The Lorax

The problem with adapting any story by Dr. Seuss into a full length feature is that his stories were usually incredibly short. Even the half hour animated specials that everyone grew up with had to throw in a bunch of musical numbers just to kill time. The latest Seuss adaptation, The Lorax, does have the heart of the story in tact, but it is surrounded by too much stuff that doesn't work. That said, I'm certain very small children will like it. And it's often quite lovely to look at, even while wearing those clunky 3D glasses.

Before we even get to the story of the Lorax, we are introduced to Ted, a boy who seems to be only about 11 or 12, yet speaks with the voice of the 24-year-old Zac Efron. Ted lives in Thneedsville, a plastic and artificial society that seems bright, sunny, and cheerful, but apparently the air is so polluted, that the residents gladly pay high prices for bottles of fresh air. The mind behind this world of fake trees and recycled air is Mr. O'Hare (Rob Riggle), who serves as the movie's villain. He doesn't want anything natural in his town, especially trees, since they create oxygen, and it would put his bottled fresh air scam out of business. The original story of the Lorax did not need a villain, and I doubt this needed one, as well. O'Hare and his goons exist to chase after young Ted in elaborate action sequences, when Ted starts leaving town, and exploring the wastelands of a once-thriving forest on the outskirts of town.

What is Ted's fascination with finding what happened to all the real trees? The girl who lives in his neighborhood, Audrey (Taylor Swift), has started painting murals on her walls of the actual live trees that she heard once existed before Thneedsville came to be. Ted becomes determined to find out the answers of the trees' disappearance, and his grandma (Betty White, of course) thinks she knows who he can ask to learn the answers. Far beyond the Thneedsville limits, and even past the forest wastelands is an old shack where the mysterious Once-ler (Ed Helms) lives. He knows what happened to the trees, as he was the one responsible for them all being cut down. In the story and the original animated special, the Once-ler was never seen, except for his arms. He was supposed to represent an industry, and was thus rendered faceless to the viewers. In order to fill a full 90 minutes, not only do we get to see the Once-ler as a young man in flashbacks, but we also get his entire background story.

We learn that the Once-ler was a bright and inventive young man who became tired of being seen as a failure in the eyes of his dysfunctional family, and set out to make his fortune by making Thneeds - a substance with a multitude of uses, from clothing to building material. During his travels to make his fortune, he discovers a pristine forest of trees and playful animals. He immediately sets about chopping down one of the trees, so he can use its materials to make a Thneed, and winds up inadvertently summoning the Lorax (Danny Devito), a mystical orange creature who speaks for the trees, and for the animals that rely on them. He tries to warn the Once-ler about what will happen if he chops down any more trees, but once the Thneeds start selling like crazy, the opportunistic young man ignores the words of the Lorax, and sets about expanding his empire, and chopping down every tree in sight.

The flashbacks concerning the Once-ler's tale are the moments closest to the book, and are when The Lorax is the most successful. Not only are the exchanges between the Once-ler and the Lorax the best and funniest parts of the film, but they manage to get the film's environmental message out in a simplistic, but not overly heavy-handed way. Of course, the movie has to throw in a couple modern day satirical elements, such as when the Once-ler proclaims his thriving Thneed business "too big to fail". Another added subplot concerns the Once-ler obsessed with greed and becoming a success, so that he can prove to his family that he's not the failure they peg him to be. Still, these scenes are when the movie works. The animation is beautiful, there are some cute moments and sight gags concerning the local wildlife, and the movie respects the original story as told by Seuss.

Unfortunately, this is probably only 40% of the movie, and its the remaining 60% I have a problem with. All of the added material with Ted, Audrey, and Ted's feisty granny trying to plant the last remaining tree seed, while the evil Mr. O'Hare tries to stop them, seems inspired by too many recent animated films, and not the memorable ones. It's built around a lot of forgettable musical numbers (oddly enough, none of which are sung by Zac Efron or Taylor Swift, the two cast members best known for singing), and wild chase sequences that seem tailor made for a video game tie in. It gets to the point where the movie starts to lose its focus, since the Lorax appears only in the flashbacks, and not in the central storyline that the filmmakers have created. Don't get me wrong, the movie is definitely well made on a technical level, and the voice acting is strong. The 3D is also used well, and doesn't cause the movie to lose any of its vibrant colors through those dark glasses. I simply found my attention waning during the film's more manic moments.

I suspect that very little kids will love The Lorax, but there's a much better animated film playing in theaters right now that they might like just as much, if not better. That film is The Secret World of Arrietty, which is quiet, and filled with a sort of wonder and imagination that this movie lacks. Yes, The Lorax is bright, colorful, and its heart is in the right place. There's just not an awful lot that stands out about it.

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