When I heard that Warner Bros. was going to produce a film version of “Where the Wild Things Are,” I was skeptical at best. How could director Spike Jonze adapt a book of only 20 pages and 10 sentences into a feature-length film?

The result is a visually compelling adventure that is respectful of the 1963 children's book. Jonze and company capture author Maurice Sendak's psychoanalytical tone and expound on the theme - how kids master various emotions.

As a child, I identified with the main character, Max. In the book, he is sent to bed without dinner. Then a forest starts to grow in his room and an ocean tumbles by with a private boat to sail to Where the Wild Things Are. After taming the wild things and being hailed by their ruler, Max sails home just in time for supper. Who doesn't want to be Max?

Max Records (“The Brothers Bloom”) stars as Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy who feels misunderstood at home. His single mom (Catherine Keener) is preoccupied with her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo), while his adolescent sister does not have time for him anymore.

One night during dinner, Max and his mom have an argument. But instead of the boy being sent to his room, Max escapes to Where the Wild Things Are. He lands on an island, where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions.

While kids will still identify with Max, they will be more enthralled by the Wild Things roaring their terrible roars and showing their terrible claws. Every boy will want to tame the Wild Things and be their ruler.

I like how the Wild Things represent lateral relationships and emotions within Max's world.

Carol (James Gandolfini) is the powerful and sensitive leader of the pack.

KW (Lauren Ambrose) loves the group dynamic but also craves time alone.

Chris Cooper is the energetic and industrious rooster-feathered Douglas.

Catherine O'Hara is my favorite as the sarcastic and domineering Judith.

Forest Whitaker voices Ira, Judith's modest and patient companion, and Paul Dano is the diminutive goat-horned Alexander.

The Wild Things, who have been looking for a leader to guide them, crown Max as their ruler. But soon, Max discovers that ruling a kingdom proves more complex than he thought.

Jonze is the ideal director to adapt Sendak's Caldecott Medal-winning masterpiece. His quirky yet soulful style matches the book's spirit. Although the film may be best remembered as visually stunning, “Where the Wild Things Are” is a perfect addition to Jonze's body of work, which includes “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation.”

“Where the Wild Things Are” is an enjoyable, albeit flawed, masterpiece that is brave enough to talk about the feral joys of growing up.