By Greg Vellante
Correspondent

The children’s classic “Where the Wild Things Are” was originally published in 1963, so the new live-action adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic has 46 years of childhood memories to live up to.
With direction by edgy filmmaker Spike Jonze and a screenplay by hipster author Dave Eggers, the film — which opened last week — understandably had fans in a frenzied combination of excitement and worry.

The latter feeling is to be expected when you take into account that Sendak’s story mainly consisted of vibrant illustrations with a limited word count. Adapting such a scarce offering of material into a feature-length film is a challenge on its own, let alone living up to such a classic tale of imagination; one that made an indelible mark on the hearts of generations of readers. But Jonze and Eggers were up to the challenge.

The story follows a young boy named Max, who, upon being disobedient to his mother, is sent to his room with no dinner. He is then transported into an imaginative land of monsters that instantly proclaim him their king.

Jonze was approached by Sendak personally and asked to tackle the film adaptation of the book. The idea of a film adaptation had been present since the ’90s, yet Sendak was unable to find someone he found suitable to direct until Jonze. Though originally set to be a fully animated film, Jonze rejected that idea, wishing to establish a more real and dangerous feel by having an actual child running around with fabricated Wild Things.

Eggers was also an interesting choice to create the screenplay adaptation of Sendak’s story. Best known for his memoir, “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,” the author broke into the screenwriting business earlier this year, co-writing the Sam Mendes comedy “Away We Go” with his wife, Vendela Vida. But since “Away We Go” was a completely original script and concept, Eggers had a new challenge in adapting Sendak’s text into a full-fledged film.

So the main question is whether or not fans should be nervous. Can Jonze and Eggers live up to the incremental expectations instituted by four-plus decades of readership?

Early news of the film set “Wild Things” up for failure. The film started shooting in 2005, and was originally set for a May 2008 release. This was pushed back to October 2008, and then moved a whole year back to October 2009.

When it was originally screened for Warner Bros., the studio was torn over the excessively dark and disturbing themes found in the film. While Sendak’s text originally contained a minor theme of anger, Eggers’ script tackles divorce, abandonment, and the rebellion of youth, along with the original imaginative tale of the Wild Things.

Is “Where the Wild Things Are” going to be controversial, both in subject matter and adaptation methods?

Keep in mind that Sendak’s book also received its own share of lashing from critics who found the monsters too frightening for children and Max’s disobedience a poor example for children.

And while Eggers’ dark material and Jonze’s additionally in-depth direction could adulterate Sendak’s original story, fans should find comfort in knowing that Eggers and Jonze kept in close contact with Sendak during the entire production process.

Those who grew up with the story will just have to wait and see the film to decide if it complements their already substantial memories, or destroys them.
***
The Associated Press contributed to this report.