Where The Wild Things Are: The Wild Rumpus Edition

Whoa. I just watched this edit and I felt I must immediately write a review. This might turn into a rant or a stream of consciousness, that happens when I'm still working out my thoughts. Anyway, this edit right here, this edit is astounding.

I have to make a confession: I have not seen the theatrical version of Where the Wild Things Are. Now, don't worry. I own it, it was given to me as a gift some time ago. But before I ever got around to watching it, I saw NJVC was doing an edit. So I read his general reasons for editing, and I realized that he was crafting WTWTA into the film I already thought it was. I too was mesmerized by that theatrical trailer. I loved the book as a child, and something about that trailer just felt so right to me. So when I read what NJVC was doing, I knew I couldn't watch the theatrical when something better was on the way. (As to why it's taken me this long - who knows. I guess the part of me that didn't believe the book should be made into a movie got in the way.)

This movie is beautiful. More specifically, this movie is beautiful because of this edit. This edit is beautiful. I felt it best to read the changes before writing the review - so I have some sort of idea as to what NJVC did (his editing is invisible as far as I can see), and wow, he did a lot. Honestly, I don't want to watch the theatrical version. Before I watched this all I could remember from the ITW thread was that the film was re-scored. Now, my first thought as to the changes is "why didn't the filmmakers intercut the real and fake world? Why was Max a brat?" etc. But that's not really fair. I'm not going to say that. What I am going to say is that NJVC made some absolutely brilliant editing choices.

This really is quite a unique film, at least now it is because of NJVC. What we have here is like something I've never seen before. It's less a traditional 'movie' and more of an emotional cinematic experience. It's like a Terence Malick film... if all the voice-overs were replaced with indie rock. It's truly amazing, and, like I said before, quite beautiful.

My one qualm is in the ending. I like how it's edited and it flows well, but I'm not sure I'm okay with it's implication. It seems to reverse Max's arc in the film. He finally learned to quit imagining friends, but after his mom ignores him again he's back to where the wild things are. Reminds me of an alcoholic. I don't know, I might be okay with it, I'm just not sure yet. A happier ending would have been Max finally playing with a real kid. But maybe this (somewhat cynical) ending is more realistic. And, well, the wild things will keep Max happy. I don't know, I have to think about it some more.

Looking back at the change list I'm certain I don't want to watch the theatrical version. I'd like to pretend that this is it. I feel like if I watched the theatrical version it would take away from the magic. Like if I watched the raw footage from a Terence Malick film. This is an incredible edit and I'm sure I'll see it again and again. Nice work.

Excellent, when I was done watching this edit, I went and kissed both of my kids on the forehead as they slept. This was a truly beautiful movie and this edit took it to another level. The new soundtrack was amazing. This edit was great, and is a must watch.

March 5, 2012 @ 3:35 am

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

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.

March 29, 2012 @ 11:39 pm

Okay, just watched this fanedit and I agree that it was, well, simply better!
Maybe because I liked the original movie quite a bit I did not realized that this movie SCREAMED for an edit like this one.

Taking the non-linear route was indeed the way to go and njvc does it masterfully. The pace is IMO better. We follow Max’s journey and feel his emotions better. The new musics fit perfectly. It’s technicaly impeccable and the presentation is classy.

I don’t know if njvc had in mind to make a “better” movie. Sometime we faneditors just want to make alternate takes or try new ways to tell a story according to our own taste, hoping other people would find it good. The results are sometimes weird but interesting, sometimes completely differents. But this fanedit shows a great respect to the original while being (and I say it again) a better movie.

This was the perfect idea and the perfect way to push an already good movie a bit further.
10/10