Where the Wild Things Are / YMMV

Alternate Aesop Interpretation: While it's Max who learns most of the lessons in this story, there are also some that apply to Max's family, especially his mother and sister.
- A child with emotional problems needs to be treated seriously and with compassion, and despite your needs as parent, they have to come first. Indeed, much of Max's unruly behaviour in the start of the film is clearly a result of loneliness and vulnerability.
- As an older sibling, you have a responsibility to take care of your younger siblings, even if they're annoying. Neglecting them will only lead to emotional issues later in life. Claire not taking a quick moment to make sure Max was okay (after her friends destroyed his snow fort, with him inside) is largely what leads to his outburst later on.
Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Either the monsters are Imaginary Friends of Max, or representations of his emotions and the people he lives with. On popular possibility is that they are representations of Doting Grandparents who let him get away with stuff his parents won't and always want him to visit for longer. Max himself can also be seen as a child with a personality disorder
- Near the end, does Carol really want to eat Max, or was it just an emotional outburst that wasn't a serious threat? Carol doesn't even seem sure, as shown when K. W. calls him out on trying to eat Max. He claims that he "just said it" and wouldn't actually do it, but it's unclear if this is Carol in denial of his lack of control, or him being honest and that he didn't mean what he said.
Angst Aversion: One of the main reasons why the movie flopped is because is notorious for being very depressing to watch. Our protagonist, Max, is having trouble coping with his parents' divorce and he gets into a fight with his mother. He runs away from home after said fight and after Carol almost eats him, he has to leave his new friends behind and go back home.
Angst? What Angst?: Douglas doesn't see as a big deal that Carol ripped his arm off, in fact, he reacts more like he just spilled his cereal than what actually happened.
Douglas: That was my favorite arm!
Audience-Alienating Premise: This was the main reason that Spike Jonze's film adaptation turned out to be a Box Office Bomb, where its global take matched its budget (meaning the studio saw about half of what they spent on it, marketing included). Understandably, not everyone was wowed by the premise "The director of Adaptation. and Being John Malkovich tries to turn a beloved children's book into a depressing, darkly humorous fable about growing up...for adults." Lots of parents didn't want to take their children to see it, thinking that it was too adult; lots of teenagers and adults just didn't want to see it, thinking that it was for children.
Awesome Music:
- The use of Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” in the movie trailer prepares the audience for the surprising amount of Tear Jerker moments throughout the film.
- The music from both versions of the Weston Woods adaptation have their charm. The experimental music done by Gene Deitch in the original may put some off, but many are more fond of Peter "P.D.Q. Bach" Schickele's score, which is evocative of Mozart, who was Sendak's favorite composer.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
- As Carol and Max were walking through the desert, Max sees a giant sheepdog in the distance. When asked about it, Carol responds, "Oh, It's that dog. Don't feed it, he'll just follow you around." The dog is never seen or mentioned again.
- There's also one scene where Douglas is petting a cat.
- "Hey Richard"
Broken Base: Audiences are very divided over the film adaptation’s Darker and Edgier tone, with some saying it works and others saying it was unnecessary.
Creepy Cute: The Wild Things fall into this, and also Ugly Cute. Their eyes are big and eerie, they loom as if about to attack, and they have sharp claws and fangs. But they're still overtly lovable looking.
Critical Dissonance: It's very polarizing among audiences but critics were nicer to it. Just for comparison, the film's critical score Rotten Tomatoes score is a lukewarm but still positive 73% while audience score is a very lukewarm 57%.
Diagnosed by the Audience: Because of his hyperactive personality and tendency to get angered easily, one can infer Max either has ADHD or Borderline Personality Disorder.
Ensemble Dark Horse: While the movie received a lukewarm response from audiences, a handful of viewers like Max's mother's boyfriend, Adrian, for being a Nice Guy towards her.
Fan-Preferred Cut Content: Arcade Fire was allegedly stated to do the soundtrack. They did re-record their classic song "Wake Up" from their debut album Funeral... which was only in the trailer for a few minutes. Because of this, many people wished that Arcade Fire recorded the soundtrack for the movie.
Jerkass Woobie: Max and Carol.
- Max, from what we can see, mostly lashes out because he hasn't learned to cope with his parents' divorce, however, while understandable, it doesn't excuse some of the things he does that makes life harder for everyone else
- Like Max, Carol hasn't learned to live with change and genuinely wants good things, but his tantrums aren't helping matters and, from what's implied, said tantrums (and him being kind of a bully) are the reason as to why K.W. spends less time around the other wild things. To top this off, at the end, he doesn't even get to make amends.
Nightmare Fuel:
- Carol ripping off Douglas' arm, who starts bleeding sand. The understated reactions from all the monsters (including Douglas himself, who's more annoyed than anything) might dull the intensity of the moment for some, but for others, the dissonance makes it all the more unsettling.
- Also Carol trying to eat Max in a fit of rage.
- Especially for younger viewers, the scene where Max has to crawl into K.W.’s giant maw and hide in her stomach is absolutely traumatizing.
- Alexander warning Max not to tell Carol that he isn't a king.
So Okay, It's Average: Many people tend to view the movie as this. Decent acting and amazing visuals aside, it's generally considered Spike Jonze's weakest movie. That being said, it's at least watchable compared to other movies based off of kid's books.
Uncertain Audience: The movie falls into this trope. It's based off of a popular kid's book, but despite this, it is much Darker and Edgier than its source material and includes scary and sad scenes like Douglas' arm getting ripped off and themes of coping with change and growing up. This might make young kids not want to watch the movie. As for the adults, they might not want to watch the movie either due to it being based off of a book aimed at very young children. Spike Jonze himself lampshaded this in an interview, saying that it wasn't meant to be a kid's film but a "film about childhood".
Vindicated by History: One of the most famous examples in literature. According to Maurice Sendak, when the book was first released, it was not only panned by critics when published in 1963—it was banned in libraries. Two years later, it was discovered that the book was immensely popular among children and it has since become a hit among critics and audiences alike ever since.
Visual Effects of Awesome: The Wild Thing suits. The combination of CGI and animatronics is seamless.
What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: Some people asked this very question about the 2009 movie.
- Granted, Spike Jonze himself stated in an interview that it wasn't meant to be a kid's film, but a "film about childhood".
- Then again, Maurice Sendak has gone on record to state that the film is absolutely fine for kids "and anyone who doesn't like can go right to hell." So... there's that. Although, to be fair, the original was meant as a children's story, and Sendak has gotten more than his fair share of this trope, to the point that some teachers wanted to ban them.
The Woobie: Alexander. Arguably, the other wild things qualify as this, too, but he's the most obvious, as, throughout his time on the island, he's put down and ignored, thus he acts up to get attention (which, adding insult to injury, doesn't work) and, on top of this, Max doesn't even remember his name. It's not until he gets hurt that someone finally reaches out to him.

YMMV / Where the Wild Things Are

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