Director Spike Jonze has finally responded to the Where the Wild Things Are video clip which has been circulating the internet since this weekend:
“that was a very early test with the sole purpose of just getting some footage to Ben our vfx (visual effects) supervisor to see if our vfx plan for the faces would work. The clip doesn’t look or feel anything like the movie, the Wild Thing suit is a very early cringy prototype, and the boy is a friend of ours Griffin who we had used in a Yeah Yeah Yeahs video we shot a few weeks before. We love him, but he is not in the actually film…Oh and that is not a wolf suit, its a lamb suit we bought on the internet. Talk to you later…”
The film has been pushed back until 2009. Word in the hills is that Warner Bros is extremely unhappy with the finished product. Test screening audiences have complained that the film is too adult and even too scary for children. One audience member wrote:
“I don’t think it’s for young children. They’d probably like the video version from ‘The Children’s Circle’ better.”
Another test screener writes:
“And some kids at my screening began to cry and asked their parents to leave, so that should give you an idea.” “The things are not cute. Max comes off a bit weird and off-putting ‘He slaps his mom!’ and he seems confused and not charming at all.” “No rumpus, no big set pieces, no ’state-of-the-art’ lucrative sequences just some running around on some desert place and thats that.”
Discuss: Would you be interested in seeing a more adult adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are? Or would you rather have a children’s movie closer to the tone to that of the book?
February 19th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
this shouldn’t be a film for kids. look at the recent “alvin and the chipmunks” film.. toning this old school stuff down for today’s children obviously doesn’t work. this film should be made for those of us who grew up with the source material, i say screw the rest; anything else is a sell-out move on WB’s part.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I would LOVE to see an adult version.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
How do you get the job of being a test screener?
February 19th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Three cheers for focus groups!
Protecting the world from monsters that aren’t cute!
February 19th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
i trust jonze’s adult version all the way. they can change it around however they like, though, as long as we get to see jonze’s cut that was too adult, id be for seeing two versions. one kids could enjoy and one for the adults that liked pan’s labyrinth. see em both
February 19th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
btw an adult version of alvin and the chipmunks would be awesome.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I think the early audience reports have really short-handed what kids today or children today want to see and can handle in a children’s film. That might even be the point of this film.
I doubt the film itself is inappropriate, and the author of WTWTA, Maurice Sendak, has not only given his blessing to the flick, but has reportedly consulted with Jonze and Eggers throughout the production. Eggers is even writing a spin-off book called The Wild Things.
The book itself is a little weird and dark, many forget that. The studio should have hired Chris Columbus instead of Jonze if they wanted “traditional.”
I still hope Jonze ends up making Harold and the Purple Crayon later in his career as a companion piece to this.
“some desert place.” - LOL.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
“some desert place.” - got to love adults.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
jonze knows what he’s doing!!! Dammit I was really hoping this one would be the way he wanted it, why why why do they torture us!!
February 19th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
they should just test screen outside the country… like canada. lol.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Hey Drew: Test Screening isn’t a “job” you can get. I was at a test screening for this flick and I got in via an invite from Movie Tickets.com, where I occasionally pick up tix (I don’t believe I even get their newsletters).
That being said, this isn’t an ‘adult’ film– it’s a film that deals with the REALITY of being a kid. The Wild Things and their relationships to each other all sort of parallel Max’s relationships to his family and (I’m guessing) his friends. There’s a mother & son WT duo and a brother and sister and a few oddballs. They are big and scary because they do things without thinking– including things that can hurt– like real children do.
I don’t think it’s fair to judge this one on the strength of the test audiences though. While I overheard a lot of people on the way out just gushing over this film, sadly they weren’t part of the ‘test audience.’ Only a fraction of the people invited to test screenings are actually given the test (at least in this case) and they were selected via very specific criteria. The screeners talked to everyone in line (several hundred) and selected a few dozen. I was passed by the minute that I mentioned that I knew who the director was and his other work, and that I loved Dave Eggers first book– apparently I’m not the target audience :).
What kills me is that they explained at the beginning that the FX weren’t finished and that you wouldn’t see the Wild Things emote or move their lips when talking, and I STILL heard a few people complain that the movie was confusing because the “monsters never talked.” I’m guessing THESE are the geniuses that made the test groups and are systematically ruining this film for the rest of us.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
We are the kids who grew up with this book, we should have a more ‘adult’ film made to keep us satisfied with what we once knew as scary and amazing. We were certainly more adapted to rougher material in our younger days that kids of today and if they want to tone this down to a target audience of ages 5+, it’s really going to be a major let down for pretty much everyone.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
In the book, it was drawn, so it threw off the adults, but the innuendo of all text involved was epic in tiny scale. Haven’t read it in a few (years) but from what I remember, THEY’RE FUCKING MONSTERS!!! They’re scary monsters who want to eat children and be scary!!!
