biolog

“Where the Wild Things Are” is a Spike Lee spliff. Here’s the theatrical trailer set to an Arcade Fire song.

The book is short, just a handful of sentences, and has a familiar theme: the power of imagination. What saves it from cliche is the fantastic illustrations. I have a vivid memory of those watercolor and ink monsters warping my own imagination as a child. And as a child, I always blinked. I actually remember it being controversial among parents as too graphic for their impressionable little pups to handle. I say reality is too impressionable, and some fantasies are better for their horns and claws.

I’ve been acused of being too conservative over this, but since Lee’s using the same title in his movie, he ought to tell the same story. Anything less is crass marketing manipulation. As it goes, his success will be determined by an effective translation of this giddy fear to the screen. Do it for the children, Lee.