October 20, 2009LOS ANGELES (USA TODAY) -- Jennifer O'Brien wasn't in her theater seat 20 minutes when she realized she'd made a mistake bringing her daughter.
O'Brien, 37, of Phoenix, took 7-year-old Eileen to Where the Wild Things Are on Sunday, hoping the girl would enjoy the movie as much as O'Brien loved the 1963 picture book.
Mom was wrong. "She was pretty scared," O'Brien says at the AMC Century City in Los Angeles. "We spent most of the time in the lobby playing video games. This isn't a children's movie."
Then what is it? Directed by art-house helmsman Spike Jonze, Wild is walking a precarious demographic line.
Though rated PG, the movie plays like a grown-up flick in parts. The film is dominated by dialogue, often about death. The threat of violence to the child hero, Max, is palpable. One Wild Thing has an arm ripped off.
Still, families made up more than half the audience, fueling Wild's $32.7 million debut, which beat expectations.
"Parents who complain the movie isn't for kids didn't do their homework," says Joseph Vargas, 41, of Fresno, who brought his 9-year-old son, Antonio. "He wasn't bothered by anything in it," including the kid being in danger. "If anything, he wanted more danger."
Warner Bros., which released Wild, says the studio never misrepresented the tone of the movie, which has earned positive reviews. "We were very clear what this movie is," says Dan Fellman, distribution chief for Warner Bros. "We were careful not to market it to young people. This is a choice parents should look into and make for themselves."
Danielle Herrera wasn't concerned whether her 10-year-old son, Carlos, could handle the movie's mature themes.
"Have you seen what they show on TV?" says Herrera, 38, of Los Angeles. "It's worse than anything they showed in this movie. Kids handle more than we think."
For his part, Jonze is unapologetic about the film's tone. "It was a dangerous, daring book," Jonze said in an interview earlier this month. "The movie should reflect the emotions of the book."
Whether those emotions are suitable for young children is splitting audiences, a schism that puzzles some film experts.
"This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone," says film critic Scott Mantz of Access Hollywood. "You can't hire a visionary director and expect his movie to be another Alvin and the Chipmunks."
Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
