The Lorax (2012)

A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

Directors:

Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda

Writers:

Ken Daurio (screenplay), Cinco Paul (screenplay),

Stars:

Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny DeVito	...	The Lorax (voice)
Ed Helms	...	The Once-ler (voice)
Zac Efron	...	Ted (voice)
Taylor Swift	...	Audrey (voice)
Betty White	...	Grammy Norma (voice)
Rob Riggle	...	Mr. O'Hare (voice)
Jenny Slate	...	Ted's Mom (voice)
Nasim Pedrad	...	Once-ler's Mom (voice)
Joel Swetow	...	1st Marketing Guy (voice)
Michael Beattie	...	2nd Marketing Guy (voice)
Dave B. Mitchell	...	1st Commercial Guy (voice)
Dempsey Pappion	...	2nd Commercial Guy (voice)
Elmarie Wendel	...	Aunt Grizelda (voice)
Danny Cooksey	...	Brett / Chet (voice)
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Uncle Ubb (voice)

Storyline

In the walled city of Thneed-Ville, where everything is artificial and even the air is a commodity, a boy named Ted hopes to win the heart of his dream girl, Audrey. When he learns of her wish to see a real tree, Ted seeks out the Once-ler, a ruined old businessman outside of town in a stark wasteland. Upon hearing of how the hermit gave into his greed for profits and devastated the land over the protests of the Lorax, Ted is inspired to undo the disaster. However, the greedy Mayor of Thneed-Ville, Aloysius O'Hare, has made his fortune exploiting the environmental collapse and is determined to stop the boy from undermining his business.

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Plot Keywords:

tree | walled city | environmental | money falling through the air | mother son relationship | 

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Taglines:

From the creators of Despicable Me.

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for brief mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$70,217,070 (USA) (2 March 2012)

Gross:

$213,949,505 (USA) (20 July 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film premiered on March 2, 2012 - Dr. Seuss's 108th birthday.

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Goofs

The second time Ted goes to see the Once-ler, he accelerates his scooter using the left handle; in the rest of the movie, the accelerator is in the (usual) right-hand handle.

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Quotes

Ted's Mom: Why do you need a tree? It just... sticks out of the ground and it does what? I don't even know what it does. Look! We've GOT a tree! It's the Oak-a-matic! Three modes! Summer, Fall, Winter, and... Disco!
[starts dancing]
Ted's Mom: Come on, honey, dance with the tree.
Ted: Oh, it hurts, mom. Please stop.

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Connections

Spoofed in Mad: I Am Lorax/Modern Family Circus (2012)

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Soundtracks

"O'Hare Air Jingle"
Written and Performed by Chad Fischer

User Reviews

A Different Purpose

It's hard for Hollywood to make an adaptation of a book by Dr. Seuss. Especially if it's something like The Lorax. The Lorax is one of Dr. Seuss' darkest tales with a serious sentiment. This film adaptation keeps the story but it focuses too much to its fun characters and gimmickry of the 3D than the environmental message. It leaves the message as the background of the film. As a whole, it's colorful and fun but it feels very different.

The film adds a lot of new things to stretch this small story. Like the Once-ler reveals his face and the kid from from the beginning has a different motive why he went to the Once-ler. It's strange and clever. This is from the creators of Despicable Me and the studio's trademark is to add some cute comic relief characters. The Humming Fish, Swomee Swans, and The Barbaloots are cute enough.

It's easy to say that Danny DeVito is perfect as the Lorax and Ed Helms is a bit charming as the Once-ler. Everything in this film fun. The songs are pretty good although it's not quite memorable. What disappoints here is the execution of the story. Yes, the message is there but it feels like it's just the background of the film. More goes to the fun. There's nothing wrong with that but it's too light for this dark story.

The film has the heart and soul to show Dr. Seuss' illustration but the storytelling feels too different. The message is there but it's not as compelling as the book. It's pretty hard to say it's a bad film because it's entertaining and fun. It's hard to say it's great because it lacks eagerness to the message. It seems like Horton Hears A Who will remain as the best Dr. Seuss adaptation so far.