Damn you and your cinematic wizardry, you whimsical creative vagabond.
Alright, I must concede this looks beautiful. I’m still not sure what the point is of making a 48 page piece-of-genius book into a hour and a half film (I’m assuming), but it looks just gorgeous. I was really on the Howard Berger side of “horrible idea,” but I might be coming around. Although, I’m pretty sure you could throw Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” behind some footage of a decaying roadside bullhead (that’s Minnesotan for “catfish”) and I would be moved.
If the film is 1/4 as interesting as the trailer, I’ll consider it a huge success. And I think Spike Jonze moves the bar up for fantasy films with his combination of animatronics, CGI, and handheld. There are ways to make fantasy believable, when CGI is used with restraint, as a spice. You can’t enjoy a meal that’s made of salt. Don’t believe me? Gentlemen, I give you… The Star Wars Prequels.
(I love James Gandolfini. What a complete actor. May he continue to get interesting roles offered to him. His “Inside the Actors Studio” is one of the best out there, along with Chappelle’s.)
Kenwoode 
I guess my response to the question of ‘What’s the point?’ is to ask another question which is equally valid:
“What is the point of writing a 7-book series out of a Robert Browning poem?”
Artists don’t need good excuses to make good art. A lot of artists are looking for some kind of skeleton to create tissue for.
I think it’s obvious that, when you contrast the scale of the two pieces (WtWWA book vs WtWTA movie), the movie has to have a good deal of invention. The book is really a jumping off point. My fears were allayed by Sendak’s comments in the featurette. Excerpted:
“He’s turned it into his, without giving up mine. But embodying mine with Spike Jonze. And astonishing me at how it retains it’s peculiar-ness as a work. What flows though the whole thing is such [a] strange thing, I’ve never seen a movie that looked or felt like this. And it’s his personal “this” — I mean he’s not afraid of himself — he’s a real artist that lets it come through the work.”
and
‘The film has an entire emotional spiritual visual life which is as valid as the book. It takes nothing away, but enhances and enriches my book.’