCastRole played by a soprano, while the titular Wild Things are played by dancers in costumes with their voices being provided in the pit. While the libretto is mostly in English, the sounds of the Wild Things are mostly phonetic gibberish.

''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a children's book by Creator/MauriceSendak. [[VindicatedByHistory It was originally panned by critics, but has since become a beloved classic]].

* MrViceGuy: Max, and ALL of the Wild Things with the vice being raging emotions.

** Another scene that stands out is after [[spoiler:Alexander warns Max not to tell Carol he's not a king.]] Max, worried as he hears Carol growling in their sleep pile, tries to make a private room just for Max to sleep in. While Carol reacts calmly, though confused as to why Max is pulling away, partway through the conversation, he [[spoiler:suddenly punches a hole into the home they(Max and the Wild Things)made, never even raising his voice.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: The monsters all represent an aspect of Max's own psyche. For instance Carol is big, loud and emotional, like any child's imagination. KW is the motherly, forgetful nurturing type, the manifestation of how Max sees his mother. The littlest monster Alexander represents the child's logic and reasoning, which is still growing and never fully developed within a child.

* RealityEnsues: The ending [[spoiler:makes it clear that pretty much all of the Wild Things aside from Carol, Judith, and Ira figured out Max was lying about being a king. And those three were simply in denial. Douglas and Alexander admit that they both knew he was lying from the start and only went along with it because they saw how happy it made Carol.]]

** Max's mom, Connie, also has a phone conversation with a "Mr. Lasseter". Back in the 80's, [[Creator/PixarRegulars John Lasseter]] attempted to make a WTWTA movie with Disney. It would have been one of the earliest examples of CGI in film, featuring traditionally animated characters in 3D CGI environments.

* Stage Adaptation: The book also spawned a little known operatic adaptation composed by Oliver Knussen, with libretto by Sendak (who also designed the sets and costumes). Max is traditionally a CrossCastRole played by a soprano, while the titular Wild Things are played by dancers in costumes with their voices being provided in the pit. While the libretto is mostly in English, the sounds of the Wild Things are mostly phonetic gibberish.

* StageAdaptation: The book also spawned a little known operatic adaptation composed by Oliver Knussen, with libretto by Sendak (who also designed the sets and costumes). Max is traditionally a CrossCastRole played by a soprano, while the titular Wild Things are played by dancers in costumes with their voices being provided in the pit. While the libretto is mostly in English, the sounds of the Wild Things are mostly phonetic gibberish.

In the book, Max is an angry little boy in a wolf costume who can't control his emotions and is sent to his room. There he is ([[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane depending on your interpretation]]) transported to/imagines a world populated by semi-feral monsters and is crowned their king because of his wild emotions. At first happy, he eventually grows tired of acting like a wild animal and goes back home.

In the Spike Jonze film, Max is an angry little boy in a wolf costume who is very intelligent and resents that his sister feels too old to spend time with him and that his mother's life is too busy to give him the attention he desires. This causes a conflict that ends with him running away to an island populated by semi-feral monsters who crown him king out of a need for someone to take care of them and their emotional needs. Unlike in the book, the monsters all have their individual characteristics and personalities that are usually in some way a reflection of portions of Max's personality. Most of the following tropes will deal with the film version (see AdaptationExpansion).

%% * ABoyAndHisX: A Boy and His Tribe of Monsters. %% Add more context to describe their relationship and what effect it has on them. %%

* NonSequiturEnvironment: Begins with Max being sent to his room, only for it to inexplicably transform into a jungle - in which he explores, takes a boat across the ocean, encounters a race of strange creatures, and returns.
* SceneryPorn: Both the original's illustrations and the film have this a lot.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Actually a bit more cynical than your typical children's book due to a ruckus main character who has a mother who punishes him. However, this doesn't make it a mean spirited and unsympathetic book.