The last things they yell to Max as he sails away is dont leave us! we love you and want to eat you!! With grins on their faces rollings their terrible eyes….. Get it.
Adult.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Ha I was right, I think it would be better if it was a darker version
February 19th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I think what Jonze and Eggers are doing with the movie looks incredible but it will definitely be a challenge for Warner Bros. to market. The story is pretty dark so you can’t blame the filmmakers for wanting to stay true to the book but at the same time the title immediately screams to parents ‘a film based off a childrens book.’
February 19th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
i LOVE that it is adult and not trimmed for the little kiddies. Fuck everyone else, I grew up with the book, and always thought it was meant to be dark anyway. I can not wait to see this film. If WB makes SJ cut this film or reshoot shit just to make it jive with a hillbilly family that thinks Josh and Derek or whatever that show is called is funny, then I will not see it. but then again i dont think Jonze is the type of guy to rape his own work. Cant wait.
February 19th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I am of the firm belief that this film should be all things to all people; a wink nudge wisecracker for dad, a colourful action-fest for junior and a story of redemption/love/being special for mom.
And Regis and Jessica Alba should voice a couple of the monsters.
And there should be at least two sub-par sequels.
And I want plush toy monsters.
And if I can’t buy branded pillow slips and sheers well then this movie’s just not art.
February 19th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
DO NOT DUMB THIS MOVIE DOWN FOR THE SAKE OF THE STUDIOS!!!!
I hope Warner Brothers does NOT tamper with a possible masterpiece. I hope any changes are made by Spike himself. I see promise in his film. What could ruin this film is what many children’s films suffer from. Its a lack of intelligence.
Kids are smart. They understand, danger, violence, action, emotion. If the story is great, that’s all that matters. Warner Brothers has NO clue what they have…after all, its the SAME studio that said 300 should be PG-13!!!!
Are you kidding me? Who the hell finds these execs?
February 19th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
i would much rather see a more adult version of the book, but i don’t think that’s what the studio wants or what kids would want, and aren’t they supposed to be the main audience.
February 19th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
kids are such little wimps now adays.. my little 5 year old nephew was flipping out scared watching BBC’s planets earth. (scene was a whale eating a bunch of plankton, not scary at all btw).
i watched poltergeists when i was 5, scared the shit out of me but moved on come PB&J time.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:02 am
@ bob
Indeed.
February 20th, 2008 at 1:51 am
I grew up with the book, and I have to admit, it’s been quite a few years since I’ve reread it. But what I remember is the creepy feeling of being in Max’s place with all those scary monsters on that island. That’s what the book represents for me and most people I know.
That said, why dumb it down for contemporary kids? I saw Stephen King’s IT when I was about 3 and I think I’m a better person for it. I used to slide down rusty metal slides and impale limbs on old wooden jungle gyms. I don’t think there was ever a time in my childhood when I didn’t have torn up knees and elbows from being a KID. There was terror, and humor, and I learned a lot more about the world from being exposed to it rather than being shielded from it.
Come on, Hollywood. Let the man do his job. If he made a film he’s proud of, it’s going to show. If it’s ripped away from him, watered down and sugared up, it’s going to show.
February 20th, 2008 at 4:01 am
I trust Spike Jones. I’d also be willing to bet Maurice Sendak does as well.
February 20th, 2008 at 6:28 am
i trust Spike Jones, but look, let’s be honest here: The source material eats a big fat one. I hated that book as a kid, and I hate it now as a parent. Jones shouldn’t waste his talents on such drivel. Sendak’s occasionally been inspired–his Little Bear stuff is great–but WTWTA is hardly his best work. And Eggers? Don’t even get me started on that pseudo-intellectual,self-congratulatory fraud.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:33 am
I’m interested in seeing what ever Spike wants to do. Screw the kids. Sick of everything having to be for kids. the way kids are coddled to these days I fear for the future. And I like kids, but not to the point of hysterical worship.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:56 am
so where did you guys get these spike comments from email? why no sourcing?
February 20th, 2008 at 8:46 am
I hope Spike sticks to his guns on this one. I hope this si something Wednesday and Pugsley Addams would enjoy.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Leave it to the big studios to ALWAYS cater to the lowest common denominator. Spike has ( had ) a vision that I’m sure he had to pitch to WB to even get off the ground, now they’re going to turn around and stick it to him. Rather than a piece that may have been celebrated as being bold, we are going to see a picture completely emasculated, a shell of what was intended. Shameful on many levels.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Fred: Warner Bros sent us Spike’s comments directly.
