I like few directors more than Spike Jonze, and I like few books more than Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, which has been one of my favorites since I was about four years old. So you can imagine I’m pretty stoked about Jonze and Dave Eggers’ cinematic adaptation of Sendak’s book, which MTV just snagged the first image from. Check it out below, or click here for a bigger version.

Sure, this could go horribly awry in a billion ways—but right now, I’m content with keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping/believing that with Jonze and Eggers at the wheel, the film will maintain the beauty, sadness, humor, and truth of Sendak’s book. Yes. My fingers are crossed.

Image via MTV and AICN.