If you thought the book was scary, imagine how frightful the film that brings Maurice Sendak's teeth-gnashing beasts to life must be.

Even if you're one of the few who hasn't read or been read his 1963 children's fantasy-turned-nightmare Where the Wild Things Are, you've probably heard of it. It's the tale of an unruly boy in a wolf suit sent to bed without supper, who sails to an imaginary island of monsters and becomes their king.

Tantalizingly incomplete, the movie poster for director Spike Jonze's same-titled, cinematic interpretation of the story, Where the Wild Things Are, has finally been revealed. Perhaps the towering Wild Thing's mostly hidden face may be a mystery meant to entice audiences. Or considering the multitude of missteps the project has supposedly suffered -- including creating creatures with blank, unlovable faces -- it could be a bad omen.

We've put together a rough timeline of rumored troubles that have tripped up the production, now slated for an October 2009 release.

Timeline O' Troubles

2000 - The Grinch Who Stole Christmas previews include a teaser for a live-action film adaptation by Spike Jonze with Universal Pictures.

2006 - Warner Bros. replaces Universal after a fallout with Jonze. Principal photography takes place in Australia.

2007 - During a test screening of the movie, kids in the audience reportedly cry and flee the theater. Issues include a highly unlikable Max (played by newcomer Max Records), who is reportedly more mean-spirited than mischievous, and Wild Things, originally shot as actors in furry suits with animated faces and animatronic puppets, that lack warmth and emotion.

February, 2008 - Net gossips announce that Warner Bros. wants the entire film to be reshot.

July, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times reports that "something has gone very wrong" with the $80 million dollar venture yet quotes Warner Bros. head Alan Horn affirming their support for Jonze and the movie: "We've given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film. ... We remain confident that Spike is going to figure things out and at the end of the day we'll have an artistically compelling movie."

The Times also noted that Jonze "is now retooling the film, using CGI to create more lifelike monsters."

None of this bodes too well. I caught a clip on YouTube labeled as Where the Wild Things Are test footage:

If it is what it says it is, the acting was far, far worse, less likable, and more lifeless than I imagined. Not just Max's but that of the soulless voice inside the monster. That's not a CGI problem.

Plus, Sendak's story has always received mixed reviews of delight and terror from kids.

"We will eat you up -- we love you so.” Eeek!

It would be hard for any director's take on the original not to cause nightmares. Only unlike the book, the film has a lot more money to lose if it fails to please. Though it does boast an all-star cast that includes Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener and Forest Whitaker. And the soundtrack's by Spike's ex, Karen O from the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, which should make some adults happy but also potentially spook some little 'uns. The Dave Eggers-Spike Jonze script also has the tall task of stretching the original to movie length.

Still, there's time for Jonze to turn the troubled movie into a magical masterpiece, perchance a Labyrinth-like homage to a children's classic.

Fingers (and claws) crossed!

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