A couple weeks ago, Nate had plans during the day on a Saturday, so I took the kids to go see Where the Wild Things Are. In retrospect, it wasn’t really a young kids movie. It was a very good movie, but I had a hard time separating my own reactions to it from watching Ella and Dom’s reactions.
The emotions and situations were decidedly pre-adolescent in their potrayl. There was a lot related to the loss of childhood and innocence, as well as loneliness and not being accepted. The only true moments of escape were related to when Max and the Wild Things were just romping around having fun and getting lost in their play. I thought it was actually very true to the conflicted feelings hinted at by the book. Reading the book, I’ve always been struck by the pain of the “We’ll eat you up we love you so” declaration by the Wild Things when they see that Max plans to leave them. The interesting part of the movie is that these lines are directly quoted, but more as endearing statements. The pain and bitterness shows up elsewhere in the Wild Things actions and their own words.
I think the kids enjoyed the movie for its imagery and playful scenes, as well as the magic of seeing the drawings from the book come to life. At the very end when Max was leaving and the Wild Things were sad to see him go, I glanced over at Ella to see her crying. It’s the first time I have seen her cry in that way.
As we were leaving the theater, I asked her how she liked the movie. She said that she liked it, but didn’t like how it made her feel sad at the end. I agreed and said that it was hard to watch something that made you cry. I mentioned that I thought it was also a happy ending because Max made friends and also returned home to be with his mom. Ella acknowledged that, but was clearly most struck by the relationships portrayed between Max and his Wild Thing friends.
In a way, this makes me happy because it shows me how important friends are to Ella. One of her good friends from preschool has been away since the beginning of the school year. While she doesn’t talk about him a lot, every once in a while she’ll comment that she really misses him, especially after she sees a picture of him hanging in her room. It’s amazing to think about all the friends that will touch her and influence her in the years to come … and also a little frightening to think about how those relationships will make her both happy and sad.
Young kids can be so quick to forgive and not hold grudges. Ella and her friend know how to push each other’s buttons, but no matter how much they annoy each other, the question at the end of the playdate is always, “When can we do it again.” If only we could keep that perspective.