The Dukes See a Movie: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

On the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Seuss, (His birthday some might say. I wouldn't because he is dead but I guess that is just semantics. Also I think we should commemorate the day of his passing and I promise that it has nothing to do with the fact that it happens to be on my birthday.) we decided to go see the film version of one of his popular tales. I am a huge Seuss fan. I own a lot of his books and I really enjoy his work including his propaganda for World War II.

This sneetch has more than a star on thar.

His work is a staple for almost every child in the United States and accounts for 78 percent of people being able to tell a red fish from a blue fish. (not confirmed) Since his work has influenced so many people it was inevitable that films would be made of his stories. When they are done well I love them and think that the world is a grand place (How the Grinch Stole Christmas), but when they are poorly done I wish I had the physical capability to gouge out my eyes in hopes of removing from my memory what I had just seen. (the live action Cat in the Hat)

So when it came time to see the Lorax I was worried but still quite hopeful. I mean the title character was being voiced by Danny DeVito. He is a great voice actor and he even looks like the Lorax, just paint him orange and toss on a mustache.  Also it has Betty White in it. Betty White makes everything better.


The Lorax marks the first book where Dr. Seuss gave in to his second wife. She was quite the environmentalist and she wanted him to write a book about protecting the environment. It gets its message across quite well but "I speak for the trees" would not be a good slogan for myself or any of the rest of the Dukes. It isn't that we hate trees, that isn't it at all. I am sure we would get along fine if we got to know them, but we just really like using axes and chainsaws.

We have an incredible amount of photos involving tree murder.

Having read the book I had a good idea of what the story would entail. Since most of you have probably read it as well I will spare you all a very long and overly detailed plot synopsis. Instead I will just give you a quick reminder. A young boy lives in a super polluted world where everything is manufactured and there are no plants. This boy goes to visit the Once-ler to find out what happened and why there are no more trees. The Once-ler explains that he came to this land and started chopping down all the trees to make a product he insisted everyone needed. The Lorax appeared to him and said that he spoke for the trees. He begged with the Once-ler to stop. He did not and in the end all of the trees were gone and all the animals were forced to move away. I won't give the ending away because I don't want to ruin the book if you haven't read it or if you really hate spoilers.

One thing that surprised me about this movie was the fact that it was a musical and a lot of you know I love musicals (don't judge me). The songs fit in well the movie and if anything added to the overall film rather than detracted. The film was well made and had a very cohesive plot that I think fit in well with the original story. At times the movie was quite hilarious and others made you sad and contemplative. The various silent animal characters added a ton in comedy value. My personal favorites were the three singing fish due to their timing and harmony.

If you are in a mood for a kids movie or you just love Dr. Seuss I would recommend this movie to you. It will keep you entertained for the full 90 minute run time. I love trivia so here I go again. The main characters in the movie are named Ted and Audrey. This was done in homage to Dr. Seuss (whose real name is Theodore) and his second wife Audrey Geisel. 

Rating 4 stars