Here is your first look at the Spike Jonze produced adaptation of another Maurice Sendak story, “Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More To Life.”
Contributing their vocal talents to the short, which will feature on the DVD and Bluray of Jonze’s “Where The Wild Things Are,” are Meryl Streep and Forest Whitaker with Streep presumably voicing protagonist Jeannie, a Sealyham terrier who leaves a life of luxury at home in search of an acting career only to find out it’s not all she imagined. Written in 1979, the book was also a tribute to Sendak’s then-dearly departed pooch.
The animated short was directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, the team behind Oscar nominated stop-motion animation “Madame Tutli-Putli,” and it looks like they’ve combined animation with live-action, notably evident in the “Funny People”-esque shot above of an adult in a baby’s body. Jonze produced in conjunction with the NFB (the National Film Board of Canada).
Here’s a full synopsis:
Once Jennie had everything. She had two bowls to eat from, two pillows, and for cold weather, a red wool sweater. She even had a master who loved her. But Jennie didn’t care. In the middle of the night she packed everything she had in a black leather bag with gold buckles and looked out of her favorite window for the last time…
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life follows Jennie’s surreal, suspenseful and unexpectedly moving journey to gain new experiences and realize her dream of becoming the star of the World Mother Goose Theatre.
The National Film Board of Canada and Warner Home Video present a new live-action/animated adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s book from filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Oscar® nominee and Genie Award winner for Madame Tutli-Putli), featuring the voices of Meryl Streep and Forest Whitaker.
The “Where The Wild Things Are” DVD and Bluray hits stores on March 2nd.
