Saw Where the Wild Things Are. It was really cute. It follows Max, a child whose single mother and teenage sister have no time for him, he's is matured enough to feel the social isolation but is not yet autonomous enough to solve his own problems. All he can do is swallow his troubles and deal, but of course without the emotional tools to do this, he resorts to acting out and demanding attention. I felt this bit of the movie was very well-observed, especially how Max overreacts to his own emotions. Overwhelmed by his own indignation at a small slight of his sister's, he throws snow all over her room. This done, he instantly regrets his actions and hides in bed. I could imagine a young version of myself having done this, or something like it. Good show.
Anyway, Max's behavior finally results in him running away to a possibly (though not definitely) imaginary land inhabited by powerful but childlike monsters. They are similarly unhappy with problems which they lack the maturity to handle. They adopt him as their King and treat him as a sort of parent figure, showing off for him and looking to him for guidance. Their childishness is highlighted by their adult voices, rending some of their arguments slightly absurd ("Like you aren't always looking for the opportunity to step on my head.") but making their repeated threats to eat Max sound much more serious. Indeed the monsters are friendly but clearly unhappy and sometimes quite threatening. They need someone to organize them, but if they don't like the way Max orders them, they may well kill him.
Watching Max deal with the monsters' troubles is great fun and is dramatic and interesting. The movie is not terribly whimsical or imaginative however and I fear some scenes might be too boring for most kids. I don't know that kids like seeing childish emotional problems resolved but then I haven't been around kids in a long time so I don't know. For me it was interesting and sweet. It was confusing in parts, but I think I liked it.
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