If you're like any other hipster out there, you're already excited beyond compare about the upcoming movie release of ""Where the Wild Things Are."" Everyone's favorite childhood book about independence, rebellion and imagination is sure to be one of the biggest releases of the fall. With indie darling Spike Jonze (""Adaptation,"" ""Being John Malkovich"") directing and hipster queen Karen O writing the soundtrack, even the most ardent counter-culture types have anointed ""Where the Wild Things Are"" a success.
With ""Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"" already making big money and films like Wes Anderson's ""Fantastic Mr. Fox,"" Robert Zemeckis' ""A Christmas Carol"" and Tim Burton's ""Alice in Wonderland"" all set to debut in the next six months, classic children's books as movies may be the next big film trend. We've already seen waves of adaptation movements, like the rush of superheroes being adapted to film occurring this decade. Like any other movement, the superheroes had their highs (""The Dark Knight,"" ""Spiderman"") and their lows (""Elektra,"" ""Ghost Rider""). The question is, what films in the next round of children's books will be great, and which will be the next ""The Cat in the Hat""? With that in mind, I'm going to look at the three aforementioned movies set to debut in a few months, while reserving my thoughts on ""Where the Wild Things Are"" for my review the Monday after the film comes out.
1. ""A Christmas Carol""
I'd like to think this movie will be good. The Muppet version of Charles Dickens' classic tale is one of my Christmas favorites. But history is stacked against this film. First of all, director Robert Zemeckis has already tried (and failed) in the Christmas story adaptation department with 2004's ""The Polar Express."" It had Tom Hanks, featured motion capture animation and was based on a time-honored classic. Unfortunately, it captured none of the hand-drawn wonder of the book, instead feeling oddly mechanical. Couple that with Jim Carrey (who already ruined another Christmas classic with ""How the Grinch Stole Christmas"") playing four different roles, and you've got a recipe for disaster.
2. ""Fantastic Mr. Fox""
Many of Roald Dahl's classic children's tales have already been adapted well for the silver screen, and Wes Anderson has a proven track record as a competent (some would argue brilliant) director. Anderson fans will be happy to see the same cast he uses in each of his films in animated form (Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman), and will like the classic stop-motion animation technique. It's clear Anderson put a lot of love into this film, and as long as he retains some of the darker elements of Dahl's tales, the film should be a success.
3. ""Alice in Wonderland""
Tim Burton already jumped into the literary adaptation genre awhile back, and the results were mixed. ""Sleepy Hollow"" was a strange, unfortunate mess while ""Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"" was a triumph, one that trumped the original 1971 film adaptation. As usual, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Christopher Lee will be on hand, as the Mad Hatter the Red Queen and the Jabberwock respectively. Burton's films are always dark, and Lewis Carroll's original novels are no different. Burton has been on a hot streak as of late, so expect ""Alice in Wonderland"" to be a success, but certainly a departure from Disney's lighthearted original.
Do you look ahead to anything Johnny Depp is in? E-mail Kevin so you guys can giggle about it like little schoolgirls at kevslane@gmail.com.
