Where The Wild Things Are is a whimsical glimpse into the imagination of a child. It makes you laugh and it makes you cry. The film takes its name from a 1963 children’s book about a young boy named Max. The book is by Maurice Sendak and the film was adapted artfully by director Spike Jonze. I thought a large part of the movie’s charm came from the music that was created specifically to transport us into the story.
Singer Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs really surprised me with this project, performing an entire album of original songs with a collection of musicians dubbed”The Kids” (which includes Tom Biller (co-producer with Karen O and member of Afternoons), Brian Chase and Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs), Greg Kurstin (The Bird and the Bee), Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes), and an untrained children’s choir).
Usually a loud and borderline vulgar performer, Karen O was the last person I would think of to create music for a children’s movie (c’mon, her last single is called “Heads Will Roll”!). But, I must say, it was a genius move. Her darkness fit well with Spike Jonze’s dark tale, while her ability to create the perfect mood for a rumpus worked during fun parts of the film…whether Max and the beasts were having a dirtball fight or jumping into a pigpile. The choir of children’s voices added the perfect touch to some of the songs on the soundtrack, and all in all the music complimented the film beautifully. Where The Wild Things Are is well done in many respects…definitely a film worth checking out.
Where The Wild Things Are
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