February 20th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Maurice Sendak created the monsters originally to represent his aunts and uncles who pounced on him wanting hugs and kisses but seemed really scary to him.
Spike Jonze vision sounds about right in terms of tone. I’d love to see it as a darker story for older kids. Seems the WB problem is one of marketing a movie populated by fuzzy creatures to an older audience. And, plenty of folks take their toddlers to see Star Wars and Harry Potter movies, which I’m guessing are no more “appropriate.”
February 20th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I can’t say it’s anyones fault really.
It’s as if you started a waffle house and your chef could only make pancakes. They can be the best pancakes in town but that doesn’t mean you’re still not going to have a tough time marketing your restaurant to people who think your going to be selling them waffles.
The movie title tells the audience that this is a film based off a children’s book therefore it must be for kids but the content of the movie (no matter how true to the book or brilliant it is) contradicts that notion. It’s going to be difficult for the studio executives to sell pancakes to an audience expecting waffles and it’s also going to be difficult for them to convince the viewing public that pancakes from a restaurant calling itself the waffle house can really be all that good. You have parents who will complain about it not being suitable for children and adults who are hesitant to see a movie based off a children’s book.
A lot of people seem to be saying this book could only have been done in this mature style because of the content of the story but I don’t think that’s true. The book has an imaginative playful side that I think could have worked in the right hands. I just think that if they have a finished film in this mature style, it’s going to be extremely hard to mess with the content and not turn it into something that both sides are going to shrug off.
February 20th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Jonze has a pretty solid rep as a film maker and id be far more interested in seeing a dark, thoughtful Where the Wild Things are than a kiddie sell out flick.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Oh, f*ck a “test screening”. Did Peter Jackson have to put up with such malarkey making LOTR?
Also, IIRC, ‘Nightmare Before Christmas” was also quite dark and scary for the young ones — it was released as a PG film, and 15 years later it remains a beloved classic for kids and adults, as well as a cash cow for Disney. Let nothing come in the way of this picture in the hands of two very capable artists!
February 21st, 2008 at 1:54 am
“How do you get the job of being a test screener?”
Become an asshat that doesn’t know shit about movies.
February 21st, 2008 at 5:18 am
The book was scary to me as a child, but it was also my favorite.
Needless to say, snow white was deemed to scary for kids at times, so they removed a shot (which is now back in). If Maurice Sendeck approved of, and even liked, this adaptation, than I hope warner brothers figures this out real fast.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:15 am
This script was GENIUS. The test footage looks amazing, as well, I’m sure the film will be brilliant if left in the hands of Spike.There’s nothing dumbed down in the original book, why would a movie adaptation be any different? I don’t understand how people read the script and give ALL the money to make it happen, and trust a team to make the movie, then get undone when they get when they deliver what they asked for…
February 21st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I was part of the test audience and I loved the film, it is not 100% for kids but dude it was amazing the suits are fucking up they should leave it alone. if not I will tell everyone minute by minute how the movies goes, or make a small comic about it.
February 21st, 2008 at 4:06 pm
I can’t believe anyone would be able to make this a “cute” film with Sendak’s approval. I think he would squash that in a second. It’s supposed to be frightening. It’s not a feel good Pixar story. I would love to read the script if anyone has a copy of it. Of course, I don’t think the film has to be so scary as to make children cry, but they should definitely be a scared. I’m sorry to hear they may be pulling Spike off of it, (I love his work) but frankly I never really felt like it was a good fit. The real rub with any of this is how the studios are focus grouping movies so much. I bet there are some amazing stories to be told out there that are killed in front of a couple of soccer moms. Sad, sad, sad.
February 21st, 2008 at 7:57 pm
The kids of this generation have been dumbed down to a point in which 15 year old would rather watch Hannah Montana or My Gym Partner’s a Monkey than keep up with current events. That’s why when I turned 13 I stopped watching Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nick because all the good shows are getting replaced and left in rerun hell at 3 in the morning and in thier old timeslots are now dumb shows that I can’t even watch for three second.
I just rewatched the clip and it says that it dosn’t have any, any big sets. It’s a kid movie for god’s sake!!
Because of the lack of imganation parents are schoked when they see something that challenges a kid’s mind
I love the clip, I like to see the entire movie.
