The Lorax
Director: Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda
Cast: Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Danny DeVito (Animated)
Rated: PG
Running time: 94 minutes
The Lorax is one of Dr. Seuss' most hostile, in-your-face books. Back when saying "I care about the environment" in most towns would get you a punch in the throat, along came this kids' book yelling, "Hey morons! Stop harvesting resources and poisoning our land to make a buck for stupid things."
This is a message that ruffled a lot of feathers, and deserves a good thought. Forty years later, it's hard to argue that we're any better at treating the Earth - or telling the story of The Lorax.
Right off the bat you have to admit it's crazy talk to think you could do better then the original book or the animated feature Seuss wrote in '72 (check it out free on YouTube) but since new Seuss movies are inevitable, you have to be optimistic.
The film starts just as the book. Young boy visits the Once-ler who chopped all the trees, poisoned the water and destroyed the land for money. He regrets this and tells the boy what happened and ends with nothing but a glimmer of hope. From there the movie can be seen as two films. There's the part that tells the original Lorax story and then there's the boy's story.
The Lorax part is pretty good although the main thrust of the book (epic battle between nature and the almighty dollar) was tucked away in a quick song. The boy parts were certainly entertaining and don't get me wrong, everyone will definitely enjoy this film and the core message is still a fantastic one. However, this is The Lorax we're talking about and it is simply impossible not to wonder what the original author would have thought of his scathing tale being sold with the addition of a love story, car chases and a happy Hollywood ending. But I'm not worried. I'm sure the men making millions chopping down and replanting his ideas have taken that into consideration.
