This may be too obscure for some people, but did anyone else read Maurice Sendak books when they were a kid? Holy hell was I obsessed with these books! I think I had every one ever written, and some of them are still on my shelves today. Every last one of those books is absolutely on its last legs from being read and re-read so often. If you have not read these books, I'm telling you right now, add
these and
this to your Christmas list now. I don't care how old you are, and if you think you're too cool for kids' books- you probably read Harry Potter, and these books are
so much cooler than Harry will ever be.
When I found out that they were making a movie of
Where the Wild Things Are, I was ecstatic. When I found out Spike Jonze was directing it, I did my happy dance with glee. And then when I saw these stills from the movie that were recently released- well, I almost passed out with
giddiness.
I don't think I've been this excited about the release of a movie ever. I will be there on opening day to see this one.
The only thing that concerns me (and kinda makes me laugh a little) is that at screenings, evidently kids were running out crying and screaming. Obviously, this makes the studios a little nervous, so the film has supposedly done some reshoots and editing to make it more kid-friendly. But I don't want kid-friendly. These books are intentionally weird- that's what I loved about them as a little weirdo kid, and that's what makes me return to them as an adult. I hope that there will be a DVD release of the original version, and I really hope that the new version hasn't been too kiddie-fied to make it unrecognizable to its original fans.
In short, buy Maurice Sendak books NOW, and get yourself educated in the awesome weirdness before this movie is released. I'll see you on opening night- I'll be the one yelling "Let the wild rumpus start!" and wearing my crown.