Where the wild things are is sad. I mean really sad. It is about two broken families. The broken family that Max is a part of, and the broken family that the "Wild Things" have. Max runs away from his hurt, he is angry at his mother and begins to act like an animal or a 'wild thing.' He ends up on this island filled with the wild things and somehow he becomes their king.
I was pretty sad throughout the whole thing. Mostly because I was also feeling sad that day, but also because the film struck a few chords in me. It reminded me of my wounded childhood.
Max's mother is dating a guy and obviously Max is upset at her decision. He wants her attention. He is also upset because his sister is hanging out with some people and she does not stick up for him when his igloo is destroyed.
The land of the wild things is full of messed up relationships and family struggle. The wild things are trying their best to pull it together and be a family. When Max gets there, they are getting ready to give up. He becomes a savior to them and they begin to rely on him to be their king.
Max's solution to every problem is violence. When there is conflict and arguments, he decides that the best thing to do is to have a dirt clot fight. He makes one group the 'good guys' and one group the 'bad guys.' This fight creates only more conflict.
Every wild thing character has so much going on behind it's surface. Though they are monsters, they are very human characters. It seems like this was the only way to make the story understandable, was to create the wild things with very human emotions and human problems.
Building stuff was always a kids past time. Max brings this hobby of building and creating back to the wild things when they are building their family home. This gives them something to do and something to look forward to.
Just some thoughts....
