The Lorax

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.

Not bad. I am a fan of Ted Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, Theo. LeSieg)and his work. It has a good lesson but the book was better. For two reasons:

1.) You could use your imagination and 2.) No over used, annoying, pointless, not needed songs.

My opinion: 7 out of 10

Read the book you'll understand.

The story is the strength here. Dr. Seuss message here is more that there has to be balance in everything that you do. You can't just make the needs that everyone, everyone needs without considering the price of making it, that everyone must pay. A lot of folks now go over board trying to go too far in one direction.

A bonus here is the talented Eddie Albert singing & narrating the story. That drew me to this story as I always loved Albert as Oliver Wendell Douglas on Green Acres.

This is a book, that is exactly mirrored in this animated special. I loved reading this book to my kids, & suggest to all parents this book to read to the kiddies at bedtime when they are small. It is as enjoyable to read as it is to watch here. Pure message & entertainment, par excel-lance.

I've actually never read or have been read any Dr. Seuss books. They just aren't that huge in my country, mainly because translating them is something of a task. That being said, I've heard about them and I've watched a couple of these short films, as well as some the newer remakes. And from what I've seen, Dr. Seuss had a profound voice and ideas worth listening to.

In this tale we hear about the Once-ler as well as the Lorax. One of them a has-been business tycoon living in the ruins of his former success and the other a woodland spirit that serves as the voice of the silent nature that has been exploited by the former.

What makes this film work for me is the storytelling. The film quite clearly sides with nature. Its message is against cutting down trees and forests just for the sake of making money. Yet at the same time it doesn't villainize the Once-ler. It makes his decisions logical and something that seemed reasonable at the time. It doesn't condemn progress in itself, or even making money, rather asking for forethought and compromise. It doesn't say that progress is dangerous. It says that progress for the sake of progress is.

And true, the animation quality is nothing special, the story is somewhat short and the voice acting has a few hiccups. But when the underlying story is so strong, that really only gives it more charm, allowing for the message itself to shine through. Something I feel the 2012 remake missed completely.

The Lorax is worth seeing. It doesn't take much of your time, but hopefully you'll be thinking about it for a long time afterwards.

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