I just got home from seeing Where the Wild Things Are which I really loved. I thought it hit all the right notes and was quite moving. I encourage you to go see it on the big screen.
The Wild Things are an amazing combination of body suit with animatronic faces, that were later enhanced with cgi. It is, I have to say, utterly seamless. The team of people who created each character deserves a big hand for really compelling performances.
When the credits rolled they had each of the Wild Things listed with their voice performer and their suit performer, which made me very happy. Too often, the puppeteers get ignored altogether or lumped into a group at the end. The lumping is sometimes unavoidable because complex puppets are frequently team efforts and it’s hard to sort out who did what. So it was nice to see a film that acknowledged the fact that the guys in the suits are on set all the time, while the voice performers have more limited contact with the rest of the cast. Not to downplay their performance, by any stretch, ’cause bad voicing can ruin good puppetry.
It’s just a pet peeve because there are times when a puppeteer or matchmove artist works for months on a show and then isn’t credited.
So.
I was excited and the credits had rolled too fast for me to really catch the names of the suit performers. I headed to IMDB.
Which does not list the suit performers for the characters.
WTF? Who made that decision?
I finally found the list of the cast over at FanCast, which does credit them and they deserve kudos for giving truly expressive body language to the characters.
- Vincent Crowley as Carol Suit Performer
- Sonny Gerasimowicz as Alexander Suit Performer
- Nick Farnell as Judith Suit Performer
- Sam Longley as Ira Suit Performer
- Angus Sampson as The Bull Suit Performer
- Mark McCracken as The Bull Additional Suit Performer
- John Leary as Douglas Suit Performer
- Alice Parkinson as KW Suit Performer
- Garon Michael as KW Additional Suit Performer
Well done, all of you.
It’s worth sending an e-mail to IMDB. I can’t recall the specifics, but I think the one or two times I’ve e-mailed them, they’ve been responsive.
Thanks for the suggestion. I used the update page.
Did you see it at the Roseway?
We did. I miss the little lounge at the end of the hall, but otherwise the remodel is quite tasteful.
Glad you liked it. I look forward to seeing it myself, perhaps with the younger Durhams.
Wait, I mean definitely with the younger Durhams. I couldn’t go without the kids, right?
I think they will enjoy it and am interested to hear how it plays for them. There’s an interview with Spike Jonzes where he says he wanted to make a film about childhood rather than a children’s film. It was certainly resonant with me and I wonder what it will be like for people who are the same age as Max.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. My son really wants to see it. Do you think it’s okay for a 7-year-old boy to see? I’ve seen a couple of reviews say it might be too much for kids under nine.
It depends on the 7-year-old, because it can be scary in places. I think most 8 year olds would be okay, so it just depends on your son.
Thanks for the input. Maybe I’ll take him and keep the light on at night for a few days. 🙂
My guess is that it’s not lingering scary, but in the moment scary. Big monsters. Little boy. There are some chases, throwing of things, and threats.
Max Records acted in the local short film I’ve been part of and he told us a bit about shooting WTWTA. Said the puppets had built-in tubes of water as cooling systems, which weren’t terribly effective. Could only be in for about 10-15 minutes at a time. He felt sorry for them. Also commented on his roughest/grossest scene to shoot, which was the inside-the-belly scene. Wonderful guy, by the way. Incredibly professional and fun to talk with. I was sorry he was only on set for a day.
i have to say i saw the film tonight and while the puppetry was amazing i found the film sad and disheartening and mean in places.