Voices of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, and Taylor Swift
Directed by Chris Renaud
Music by John Powell; Lyrics by Cinco Paul
Let's celebrate Earth Day this week and Arbor Day next Friday with a story about a little fellow who speaks for the trees...and how important they are to our well-being. The Dr. Seuss picture book The Lorax debuted in 1971, just as many Americans were becoming more concerned about the environment and how badly much of it had been damaged. Controversy came with the book's message about "trees being something that everyone needs" and it's anti-deforestation stance, and it intensified after a TV special was released in 1972. With concern for the environment and our world once again in the news, how does this look today? To find out, we begin in the all-plastic world of Theedville, where a harmless request from a teen girl to the boy who has a crush on is about to change their lives forever...
The Story: Ted Wiggins (Efron) would do anything to impress pretty artist Audrey. She wishes she could see a real, live tree instead of the artificial ones in Thneedville. Inspired by his Grandma Norma's stories about a "Once-ler" (Helms) who knows what happened to the trees, Ted sets out beyond the walls of the town in search of the elusive recluse.
The Once-ler lives in a ramshackle shop out in the smog infested badlands. This was once a glowing paradise of animals who subsided on the rainbow Truffula Trees and their fruit. Hoping to use the colorful leaves to make his multi-purpose Thneed, the young Once-ler chops down a tree. That tree is the home of The Lorax (DeVito), a mystical forest guardian who isn't happy with the Once-ler's thoughtless destruction. The Once-ler claims it won't happen again, at least until his Thneed becomes a sensation and his obnoxious family takes over his business. His obsession with short-term profits ends with every single Truffula tree being chopped down. The animals are forced to leave; even his family and the Lorax abandon him.
Meanwhile, Ted keeps sneaking out more and more to hear the rest of the story. The town mayor, Aloysius O'Hare (Rob Riggle), doesn't want trees in his town. Vegetation will create air...and keep people from buying his bottled air. It'll take the help of Audrey and his family for Ted to make use of the Once-ler's gift and prove that "unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, things aren't going to get better, they're not."
The Animation: As bright and colorful as one could wish in a movie based after a Dr. Seuss picture book. The twisty Seuss aesthetic is everywhere, from the swirly designs of the buildings in Thneedville to the fluffy Truffula trees that wave in the breeze in the Once-ler's paradise. We also get a glimpse of the darker side of Seuss in the intense sequence when Ted travels through the mechanical corridors beyond the town and in the ruins that the Once-ler now inhabits.
The Song and Dance: Along with the animation, Helms and DiVito stand out as the kind and optimistic young man corrupted by greed and sudden riches and the forest spirit who watches the change in his attitude to his friends and their beloved home. Betty White also has a great time in a rare big-screen role, playing Ted's wise and funny grandmother who gets the ball rolling when she sends him out to the Once-ler.
Favorite Number: "Welcome to Thneedville" introduces us to the residents, who claim everything is perfect when it's obviously anything but, in this cheery spoof of opening numbers in musicals. The Once-ler has three numbers in his flashback that reflect his changes, as he goes from an innocent and optimistic young man who hopes to change the world ("This Is the Place") to a despondent entrepreneur who is happy to have his friends ("Everybody Needs a Thneed"), to a corporate tycoon who only cares about the bottom line ("How Bad Can I Be?"). "Let It Grow" brings together the entire town as they introduce themselves and admit that maybe their lives aren't so perfect...and that maybe, they do need a little bit of something real in their lives.
Trivia: Ted and Audrey were named for Ted "Dr. Seuss" Geisel and his wife Audrey.
What I Don't Like: First of all, Audrey and Ted aren't nearly as interesting as their elders. Swift doesn't have much to do (including sing), and Efron's a bit stiff and not terribly believable as a 12-year-old. The whole movie seems to treat the original special and book more than a little condescendingly, talking down to some of the original lines. Many people were also angry that they revealed the Once-ler's face and background. He's seen only as a disembodied furry hand in the original book and special.
And...truth be told, no matter how much Universal tries, the whimsical simplicity of the Dr. Seuss books doesn't seem to translate well to the big screen. They were never meant to be drawn out into 90 minutes, complete with unnecessary cute critters, songs, and slapstick. To date, Horton Hears a Who!, the Seuss movie that came out before this one, has probably come the closest to the spirit of the book it was adapted from.
The Big Finale: Cute enough time-waster on Earth Day or Arbor Day if you love the cast or the original Lorax book or special.
Home Media: As a major hit and a relatively recent movie, it's easy to find in all formats.
No comments:
Post a Comment