Review Detail
9.8 20 10
Overall rating
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
April 17, 2012 @ 9:59 pm
I watched the theatrical Where the Wild Things Are back in the day, without knowing much about the book it was based on (must be popular in English-speaking countries only). I found the movie nice to look at but weak as cinema, narratively pretty much the equivalent of spending a couple of hours in the park watching kids at play, and not much else. A particular let down coming from Spike Jonze, having enjoyed his previous stuff.
When njvc announced his edit, the concept intrigued me, and I checked out the book in preparation. I must say the book won me over from the start, it’s pure charm and feels a lot like what being a kid was all about for me back then. Also, I thought the Max in the book was a real kid, while movie Max was a Hollywood kid (nothing against the actor, he performed very well for a child, it’s just the way the character was written). I got also shocked that they didn’t use for the movie what I thought was the most cinematic image in the book: the forest growing in Max’s bedroom. I would have expected its inclusion to be assured.
Then I got to the Wild Rumpus edition. How did I feel about it, particularly considering that the Max in the edit is even less like its book counterpart than the Max in the theatrical version?
Pure and simple, I loved every second of it. It’s one of the most beautiful fanedits I’ve ever seen. Or dare I say, the most beautiful.
And Max manages to be more like in the book by being less like in the book. That is, the theatrical release tried to have it both ways by having the kid naughty as in the book yet at the same time quiet and sensitive. The edit focuses on the quiet and sensitive aspect, thus allowing the character to grow its own personality and not seem indecisive about how he’s supposed to be. Another thing I loved was the fact that it goes back and forth between the real world and the wild things world in Max’s imagination. The way the book is written, albeit linear, leaves clear that it’s all part of Max’s imagination, while the theatrical release is somewhat ambiguous about it. The edit fixes that and helps follow Max’s visits to the wild things as his way to “escape” his reality.
Then there’s the music, which is perfect. The generic original score is discarded in favor of a brilliantly selected collection of indie songs, all of which fit each scene to a T. Kudos to njvc’s musical sensibilities.
The technical stuff is also consistently good, video and audio are fine and editing looks totally professional, with no hard cuts or bad mixes to speak of. Extra features include a nice audio commentary, an overview of the deleted stuff, trailers, and a short storybook version edit that is worth the download alone.
Plain and simple, one of the best edits of the year. 10/10.
I watched the theatrical Where the Wild Things Are back in the day, without knowing much about the book it was based on (must be popular in English-speaking countries only). I found the movie nice to look at but weak as cinema, narratively pretty much the equivalent of spending a couple of hours in the park watching kids at play, and not much else. A particular let down coming from Spike Jonze, having enjoyed his previous stuff.
When njvc announced his edit, the concept intrigued me, and I checked out the book in preparation. I must say the book won me over from the start, it’s pure charm and feels a lot like what being a kid was all about for me back then. Also, I thought the Max in the book was a real kid, while movie Max was a Hollywood kid (nothing against the actor, he performed very well for a child, it’s just the way the character was written). I got also shocked that they didn’t use for the movie what I thought was the most cinematic image in the book: the forest growing in Max’s bedroom. I would have expected its inclusion to be assured.
Then I got to the Wild Rumpus edition. How did I feel about it, particularly considering that the Max in the edit is even less like its book counterpart than the Max in the theatrical version?
Pure and simple, I loved every second of it. It’s one of the most beautiful fanedits I’ve ever seen. Or dare I say, the most beautiful.
And Max manages to be more like in the book by being less like in the book. That is, the theatrical release tried to have it both ways by having the kid naughty as in the book yet at the same time quiet and sensitive. The edit focuses on the quiet and sensitive aspect, thus allowing the character to grow its own personality and not seem indecisive about how he’s supposed to be. Another thing I loved was the fact that it goes back and forth between the real world and the wild things world in Max’s imagination. The way the book is written, albeit linear, leaves clear that it’s all part of Max’s imagination, while the theatrical release is somewhat ambiguous about it. The edit fixes that and helps follow Max’s visits to the wild things as his way to “escape” his reality.
Then there’s the music, which is perfect. The generic original score is discarded in favor of a brilliantly selected collection of indie songs, all of which fit each scene to a T. Kudos to njvc’s musical sensibilities.
The technical stuff is also consistently good, video and audio are fine and editing looks totally professional, with no hard cuts or bad mixes to speak of. Extra features include a nice audio commentary, an overview of the deleted stuff, trailers, and a short storybook version edit that is worth the download alone.
Plain and simple, one of the best edits of the year. 10/10.
D