This movie reminds me of The Hitch Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy movie. No, they have almost nothing to do with each other. But to me, it seems that both movies appeal mostly to people who read and loved the book, and seeing it without being someone from the well defined group makes you wonder what’s the big deal about this movie.
The difference for me was that I read and loved THHGTTG. I knew of but read only a few pages of WTWTA. I have my comments (of course) also about THHGTTG, but this is about WTWTA…
The movie is visually excellent, and the casting is great – Max Records is doing an amazing job as Max, Catherine Keener is great and the voices are excellent (though for a “Sopranos” watcher like me, I kept thinking about it when I was listening to him…).
The plot has many layers that can be understand differently by different viewers, demanding on their age – Max’s anger, the Wild Things behavior which is childish but with adults voices and the power of beasts, the depth of sadness, the family situation – can be portray differently as a parent then as a child, which is great.
The movie has both funny humor and sad emotional scenes, and I’d say is best fit for kids 10 and over – and really best for viewers that read the book.
L.