In discussing the pending release of the new Where the Wild Things Are movie, my wife and I discovered that neither of us had found that book to be a cute, clever, entertaining child's tale while growing up -- instead we found it to be a dark, disturbing nightmare.
Is that bizarre, or do other folks share our childhood aversion to the story?
In other news, I find clowns and mimes to be disturbingly creepy, but I figure that's pretty common.
__________________ "The Soul of D&D?It's rolling a natural 20 when you're down to 3 hit points and the cleric's on the floor and you're staring that sunnavabitch bugbear right in his bloodshot eye and holding the line just long enough to let the wizard unleash a fireball at the guards who are on their way, because they're all that stands between you, the Foozle and Glory." - WizarDru
In discussing the pending release of the new Where the Wild Things Are movie, my wife and I discovered that neither of us had found that book to be a cute, clever, entertaining child's tale while growing up -- instead we found it to be a dark, disturbing nightmare.
Is that bizarre, or do other folks share our childhood aversion to the story?
I was always attracted to "dark and disturbing" as a child, so I enjoyed that tale and the artwork. I wil probably wait to see the movie on DVD though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Olgar Shiverstone
In other news, I find clowns and mimes to be disturbingly creepy, but I figure that's pretty common.
That's a whole different thing and, indeed, pretty common by my reckoning.
In discussing the pending release of the new Where the Wild Things Are movie, my wife and I discovered that neither of us had found that book to be a cute, clever, entertaining child's tale while growing up -- instead we found it to be a dark, disturbing nightmare.
Is that bizarre, or do other folks share our childhood aversion to the story?
In other news, I find clowns and mimes to be disturbingly creepy, but I figure that's pretty common.
As a child, the illustrations in the book scared me. Not scare as in it gave me nightmares, but scared in that I was simply uncomfortable by looking at it. I could not read it despite it's popularity in my class or with my brother.
I will not see the movie for that very reason -- not that I expect it will still scare me, but rather, I don't have any positive childhood associations with the book so I don't have any nostalgic reasons to want to see the movie.
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They had a midnight showing of this movie the other night. If this is supposed to be a "kids movie", why show it at midnight? That's just bad parenting
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I liked the book a ton as a youth, and also quite liked the film (though they are certainly very different things). Director Spike Jonze said that his goal was to make the wild things world be what a 9-year old boy's ideal world would be like, and I'd say he hit it spot on. Expect that going in and you'll likely enjoy it more.
Yeah, I'd bring a reasonably mature 9-year old, say, but probably not much younger than there. There are some definitely scary-for-kids moments. Wild Things here are definitely monsters, even if they're mostly friendly.
I am currently working in a bookstore. One of my jobs is reading books to small children there ... and thus I was asked to read Where The Wild Things Are to them prior to the movie opening (important as we are just across the street from a movie theatre).
So, I had loved the book as a child and here I was with a dozen or so kinds, none older than five, sitting with rapt attention, while I read them the tale and show them the pictures ... and they were utterly enthralled.
Afterwards, one of them who particularly enjoyed it, wanted to talk to me about the book. I told him he would make a great Wild Thing ... and he gave me a huge hug.
That was a magical moment.
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I never understood what the big deal with that book was as a kid, actually. Didn't live up to the hype. I certainly never found it frightening; the wild things were pretty cartoonlike.
For what it's worth, I didn't find the movie all that entertaining either. Would it have killed them to come up with a plot?
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I had a similar impression as a child, though the memory is about 35 years old. I do remember thinking the monsters looked pretty cool, though, and that's all that really matters. Ever.
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I think the real reason it's popular is because of the - see even if monsters exist, they aren't really scary. Think of it as kind of a Monster's Inc. before Billy Crystal, John Goodman and CGI.
"I may be unconscious, but at least I still look good!" - - Me (at the Halfling Musketeers game GenCon '06)
On one hand, taking away their weapons is a dead giveaway that they will need them. On the other hand, by the time conflict starts the players will already have opened the rulebooks and found the parts that deal with bare-handed combat, performing disarm moves, and using improvised weapons. Players may blunder through dialog with shocking ineptitude, forget the name of the country they are in, or get confused about which side they are on, but once it comes time to roll for initiative they all turn into Sun Tzu. - Shamus Young DM of the Rings
I don't remember there being the little lost love thing between the two monsters, nor the boy hiding inside one of the monsters when Carol got mad, etc. That's plot stuff.
I read the book for the first time (in two minutes) this week, to see if it was a book that screamed "adapt me to a movie! I have an important lesson to teach!". Nope, not at all.
The boy dresses up as a wolf, makes a mess, is sent to his room, imagines a journey to a land where he rules over some monsters, then returns in time for dinner.
I read the book for the first time (in two minutes) this week, to see if it was a book that screamed "adapt me to a movie! I have an important lesson to teach!". Nope, not at all.
The boy dresses up as a wolf, makes a mess, is sent to his room, imagines a journey to a land where he rules over some monsters, then returns in time for dinner.
OMG you just described a typical gaming session!
perhaps thats why the book is so endearing - no moralistic lesson, minimal plot but a kid dressing up and having fun with his imagination -and all in 2 minutes
I love this book, it was the second book I bought my son when he was born (the first was a World Atlas) I haven't seen the movie yet but I don't like that his bedroom doesnt change into a forest
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Originally Posted by IcyCool
Man, given the average Int of an Otyugh, I can just see the boss monologue now...
PCs: "Before we fight, why don't you tell us your master plan?"
Otyugh: "I like poop."
PCs: "Umm, what?"
Otyugh: "Do you have poop?"
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