Top Ten | Places we wish we were

In honor of Spike Jonze's film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's "Where The Wild Things Are" (1963), which graces movie screens and our lives with its presence this Friday, The Tufts Daily Arts Department came up with ten places we want to journey to that are comparable to the world of the Wild Things.

10. Camelot: We want the knights and the princesses and the dragons (Were there dragons in Camelot? Well, now there are.) Chivalry may be dead here in the 21st century, but in Camelot you'd be dead without chivalry.

9. Oz: Living in the Emerald City wouldn't be half bad, especially now that the Wicked Witch is dead. Just watch out for lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

8. Salvador Dali's Mind: Ever seen "Persistence of Memory" (1931), or for that matter, anything Dali ever painted? So many strange, surreal objects. So odd. So colorful. In fact, we're pretty sure that an adventure inside Dali's brain would be roughly equivalent to a hefty dose of LSD. "Whoa, dude ... those clocks are huge!"

7. Neverland: Peter Pan got it right when he refused to grow up. Who wouldn't want to live in a world of magic fairies and pirates? Jobs? The "real world"? Who needs ‘em?

6. Paris: The only real place on our list — that's because it's like an artsy wonderland in real life where we can stroll down avenues and traipse through parks. We could spend the whole day in museums and cinemas and boutiques. Even the graveyards are artsy; Jim Morrison happens to be buried in the city of love.

5. Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory: We want to go down the chocolate river (without getting sucked into the pipes), eat all the ridiculous candy, take a ride on Wonka's trippy boat and then soar in the glass elevator all the way through the roof. We're trading Tufts classes for Oompa Loompa Songs and Dances 101.

4. The Forest Moon of Endor With The Ewoks: Though some Star Wars die-hards think that the teddy-bear-like Ewoks ruined "Return of the Jedi" (1983), we would love to go to Endor solely to cuddle with them. They're the cutest infestation ever! Oh, Ewoks, we just want to snuggle with you in one of your primitive tree-houses.

3. The Matrix: If there is no spoon there can't be any prison shanks, so that's a plus. If we could fly, do Kung Fu and wear those cool pleather jackets, we wouldn't even care if we were nothing but robot chow.

2. Hogwarts: As if we aren't already muttering "Wingardium Leviosa" under our breaths during chem lab. Move, Bunsen burner, move! If only Emma Watson had come to Tufts instead of Brown.

1. Not the Daily Office: There are no windows down here. They keep us chained to the desks and they flog us for laughing, smiling or thinking about happiness. One time we thought about unicorns frolicking. We learned our lesson that day. Anywhere but here, please!