By bearcast | March 11, 2012 at 8:00 am | No comments | Culture, Film | Tags: ben miller, danny devito, ed helms, movie review, the lorax
by Ben Miller, host of The Dawg Pound;
Dr. Seuss books have been made into movies three times before The Lorax. There first was How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000, which was not very good. Then we got The Cat in the Hat in 2003, which was one of the worst films of the decade. But finally, Horton Hears a Who came out in 2008 and actually turned out to be a good movie. What made Horton different from the others? Simple, it was animated, showing that that's how Dr. Seuss books should be done in movies. And good news for Dr. Seuss fans, The Lorax continues to prove that.
The Lorax has everything a Dr. Seuss story should have in it: bright colors, fun characters, beautiful scenery, and a few fun rhymes. While its plot does deteriorate a bit from the original book that everyone loves, the scenes that stay true to the book are very well done.
The story goes like this: twelve-year-old Ted (voice of Zac Efron) is in love with a high school girl named Audrey (voice of Taylor Swift). Audrey, an artist, tells Ted she wants to see a real live tree at some point in her life. The only problem is that Ted and Audrey live in Thneedville, a city made up of all plastic nature where there are no real trees.
To impress Audrey, Ted leaves Thneedville to find a tree. His grandma (voice of Betty White) tells him of the Once-ler (voice of Ed Helms), a man who knows what happened to the trees. After crossing a barren wasteland outside of Thneedville, Ted finds the Once-ler who tells him the story.
Here's the part where the movie starts to follow the book. The Once-ler tells of how many years ago, he went to the forest to chop down trees for his business, making thneeds. It's then that we officially meet the Lorax (voiced wonderfully by Danny DeVito), who warns the Once-ler about the dangers of chopping down the trees. Naturally, the Once-ler ignores him and continues his business, prompting the Lorax to try and take actions against him.
The scenery in the movie is bright, colorful, and really has the feel of a Dr. Seuss book. The characters in the movie are also well created and very animated. DeVito was the perfect choice to voice the Lorax, giving him a lot of characterization and enthusiasm and Helms adds that special touch as the Once-ler.
There are only two real troubles with this movie. The first is the songs are rather forgettable and very dull and the second is that the second plot of the movie, involving Ted going up against a corporate giant, is somewhat silly. At times, the movie strays away from the classic Dr. Seuss tale, but is able to return to it very quickly.
The film opened on what would've been Dr. Seuss's 108th birthday. While it may not have all the characteristics of the loved book, it still has some and I'm sure made a find birthday present for the good doctor. This is the best movie adaption of a Dr. Seuss book, though that unfortunately does not say much, due to the poor competition. Children are bound to love this film and parents will find it entertaining as it cleverly shows its main message: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not."
The Lorax
7 (out of 10)
Stars: Danny DeVito, Ed Helms
Directed by Chris Renaud
1 hour 26 minutes
