Favorite Scene Friday! W.T.W.T.A.- I'll Eat You Up!

Although I like being “an adult”, now that summer is fast approaching, I often wish I could push aside the hard, sometimes cold realities of adulthood and just be a kid again.  If this wish could ever be granted, I’d probably choose the age range between 10-12 years old. It’s an age of very little worries, relatively speaking, and assuredly a time without deadlines, responsibilities, expectations and disappointments. It’s a time before I became frustrated with and cynical about much of our human race. A time when my biggest decision for the day was deciding who’s house my best friend and I were going to stay at for the night, his or mine. It was usually his house because we had a better chance of staying out for some late night rumpusing. Yes, probably like you, the adult in me instantly has dirty thoughts when I hear the word rumpus, but when the kid in me hears rumpus, he thinks about riding bikes all day, skipping rocks on a pond, lighting firecrackers and smoke bombs, spending his last dime on candy and putting pennies on the train track.

The author that brought the rumpus into my life, Maurice Sendak, passed away last Tuesday. When I heard the news, it got me thinking about my copy of his book, Where the Wild Things Are. Given to me sometime between 1972-1975, (yes you whippersnappers, I’m the elder statesman of this blog), it’s now a warped, musty, yellow and frayed book, but it’s a cherished possession of mine. Mostly because when I open it, Sendak’s words and illustrations let me know that I’m not completely cynical and numb to the good things that are still out there. It’s simple, sweet and touching just like today’s scene.

Max (Max Records) has just tamed the big eyed, terrible clawed wild things with a trick. They are so frightened that they call him, “the most wild thing of all and make him king of all wild things.” So like any rambunctious little boy, who has just been named king of all wild things, Max declares, “let the wild rumpus start!” My favorite part of today’s favorite scene is when Max stops at the edge of the cliff, looks out, howls and after almost getting bumped off the cliff, looks up at Carol (James Gandolfini). At that moment, they each know that they have a friend. I hope you have an excellent Friday and do me a favor, make sure to find some time this weekend to start a “wild rumpus!”

I apologize for just having a link. I found the scene and started my write up before I realized I couldn't embed it. However, to make up for it, I've added a deleted scene ;).

 http://youtu.be/lRUOOvFwqQc