A sold-out movie auditorium fidgets in frustration, gnawing on overpriced candy and crunching on handfuls of butter-drenched popcorn as they anxiously await the main event. It is 12:07 a.m. Finally, after a long six minutes, the theatre lights dim and the audience erupts into spontaneous applause.

Some have been waiting much longer than six minutes for the premiere of director Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are. Based on the 1963 classic children's storybook, Where the Wild Things Are is fueling a cultural phenomenon not limited to just the silver screen. Attendance is up at San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum, which is featuring an exhibition dedicated to the book's 81-year-old author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak.

"Since the book came out in 1963, there's quite a few generations that grew up with the book," says Dara Solomon, Assistant Curator for the Contemporary Jewish Museum--CJM. "We've been noticing a wider audience of ages and backgrounds as a result of the renewed interest."

"There's a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak" is on display until January and features Sendak's original sketches and watercolors as well as a personal history of the renowned author and artist. There is a little something for everyone, from interactive touch screen interviews with Sendak to a children's reading corner where families can discover and share the magic of Maurice's monsters.

The CJM hosted a V.I.P. party following a September thirtieth sneak preview of the highly anticipated screen version of Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, which hit theatres October sixteenth. The museum was transformed into a jungle-like forest, where mingling guests could rub elbows with actors from the film as well as director Spike Jones and screenwriter Dave Eggers. At two-hundred dollars a pop, the event raised over forty thousand dollars to benefit 826 Valencia, Eggers children's literacy organization.

Jonze and Eggers collaborated with Sendak in recreating the story of a little boy named Max who is sent to bed without dinner. Though simple in prose, the raw material of the storybook provides multi-dimensional characters and rich thematic possibilities combined with an unforgettable aesthetic experience that earned it the Caldecott Medal for children's picture books in 1964.

"Children connect to the story at a young age and can't let go of it," says Sammy Marks, a third year Creative Writing major at San Francisco State University. Marks, 20, attended a midnight premiere of the film, which grossed over thirty-two million in its opening weekend. Hundreds of antsy moviegoers flooded the Metreon movie theatre complex in San Francisco that night, swarming the lobby as they waited in line for multiple sold-out showings. Die-hard fans arrived decked out in full costume, some complete with the crown, scepter, and wolf tail of 'King Max.'

Fans have been kept eagerly awaiting the movie for almost five years while director Jonze has reportedly battled with Warner Brothers Studios about the final cut. In an interview for The New York Times, Jonze said, "It's like the studio was expecting a boy, and I gave birth to a girl."

Jonze and Eggers embraced the challenge of revamping the classic story that sold nineteen million copies worldwide at the risk of disappointing an audience disillusioned by the dreaded book-turned-movie syndrome. "The movie is definitely an interpretation," says 26-year-old Lizzie Crowley, adding the theory that Jonze and Eggers "put a little of themselves into the movie."

The film adaptation follows the original story with respectful fidelity, while elaborating thematic and visual elements to create an authentic but unique experience for old and new fans. The childlike camera work puts us in the shoes of our protagonist, Max, seeing things from his five-foot-tall perspective.

"I'll eat you up!" A defiant Max growls at his mother, bringing to life a memorable scene from the book using Sendak's own words as the audience is drawn into the story. The camera shakes as he runs and rocks as he sails on his adventure to where the wild things are.

With a little help from the Muppet mavens themselves, Jim Henson's Creature Shop created the monster costumes. "I'm glad it wasn't computer animated," says Crowley. "You don't want a cartoon on the screen."

Unlike the book, the actual wild things are personified as more than just savage monsters. Each character is complex and humane, giving the story a more emotional tone than the book. Though the film is rated PG, the film explores mature existential and moral themes about life, love, and responsibility that appeal to adults as well as children.

Originally, Sendak's book was met with similar disapproval. "Children's novels were a bit sedate at the time," says CJM's Solomon. "Sendak wasn't afraid to show the full range of a child's emotions." "The book and the movie are completely different things," says Sammy Marks.

"It just wasn't what I expected," says 18-year-old Arielle Abdon, a first year student at SF State. Abdon said that most of her friends walked out of the theatre before it was over, adding that one friend who did stay fell asleep in the seat next to her. "I don't think it was worth it."

Overall, the world is going wild over the film. "It's a very marketable movie experience. It's enjoyable, it's uplifting, it's sad, it's lonely--but it makes you smile," says Marks. "It's this cultural thing that has just exploded, and it has so much potential."

With such a varied appeal, the movie has been marketed into a consumer cash cow. The soundtrack has been an especially successful endeavor, featuring the music of indie music queen Karen O., who happens to be the director's ex-girlfriend. The brand is continuing to expand, with the soundtrack being sold at Starbucks Coffee, Halloween costumes on sale at Urban Outfitters, and interactive video games. Even small restaurants are serving "Wild Things" themed candy apple desserts and it seems as though everyone is getting a piece of the Wild Things pie.

It is easy to get caught up in the wild rumpus surrounding the film, but at the movie's core, "it's a heart felt story about a little boy you can't help but identify with," says 23-year-old Ben Retan, "I found myself alternating between howling with laughter and howling at the moon."

The Contemporary Jewish Museum is located in San Francisco at 736 Mission St. For more information regarding location, hours of operation, and admission, visit http://www.thecjm.org/ [X]