Where the Wild Things Are (lost production material of unfinished film adaptations of children's book; 1980s-2000s)

Cover of the book the films were based on.

Status: Lost

Where The Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's book by famed author Maurice Sendak. The book captured the hearts of many children and is considered a classic.

Adaptations

There have been many attempts to bring the book to the big screen. A few were made that did not get past the pre-production stages.

Disney Adaptation

In 1983, John Lasseter (future Pixar animator) took an idea to adapt the book into a film to Disney Animation Studios. They told him to do an animation test based off of his idea. The film was to feature 2D animated characters in a computer-generated, 3D environment. Disney, though impressed, decided to cancel the project.

Though the animation test was broadcasted on The Disney Channel and is commonly seen on YouTube, Lasseter completed a few more film elements before its cancellation. These have not been released.

Universal Adaptation

A few more small attempts were made at making a film, most of which now only remain as scripts. In 2001, Universal Studios attempted another animated adaptation that was entirely done with computer-generated 3D graphics. The movie was apparently halfway completed before Universal pulled the plug for unknown reasons.

None of the film's elements have been seen or have been leaked online, though a teaser trailer was reportedly attached to the theatrical release of 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Footage

John Lasseter's Where The Wild Things Are animation test.

Videos

Seeker of the Lost's video on the subject of the teaser trailer for the unproduced Universal film adaptation

See Also

• Where the Wild Things Are (lost Arcade Fire songs from film's soundtrack; existence unconfirmed; 2009)