“I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.” Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.
That is a classic quote from the Dr. Seuss book, and movie, The Lorax.
The Lorax, in my opinion, wasn’t a very popular film. I know the book was, but I have yet to find someone aside from myself who enjoyed the original film. It’s one of my personal favorites.
I don’t know why the story has always appealed to me. It’s a rather grim story about how the land gets destroyed by man’s disregard of the trees (in the story it’s the Truffala trees) and how it effects the environment. It’s actually a story about what can become of Earth if we all stop caring about it. Sigh…
When I first learned that there was a re-make of The Lorax, starring Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Betty White and Danny DeVito, I have to admit I wasn’t too keen on the idea. Sometimes you can’t improve on a classic. There are been plenty of remakes that have been made that have ended up being lousy movies.
The more I saw of the new Lorax movie, the more curious I became about it. It actually looked pretty good, and funny too. The original movie “dark” and gloomy. The new film looked like it was funny.
I didn’t see The Lorax in the theater. I wanted to but never had a chance to go. I was excited to receive a screener copy to review. Now I finally had a chance to see the updated version of the story.
Check out the trailer. You an also find it here, http://youtu.be/3DXU1348PHg.
The new Lorax movie is very colorful and whimsical. It’s actually a story within a story. One story revolves around a young boy name Ted (Efron) who is trying to impress the girl he has a crush on, Audrey (Swift). Audrey’s biggest wish is to see a real, live tree. There are no trees to be found in Thneedville. They were killed off long ago. Now they live in a world made of plastic where they have to pay for air. Mr. O’Hare owns the air. People shouldn’t have to pay for it but most of the air is polluted due to the factories, so Mr. O’Hare sells the people of Thneedville clean air.
Ted is determined to find a real tree to give to Audrey. He turns to his grandmother (voiced by Betty White) who tells Ted about a man named Once-ler who lives outside of town where nothing grows. She told Ted that he might know where to find trees.
Ted makes his way out of Thneedville and finds the Once-ler who lives in a rickety old building. The Once-ler promises to show Ted a real tree, but he first needs to tell Ted his story and how it came to be that the world had no more trees.
This is where the movie follows along with the book. Not exactly. The characters look similar and the story line is pretty much the same, but the filmmakers added a bit more to it.
Will Ted end up getting a tree for Audrey, and what lesson does the Once-ler want to teach Ted? To find out you need to pick up a copy of The Lorax which is available now on Blu-ray/DVD.
I liked that the new movie ended on a more positive and hopeful note than the original. I also think Dr. Suess would be proud of the new version of his story. The filmmakers did an excellent job staying true to the original story and characters, they just added a little more to it.
After watching the movie on my TV I wish I saw it on the big screen. I bet it looked amazing.
They put A LOT of details into the film, right down to the fluffiness of the Truffula trees. They looked so soft and fluffy. I felt like reaching into the TV to touch one.
The characters were adorable. I loved the Bar-Ba-Loots (Bears), Humming Fish and the Swommee Swans. They characters were adorable and provided many of the laughs in the film. They were a lot more entertaining then in the orignal film and book.
The filmmakers did a great job casting the voices for the characters too. Danny DeVito has a great voice for the Lorax.
No movie would be complete without some fun bonus features. Be sure to check out the three bonus clips. They are referred to as mini-movies but they are only a couple of minutes in length. There is also a bonus feature that tells you how the mini clips came about. One of them was actually going to appear in the movie but was removed. It was too cute not to show so they made it into a mini movie instead.
There is a deleted scene, games, sing-a-long and a nice bonus feature called Expedition of Truffala Valley. The bonus features, when all added up, are probably as long as the film. I also liked the clips that showed you how to draw the Lorax, Bar-Ba-Loot bear and a Humming Fish. They are actually pretty easy to draw.
Here is the clip on how to draw the Humming Fish. If you are reading this via e-mail you can see the clip here, http://bit.ly/TjZeJX.
This is a fun, family movie. It is rated PG-13 but I didn’t see anything wrong with it. I don’t know why a 6 year old couldn’t enjoy the movie as much as a 16 year old.
Look for The Lorax where ever movies are sold.
Click on the photo below to download some FREE Lorax coloring pages and activities.
You can also check out the movie on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/TheLorax).
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.
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