As for the “He slapped his mom” Kids slap their mom everyday, I guess this is the ‘I’m to busy trying to shelter my kid and I’m lucky my son dosn’t wear a wold suit to bed.
Maybe what they should shoot is like showing something bad happening in Max’s life or if he’s acting out because his perfect sister is alwasy getting the attention. Kids who want to be love try and do stuff because they want their parent to pay attention to them or to say something to them becuase all kids want love. All of them. I thinks it’s been provein that babies that aren’t love either die or grow up to be mentally disturderd.
I wish that won’t change it
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:36 am
I was at the test screening with my 7 year old last year. She had already claimed this to be one of her favorite movies ever (in her long life of 7 years). It wasn’t the crap family film that’s been shoveled to us for the last two decades. She and I both enjoyed it for that particular reason.
And I found the “screening” questions to be really loaded. When they asked me about the film they wouldn’t allow me to explain why I felt the way I did. Why they listen to some people I don’t know why. This is a potential masterpiece and it’s gonna’ be a shame if they ruin this. Bummer.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:18 am
Spike Jonze is brilliant and the test footage looks fantastic. I really hope Warner Bros. doesn’t boot Jonze and the script. This is a movie I’d see based on Jonze’s direction and the source material alone.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I saw this film at the Pasadena test screening - It IS a kids movie. It deals with issues that most kids go through. Not to spoil the film but Max is resisting change in his family life, he’s scared, sad, acting out. He’s dealing with heavy emotional topics, but how does a kid dealing with “dark” issues make it an adult movie? I can see guarding kids from violence and sex, but guarding kids from emotions, editing something out because there is tears?
Yes, Max hits his mom. He’s an asshole in the beginning and you can guess that in the end he learns a lesson and changes for the better (sorry to give away the obvious).
I can’t imagine the changes that they would make to redo this. It’s like how they might be cutting cancer out of Fanboys. If worst comes to worst release the Jonze film without the animated faces. I saw it with expressionless costumes and still absolutely loved it.
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I think it’s stupid to re-shoot a movie for not being the typical fart-joke humor kids film. Make a kid think a little, WB, I’ll give ‘em a bit of practice.
As for being scary… I remember that there were always parts in Disney movies that scared me when I was a kid. They aren’t scary anymore, of course, which is more or less the point. You get over it, so you aren’t such a pansy when you grow up. And hell, I felt pretty damn proud when I could watch the so-called “scary” parts without even flinching.
Out of curiousity, if they had wanted the usual cheesy feel-good kids’ film, why the hell did they bring on Spike Jonze?
February 26th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
i’m basically going to repeat what everyone else has said, but since warner bros. is communicating directly with this site, i’m hoping adding one more comment will help add to the impact of the message:
please, leave this movie as it is. spike jonze is a brilliant director. people who appreciate his work will love you if you let it be what it is. they will take their kids to see it, even if the fools you surveyed don’t. but they’ll resent you if you ruin the film. warner bros. presents itself as a studio that supports film as an art form, touting its relationship with auteur stanley kubrick. don’t destroy that image now and rob the world of an artist’s vision.
February 27th, 2008 at 6:59 am
I think WB has a great chance to capitalize here…literally. Release them both. Certainly, the generation that grew up with the book (I’m one of them), has a very strong connection to the book, one that would make the film popular, even to the parents of our generation who had to spend so many hours reading it to us over and over! Moreover, the “kid” version is a sure blockbuster, as the book continues to be popular.
The point is: like many great images that stick in collective memory, there is a wide array of how people want to see this story portrayed on the big screen because they feel as though those images belong to them…to their imagination, and we all want our imagination to be realized on the big screen.
SO - Warner Brothers, take some advice. Keep the footage you already shot and release it for the older kids, then do the re-shoots if you want and release that too. You can’t deny the DVD sales would be far higher…..
February 27th, 2008 at 7:41 am
They don’t need to totally kidify this movie for a pre-school audience. Such great fantasy type movies such as The Dark Crystal and The Labyrinth were made in the past and they had their scary scenes (well at least The Dark Crystal did), the creatures were also created by the Jim Henson company (just like as in WTWTA). Another movie to remember is ‘The NeverEnding Story’. These are classics!
Spike Jonze and his work is amazing. The story is about monsters who live in the wild so it isn’t all fluff and flowers.
Please, please, please Warner Brothers see the amazing piece of work already in front of you and don’t change it. This is sure to be a classic movie as long as you keep it as it is!
