In his own words, Max says “I’m an explorer who travels by sea. I used to travel by air.”

The live-action movie adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are,” has become one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The film, which opens Friday, is said by author and illustrator Sendak to take the essence of his book while creating a whole new story around a boy named Max and his adventure.

Michael Mendelson, ISU university professor of English, said it has been an enormous success that created Sendak’s career.

“It appealed to both children and parents,” said Mendelson, who teaches courses in children’s literature. “It has never lost its popularity because Max’s story is so simple and, even when it first appeared, so familiar.”

In previous interviews, Sendak said many people have tried to make the book into a full-length feature over the years, but he didn’t feel comfortable with any of them until Spike Jonze came along.

“Now he’s doing his version of it,” Sendak said.

Jonze co-wrote and directed the film and Sendak was one of the producers.

The movie revolves around the imaginative Max, who feels misunderstood at home and travels to the land of the Wild Things on a far away island, where making a “rumpus” is the norm.

“[Sendak] said from the beginning you have to make it dangerous, make it something that respects kids and doesn’t talk down to them,” Jonze said in the featurette for the movie.

Mendelson said the book has roots in the dark images of classic fairy tales.

“Maurice Sendak revived dark and disturbing images we remember from fairy tales and glimpse in our dreams,” Mendelson said.

He drew similarities to “Hansel and Gretel” from the Grimm’s Fairy Tales and “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll.

Many people are buzzing around the film, excited to see one of their favorite books as a child on the big screen in a mature manner, but many also wonder how a book of 10 sentences can be turned into a major motion picture.

Sendak warns in a featurette that, “there will be controversy.”

“Where the Wild Things Are”

Runtime: 94 min.

Rated: PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language.

Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo and the voices of James Gandolfini, Forest Whitaker, Chris Cooper and Catherine O’Hara

Director: Spike Jonze        

Screenplay: Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers

Based on Maurice Sendak’s classic book, Max, a mischievous young boy, lets his imagination transport him to a forest bordering a vast sea. He sets sail for the land of the Wild Things, where he and mischief rule.

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Showtimes: 4:30, 7:05 and 9:40 p.m. Saturday and Sunday only: 11:20 a.m. and 1:55 p.m.