DVD review: “Where the Wild Things Are … and 5 More Stories by Maurice Sendak”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Where the Wild Things Are … and 5 More Stories by Maurice Sendak”
In conjunction with last week’s long-awaited release of Spike Jonze’s big-screen adaptation of “Where the Wild Things Are,” Scholastic Storybook Treasures has repackaged and re-released the company’s faithful animated versions of six Maurice Sendak stories.
The short films follow the acclaimed author-illustrator’s picture books practically line by line. Parents and children can watch the tales unfold in read-along mode or view them without the words.
Though the story is brief and familiar, Sendak’s Caldecott Medal-winning “Where the Wild Things Are” loses none of its thrall in cartoon form. Composer Peter Schickele (AKA P.D.Q. Bach) not only provides the fittingly creepy and lovely score, he also narrates the yarn.
Schickele also gives music and voice to Sendak’s 1970 book “In the Night Kitchen,” an even weirder tale about a dreaming lad who is nearly cooked into a cake by three bakers who look like Oliver Hardy. Again, the cartoon precisely follows the book, which remains controversial because of the boy’s nudity.
The other four stories make up Sendak’s “Nutshell Library” and teach overt lessons. Legendary singer/songwriter/pianist Carole King performs the tales: the morality fable “Pierre,” the alphabet book “Alligators All Around,” counting exercise “One Was Johnny” and “Chicken Soup with Rice,” a charming accounting of the months and seasons.
For children too young for Jonze’s dark film, the Scholastic DVD offers a satisfactory way for them to watch Sendak’s visions come to life.
DVD features: Spanish and French versions of “Where the Wild Things Are,” brief Sendak interview and stickers.
— BAM
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I like Sendak,too.
But there is not many chance to know him and his work because of living in China.