Movie Review: The Lorax

By David Droster

I adore Dr. Seuss. This alone could sway my opinion one way, the other, or a little of both. Dr. Seuss is a huge part of my childhood, so I admit that I went to the theater with a bit of fanboyism, wanting these people not to mar my childhood. Thus, I did not see it in 3-D. Having seen it in two glorious dimensions, I’m not disappointed.

Now, The Lorax is a strange choice for adapting to film. Not only does all the action take place in the past, the run time is only about a half hour (if you’ve seen the 1972 TV special) like any cartoon taking directly from a children’s book. This is probably the reason for expanding the story of Ted Wiggins (Zac Efron), the boy who visits the Once-ler (Ed Helms). The choice to simply invent a whole new storyline turned me off initially, but that’s just the part of me which is nostalgic for my childhood. In execution, the story works because it adds a bit of action and depth. The little modernizations are worthy, like the plaque that reads “Too big to fail” or the commentary of O’Hare’s empire being built on the ruin left by the Once-ler’s empire. This is all fine and good because, honestly, Dr. Seuss’ pro-environmentalism book stretched to an 86-minute runtime would be a bit heavy and slow to take in.
Which leads me to the central success of The Lorax, and the central power of Theodor Giesel. All of Seuss’ books are potent and effective because they’re simple and straightforward in their messages without being heavy-handed. With the exception of a couple of the musical numbers and small moments, this movie adaptation doesn’t drop the ball here. It tells a story and is cute and entertaining without just yelling “DON’T CLEAR CUT FORESTS AND BE A DOUCHE” the whole time.
I’ve read reviews in which viewers express a problem with the animation style. Yes, I agree that no computer-generated animation can capture exactly the charm of Dr. Seuss’ illustrations, but the vision for the movie is admirable. While I don’t like the houses in the town so much, the Once-ler’s house looks genuine and the wastelands are done in an interesting style. Let’s not forget the truffula trees. Those look right. A personal opinion this may be, but I’m sticking with it.
As for the voice casting, I may not be a personal fan of Zac Efron or Taylor Swift, but along with Danny DeVito as the Lorax, Ed Helms as the Once-ler, and Rob Riggle as Aloysius O'Hare, they help to comprise a substantial and more than apt cast.
On the whole, The Lorax is a respectable adaptation of a great source material. I don't profess to know what the good doctor would think of this, but I say see it and enjoy.