O Lorax

Lorax, The (1972)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Surprisenly effective "warning" film from Dr. Seuss starts off by showing a wasteland where there's pretty much nothing left. A young boy wonders onto the scene asking what happened and then we flashback to a time where trees were everywhere. A greedy businessman starts to cut all the trees down and doesn't take the advice of the Lorax who thinks it's best to save the trees. Going into this movie I was a little worried that we'd just have a boring, preachy film but that wasn't the case at all. In fact, I think you could make a very strong argument that this here is one of the best Seuss adaptations to come from this era. As you expect the animation is extremely beautiful, full of wonderful detail and is so pleasant on the eyes you can't help but get drawn into it. Just check out the scene where a duck flies into some polluted air and you'll see the creative ways that they used the colors to help tell the story. Another major plus are the characters with the Lorax character coming off extremely entertaining. I also loved the greedy guy and really liked the fact that we never get to fully see him. The story itself is certainly a message-driven one but I appreciate the fact that they didn't beat you over the head or preach to you. Instead they just told a good story and got the message across that way.

As Dr. Seuss's work was usually politically charged,* "The Lorax" does a good job looking at the environment. Scary is how realistic the book/movie eventually became (especially under George W. Bush). But it does have an element of hope to it. I guess that it makes sense to have Eddie Albert narrate, given his environmental work. After watching the movie, you just might feel like speaking for the trees, and all other wildlife.

*"The Cat in the Hat" was promoting rebellion, "Yertle the Turtle" was about the class system, "The Butter Battle Book" was about the Cold War-era arms buildup.

A Dr Seuss relatively unknown gem. A narrator (never identified) tells a story of how a person discovered a crop that could be used for anything. Soon all the trees where this crop grew were cut down and factories were built along with houses and highways while all the while a creature in the forest gives warning, saying he speaks for the trees. Unfortunately the warning goes unheeded and the wildlife that lives there make a fateful decision. A cautionary tale that was ahead of its time but seems very on point today. It warns us to be careful not to become to obsessed with our needs for consumer items and not to be suckered in by commercialism at expense of nature and the wonderful world around us. A Dr Seuss that should be shown on televison much more often than it is - some Logging companies in the west wanted it banned because of the ecological message - but now it is available to all. A must see and one to watch and discuss with your children. On a scale of one to ten...8

Well, of course it's good for kids--it's Dr. Seuss! Of course, he's for all ages, but that should have been a clue. I suppose adults can get something from Barney the Dinosaur (to use an extreme example) but it isn't really created for adults, is it.

I'm curious: how old is the poster to whom I am replying? I ask because I sense that without a real understanding of the concerns of the '70s, this film might appear just a piece of outdated animation.

While this film might seem simplistic, its timing was impeccable. It premiered at the moment that the original ecology movement had begun to touch the general populace, and it began with baby seals . . . and serious deforestation of US land. The true-life events and fears of that time were exactly as presented; in fact, this movie aired only that once (until decades later) because the lumber industry was powerful enough at the time to have it hidden on a back shelf. Imagine: they were that scared of the power of this message that Dr. Seuss created (ostensibly) for children.

In any case, I was thrilled to find access to the movie as it is one of those pieces that defined my childhood in its era. Enjoy it for what it is or spend some time really watching it, but don't dismiss it so easily.

I love Dr Seuss and I love the cartoon television specials based on his work, the live-action movies excepting The 5000 Fingers of Dr T not so much. The Lorax is one of Dr Seuss' best stories and the 1972 television special is one of the classics too. It has a wonderful message that is still relevant now, simple and I think beautiful animation, catchy songs, witty dialogue, timeless characters that have their conflicts(especially Once-Ler), a story that is just as charming, whimsical and surreal as Dr Seuss' writing and stories and great voice acting from Eddie Albert and especially Bob Holt. I know this is not adding very much to the previous reviews, but anything I wanted to say about The Lorax has been said brilliantly already and better than I could do. I haven't seen the recent movie yet(doesn't come out until July where I live), I am very dubious in all honesty but even if it does turn out better than expected I don't think it will surpass this classic. 10/10 Bethany Cox