Last week at Comic-con, audiences got their first glimpse of footage from director Spike Jonze’s big screen adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak’s bedtime staple about a naughty boy who travels to a land of hairy-toed beasts when he’s sent to his room with no dinner. The images were fierce and fanciful at the same time, and they drew gasps of joy and horror both in person and virtually once the stuff hit the web. Then, two days ago, the trailer for Wes Anderson’s stop-motion version of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox debuted, full of characters probing the nature of whether it’s okay to be the wild animals they are. The response was a similar chorus of rage and rhapsody. The same thing happened when Tim Burton revealed the first gothic and gruesome images (like this one, above, of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter) from his take on Alice in Wonderland. Step aside Disney, the outlaws are taking over childhood.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the juice-box set responds to such de-Disneyfied approaches to kids’ entertainment. I suspect — and hope — that kids will be excited and relieved to see movies that acknowledge the dark complexities of childhood. I mean, don’t kids deserve a little more meat to chew on than talking guinea pigs and chihuahuas? On the other hand, there are plenty of adults I know who have been waiting breathlessly for Tim Burton, Spike Jonze, and Wes Anderson to make another freaking movie and are kind of bummed that they’ll have to get their fix with a bunch of kids watching a wacko tea-party, a bratty kid swinging from trees, and beautifully-dressed rodents. What do you think? Are you interested in seeing these visionary directors’ childhood fantasies come to life on screen? Do you think it’s a good thing if kids’ movies become a little less happy-go-lucky?
Photo credit: Mary Ellen Mark
I have long been of the opinion that when children’s entertainment is good, it’s the best there is. And what makes it good is not necessarily “darkness,” but just a clear-eyed acknowledgment that life includes some pretty tough stuff alongside all the whimsy, fantasy, and fun. What makes this type of entertainment so great is that it grows up with the reader/viewer. It can be enjoyed on a very superficial level when you’re young, but as you mature and your tastes mature you can revisit certain childhood favorites and realize how much more is going on there than you initially understood. Personally, I have pretty high hopes for the films mentioned in this blog post.
where the wild things are looks amazing.
Alice in Wonderland comes out March 5th. Not in the fall.
I don’t think this is a new phenomenon, just a re-discovered one. I grew up with Legend, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Never Ending Story etc. Those movies are dark but also the best children’s films of their era. The best kids movies are the ones that plum adult themes, which is what pixar and miyazaki have brought back but Henson and others started a generation ago.
Henson should get his due for doing dark and edgy kids stuff. He always flawlessly blended adult and kid themes and humor. Childhood is dark. It’s not all crayons and rainbows. Besides kids are smarter then we ever give them credit for.
I forgot Secret of Nimh, which they’re also remaking and I’m nervous about.
ok last one: Lets not forget that “children’s” stories like Grimms fairy tales and Hans Christen Anderson stories were brutal and depressing. Lets not forget the Little Mermaid kills herself in the end of the real story. Even when I was 8 I wondered how the hell disney was going to handle that.
Exactly! Most of the original stories to well loved fairy tales were *not* warm ans fuzzy. Lewis Carrol and L. Frank Baum weren’t particularly warm and fuzzy either–they got Hollywood-ed up. The happy-go-lucky, cheerful children’s tales are a relatively new development in the history of children’s stories. Even “Ring around the Rosie” originally was about the plague!
Kids are not stupid; given the popularity of the increasingly dark and violent Harry Potter series and the original Grimm fairy tales, I think the wee ones can handle it.
I think these types of things are EXACTLY what kids should be exposed to. What’s better: “dark” and “edgy” children’s entertainment or the obnoxious and downright rude characters that children are exposed to on Nickelodeon and the like? I’ll take dark and edgy every time…scare those kids into behaving properly.
I appreciate some dark and edgy films for kids for variety, but I wouldn’t want it all to be like that. I mean, adults get to watch escapist fare like The Hangover and Star Trek, so why can’t kids have escapist fare as well?
And who says that happy fare has to be bad? I loved Up, and I wouldn’t say that was dark and edgy. Yes, it’s nice to have some balance, but why do we have to assume that dark and edgy always = good and that happy ending = not-so-good? (Although I’m with Kevin above that the obnoxious and rude characters in a lot of kids cartoons on television are ridiculous and not something I would let my children watch.)
Up is pretty dark, its about death, disappointment, loss, broken dreams, obsession etc. Everyone I know bawled like a baby in the first 15 minutes. It is an adult movie.
Even though I’m bummed the next Wes Anderson is doing a kids movie; I would have rather seen him do an adult movie like The Royal Tenenbaums; I’m glad these directors are making the complex children’s movie kids deserve. I do loath Tim Burton raping another kid’s classic with his goofy horror-ish style.
As a parent and teacher, I love to see quality “children” movies available. As a lover of children’s literature, I abhor when filmmakers take the storyline of a children’s book, misinterpret the message, and add unnecessary and/or erroneous themes in their films (Polar Express: a sweet, quiet book about the agic of childhood is given dancing waiters! Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: note to Tim Burton – Willy Wonka did not hate children, just stupid, mean people.) I shudder to think what they’ve done to Max.
im looking forward to all of these ‘childrens’ films, especially Where the Wild Things Are, it looks amazing.
all i can say is that where the wild things are looks like the coolest movie ever, and its such a beloved book that both kids and adults will see it. After all it was my favorite book as a kid
I can’t wait !
My favorite movies growing up were The Dark Crystal, Labrynth, The NeverEnding Story…Those were dark movies! I don’t think dark childrens movies are a new thing, the are just getting more attention now because our society tends to coddle children more. I say more dark movies! I will toughen them up!