I hope Warner is listening and if not, someone who knows how to get in touch let them know that they shouldn’t wreck a good thing.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:39 am
i’ve seen this idea of releasing two versions of the film crop up in a couple of places. i’m no expert, but it seems to me that warner bros. would be cannibalizing their own box office sales. not only that, they’d have a marketing nightmare on their hands, and a hopelessly confused public. i could see it maybe working if they gave them different names and released one on DVD only… and obviously it would have to be spike’s version that got this treatment. :/ but, of course, it’d be better than never getting to see it at all.
February 27th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Some of the best childhood films were the ones that were scary and emotional, Labyrinth, the Dark crystal, The never ending story… has anyone seen these? Adults have a strong tendency to underestimate children’s knowledge and intelligence.
February 27th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
This makes me angry!!! The original book scared me when i was young. They’re monsters for flip sake! and even in the book they were very dark and menacing, especially the one that looks like a bull and the one with horns. and as for Max (re: slapping his mum) that sounds exactly right for that character, he’s meant to be a naughty little kid, he comes across as quite spoilt in the book too, when i read the book again in my early teens, i was convinced he had ADHD lol. When i heard Spike was directing, i had so much faith that one of the best stories i was ever read as a child would be translated perfectly to the big screen. This film will be terrible if Warner Bros have their way. i’d rather see no film at all than see Spike Jonze’s genius destroyed by greedy sellout studio bosses. cant maurice sendak and his people step in??? can’t someone buy the rights off WB??? This is an example of why children are so messed up nowadays.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Ok, why can’t they do the film festival circuit with this stuff?
Secondly why can’t they show this to europeans who appreciate something different.
Thirdly dude i think Jones should piss off to europe where they appreciate difference and are happy to pay for and support it.
Fourth, whoever funded Pan’s Labyrinth should have funded this movie.
March 23rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
okay, just from this small screen test, i can tell spike jonze has struck gold with his adaptation (no pun intended) of my ALL TIME FAVORITE story growing up. anyone who says it is “too dark” or “too scary” did not understand the concept of the book!! i’m sorry but to this day, the imagery and story of that book is dark and creepy. it may seem a little sugar coated for the kids who can’t handle it but if you remember, max is a little shit to his mom and the wild things were NEVER cute. i had so many nightmares from that book but it always remained my favorite. he is on the right track with this and if warner brothers doesn’t like it, then they need to find a new studio because i will boycott this movie if they water it down for some stupid little kids who know NOTHING of this story. i don’t believe that kids these days should be the target audience. i think it should be aimed at people like me who were ya know, born when the book came out. anyone disagrees with me should burn their copy of this book because you do not deserve it haha.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
How does Warner Bros. listen to Spike Jonze’s pitch for how he would like to approach the book, hire Spike Jonze, read Spike Jonze’s script, watch Spike Jonze direct the movie, pour $75 million into a Spike Jonze movie, and then throw their hands up in disbelief as they watch the movie, and say “How did this happen?This is a fucking Spike Jonze movie!!! Who let this guy in the door!?” Utter stupidity. If Warners pulls the plug, they have no balls and no integrity.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
This is a screen test from 2005 shot in Griffith Park. The young actor is Griffin Armstorff. There were four scenes shot that day and all were improv by the actor. The actor has worked with Spike before in the Yeah Yeah Yeah video, “Y-Controlâ€. According to imdb.com this kid was Spike’s original choice for Max but was nixed by a Legendary exec at the last minute.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:33 am
I didn’t read all the comments but I’m glad to see that general concensus is to keep Jonze on board. I think if Warner Bro. decides to boot him there will indeed be mischief of one kind and another. The fact of the matter as -jblofe- has already pointed out, that it’s not meant to be cute. On the contrary, it should be dark, very dark. The book is famous, not because it appeals to children, but because it inflicts a deep conscious within a child’s mind that is only recognizable once it has been expanded upon later on in adult years. Most of us may have already forgotten the feeling of being a child and seeing the cute, furry, smiling creatures that inhibit this book for the first time. They maintain these fatures, yet offer something more to be felt, something darker, something more primal. Something children rarely get to feel in this day and age. One cannot help but feel a certain connection to Max as well, regardless of how similar to him we are or are not. We relish at his ability to tame these monstrous creatures with a trick of staring them in the eye. What a hero! That is chivalry at its best. Do we fail to see this as adults? Does not every child look upon the pages in awe of this fateful character and his companions across the sea? Do we not recognize fear if not for our own inner demons, for Max’s? A child’s mind is far more powerful than an adult’s, and it’s because of good directors we can sometimes be taken back to places we have lost from experience. I have faith in the imagining abilities of Jonze, and I am dying to see the finished product!