Much like many themes today
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax doesn’t stray
From what has become a worldly trend
Of treating the environment like a friend.
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax delivered a meaningful message in one amusing, 3D adventure. With an overall message of things can change as long as there’s just one person who cares, it focuses mainly on our environmental footprints.
When 12-year-old Ted (Zac Efron), finds out his crush Audrey (Taylor Swift), only wants a tree for her birthday he becomes destined to find one. But living in a completely plastic town, where fresh air is a product you pay for, means he’ll have to leave to find the only man who knows anything about trees- the Once-ler (Ed Helms). Once a young entrepreneur, the Once-ler shares with Ted what he knows about trees and of course his tale of the Lorax (Danny Devito).
Released March 2, the film coincided with Dr. Seuss’ 108th birthday and what a gift to the king of rhyme it was. If you read any of Seuss’ books as a child, it wasn’t hard to becomeenthralled in his rhymes. If you’re still a child, not much has changed with this film. The movie was 86 minutes of pure fun, opening with a catchy musical number.
Directed by Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda the film was produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, the same team that brought us Despicable Me.
If you’ve seen Despicable Me, you know of the Minions and the sense of humour and success they brought to the film. With The Lorax, you could tell they tried to imitate that same humour through characters like the wild animals – a bit naïve, only made odd noises and had big expressions.
Unlike other Dr. Seuss recreations, this film is full of sing-alongs. Though upbeat and likeable the musical numbers were a bit excessive. It felt as though there was one song after the other, assigning a song to each main character.
Much like the book, which Seuss wrote in 1971, the film focused on one main word: Unless. Unless you’re a child, or at least one at heart, this candy-coloured film won’t be on top of many moviegoers’ lists.