Okay, I have to admit when I first heard that they were making a movie version of Maurice Sendak’s picture book Where the Wild Things Are, I winced. I assumed it would be yet another case of a beloved (and short) kid’s classic being turned into a windy, big-budget, embarrassing cringefest (cf. The Cat in the Hat).

Well, Where the Wild Things Are still could be not good. But I perked up a bit when I heard that the director was Spike Jonze, director of a couple of the most interesting (read: totally wigged out, but in a good way) movies I’ve ever seen: Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. Once I saw the trailer, I’m even more hopeful. It’s a wonderful trailer — I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll be a wonderful movie.

Max and his wild things howling in the sunset