Where the Wild Things Will Be

Although not opening in theaters until October 16th, there is already much buzz about the trailer and images from the upcoming “Where the Wild Things Are” screen adaptation by Director Spike Jonze.

With so much adoration for the 1963 children’s book, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, there’s a lot of pressure not to disappoint. But if responses to the trailer, beginning in theaters today, are any indication, people are already emotionally-attached to the movie.

Speculation abounds on how Jonze will stretch a full-length feature out of the mere ten-sentence long children’s classic. And some criticize that the visual style and poster may be “too dark” for a young audience.

But who is this movie really directed toward? With music in the trailer featuring Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” and soundtrack lead by the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s frontwoman Karen O, the audience will definitely skew decades older than the 3-8 recommended reading age of the book. After all, that’s who has the strongest memories of the book and who most longs to revisit their wild thing adventures. Nostalgia is a powerful force –- precisely why Jonze opted to lend his unique approach using mostly live action (think “The Neverending Story”) instead of amping it up on cgi.

Another draw is the sophisticated cast, including James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Catherine Keener and Mark Ruffalo who offer appearances or voices.

As audiences grow wilder with anticipation, it will be interesting to see what products and companies align themselves with the movie on the marketing front. Here's a first peek. Already better than this. Stay tuned.