Although I have never seen the film, I believe that Spike Jonze’s film Where the Wild Things Are accurately captures what Gray was trying to convey in Chapter 2 of Show Sold Separately.  Where the Wild Things Are was originally a book written by Maurice Sendak in 1963, and has since been adapted into an animated short, a musical composition, and most recently, and arguably most popular, a feature length film.  I will study Gray’s concepts on”hype, intros, and textual beginnings” through the examination of the original book, the 2009 movie poster, and the film trailer. 

             

The Where the Wild Things Are original book form was a widely popular story about a little boy and his escape into a magical kingdom with “Wild Things”.  These creatures were depicted as giant and friendly creatures that were going to take the protagonist, and consequentially the reader, on the adventure of a lifetime.  The book was a huge hit, and has since sold over 19 million copies worldwide.  This preface to the movie alone already indicates that the paratext has set up a correlation between the success of the book and the eventual success of the film.  The story dates far enough back to be shared by two generations, thus having an already established name as a well written and good natured book.  These facts and previous knowledge help to hype the release of the 2009 film.  The familiar plot line can almost coincide with Gray’s idea of “six degrees of promotion”, where the promo and ads attempt to make the viewer connect with the text.  The story and idea that anyone can escape to a far away land is sure to sit will with the audience, as at one point or another, every child has fantasies of faraway lands with distant creatures – the idea still appeals to older audience members through Science Fiction.  The premise is that the original book serves as a paratext to hype the film’s release.  

As all good stories do for their audiences, a certain picture is painted for each reader of any book.  The details, no matter how specific, will always look different from one reader to another.  The release of a film that is based on a book will always change those perceptions and somehow find a way to unify the images and characters in said story.  The Where the Wild Things Are movie poster does just that, as it brings to life a furry, giant, creature who is gazing upon the little boy protagonist who is wearing a fox costume while they stand in some sort of desert.  The poster simply states the title of the film and underneath, the statement, “There’s one in all of us”.  As Gray talks about in chapter 2, the film’s theme and tone are set from just looking at the movie poster.  By just a simple glance, the viewer will gather that the film is a family film centered on adventure in some sort of magical land with “wild things”.  The poster is not threatening, and craftily engages all age groups because children will be drawn to the monsters, and adults will be drawn to the repetitive idea that children’s films are uplifting and full of inspiring and positive messages.  The poster conveys the idea, whether with or without knowledge of the film, that it will be funny, dramatic, and adventurous; this will allow the audience to decide whether or not the film is worth a shot.

The final paratext used to hype the film is the film trailer.  The trailer is what I believe to be the strongest selling point for the film, because it is wonderfully executed and shows a great balance between the film’s plot, and a tug at every individuals heart strings to remember a time when they were young and just wanted to get away to mystical places and faraway magical kingdoms.  The trailer reels the audience in through its use of a slow paced song that evokes the listener to remember a simpler time in their life (unless they are children!).  This song is paired up with visuals of a little boy in a fox suit who just wants to escape his problems and ends up meeting massive creatures frolicking in beautiful green pastures.  There is perfectly placed phrases such as “inside all of us there is hope”, which plays the role of allowing the audience to let the idea of childhood innocence and wonder sink into their minds.  “Hope” was also a buzzword as President Obama had just began and ran his whole campaign on the word and idea.  The next line states “inside all of us is… fear” and is followed by darker clips of emotional hugging and explosions.  This shows the audience that the film is well rounded and will be more complex that just a simple short animated children’s film.  The next line states “inside all of us is…adventure” and the final phrase flashed across the screen to end the trailer is “inside all of us is a WILD THING”.  I have never seen this film and the trailer alone does a good enough job of allowing me to figure out that this adventurous film full of furry creatures will somehow make my day better.  It allows me to make my own judgments about the film, as Gray notes in chapter 2, even though I have only gotten a 2 minute preview of the entire film.

           

 In retrospect, Where the Wild Things Are had successful paratexts because they were able to remind the viewers about how it felt to be a wide-eyed child who believed in different lands and creatures.  These paratexts set up the hype for the film by conveying that there is a sense of wonder left in the world, and that the film will show it to you.  In a larger context, this case study shows that the film is able to communicate an idea of success and survival in the world.  It shows how the endurance of one little boy in his troubles and woes in the real world are offset by the “wild things”.  This is an attempt to tell society that no matter what impossibilities one may be facing, there is always hope that something just might come true.