Newsweek recently published a group interview with Maurice Sendak, author of Where The Wild Things Are, along with the director and screenwriter of the film adaptation, Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers. It’s a great interview if you want an inside look at the attitudes of all three regarding the book, the film, and the creative process in between. It’s also a great interview if you want to read something that will make you absolutely love Maurice Sendak. About midway through, Sendak shares his thoughts on Disney: Asked if the company is “bad for children,” the 81-year-old children’s book writer says, “I think it’s terrible.” He goes on to lament Mickey Mouse slowly losing his “teeth” as the years went on. “I think what happened,” sighs Sendak, “was that he became so popular—this is my own theory—they gave his cruelty and his toughness to Donald Duck. And they made Mickey a fat nothing.”
Best of all is this excerpt, shortly after:
Newsweek: What do you say to parents who think the Wild Things film may be too scary?
Sendak: I would tell them to go to hell. That’s a question I will not tolerate.
Newsweek: Because kids can handle it?
Sendak: If they can’t handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it’s not a question that can be answered.
Jonze: Dave, you want to field that one?
Eggers: The part about kids wetting their pants? Should kids wear diapers when they go to the movies? I think adults should wear diapers going to it, too. I think everyone should be prepared for any eventuality.
Sendak: I think you’re right. This concentration on kids being scared, as though we as adults can’t be scared. Of course we’re scared. I’m scared of watching a TV show about vampires. I can’t fall asleep. It never stops. We’re grown-ups; we know better, but we’re afraid.
Newsweek: Why is that important in art?
Sendak: Because it’s truth. You don’t want to do something that’s all terrifying. I saw the most horrendous movies that were unfit for child’s eyes. So what? I managed to survive.
That’s the freedom one gets from being a renowned children’s author, I suppose: Telling the truth, and if it pisses people off, telling them to go right to hell. Literally. It must be nice. In any case, Sendak just jumped considerably higher on my list of Best People Ever.
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