Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Director: Chris Renaud Chris Renaud

Overview

Dr. Seuss' classic, environmentally themed children's book comes to the big screen in this tale of a young boy who encounters a cantankerous forest creature after venturing outside of his artificial city in search of a tree. Ted (voice of Zac Efron) lives in a town where nothing is quite as it appears; everything is plastic, including the plants. Hopelessly smitten by the beautiful Audrey (voice of Taylor Swift), who dreams of one day seeing a real tree, Ted boldly leaves the city determined to find the flora and grant her wish. Along the way, the young adventurer crosses paths with the Lorax (voice of Danny DeVIto), a diminutive, mustached defender of nature who doesn't take kindly to human intruders. The better Ted gets to know the Lorax, however, the more he learns that his newfound friend has good reason for being a bit surly. Also featuring the voices of Betty White, Ed Helms, and Rob Riggle.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/07/2012
UPC:	0025192104459
Original Release:	2012
Rating:	PG
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:27:00
Sales rank:	14,240

Special Features

Seuss To Screen; Seuss It Up!; Once-Ler's Wagon

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ed Helms	The Once-ler
Zac Efron	Ted
Taylor Swift	Audrey
Betty White	Grammy Norma
Rob Riggle	Mr. O'Hare
Jenny Slate	Ted's Mom
Nasim Pedrad	Once-ler's Mom
Joel Sweto	1st Marketing Guy
Michael Beattie	2nd Marketing Guy
Dave B. Mitchell	1st Commercial Guy
Dempsey Pappion	2nd Commercial Guy
Elmarie Wendel	Aunt Grizelda
Danny Cooksey	Brett/Chet
Stephen Tobolowsky	Uncle Ubb
Chris Renaud	Forest Animals
Jack Angel	Voices
Bob Bergen	Voices
John Cygan	Voices
Debi Derryberry	Voices
Bill Farmer	Voices
Jess Harnell	Voices
Sherry Lynn	Voices
Danny Mann	Voices
Mona Marshall	Voices
Mickie T. McGowan	Voices,Voices
Laraine Newman	Voices
Jan Rabson	Voices
Claira Nicole Titman	Voices
Jim Ward	Voices
John Powell	Composer
Danny DeVito	The Lorax
Bengt Järnblad	Voices
Andreas Nilsson	Voices
Sarah Dawn Finer	Voices
Mikaela Ardai Jennefors	Voices
Göran Forsmark	Voices
Claire Wikholm	Voices
Henrik Ståhl	Voices
David Lenneman	Voices
Nick Atkinson	Voices
Ester Sjögren	Voices
Hasse Jonsson	Voices
Monique Donnelly	Humming Fish
Dan Navarro	Dan
Fletcher Sheridan	Cy The O'Hare Delivery Guy
Joel Swetow	Voices

Technical Credits

Ken Daurio

Cinco Paul

Chris Renaud	Director
Ken Daurio	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Cinco Paul	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Christopher Meledandri	Producer
Janet Healy	Producer
Audrey Geisel	Executive Producer
Randy Thom	Sound/Sound Designer
Nathalie Vancauwenberghe	Production Manager
Boris Jacq	Production Manager
Brett Hoffman	Script Supervisor
Yarrow Cheney	Character Design
Robin Joseph	Character Design
Colin Stimpson	Character Design
Jeremie Moreau	Character Design
Eric Guillon	Character Design
Carter Goodrich	Character Design
Kyle Balda	Co-Director

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is a rollicking tale that's aesthetically pleasing, thanks to its vivid pastoral visuals and pro-environmental, anti-greed message wrapped in a bright package of dazzling colors. The movie is based on the children's book of the same name, and is the fourth feature film based on a book by Seuss and the first to be released in 3D. Director Chris Renaud, who stuck to the adaptation playbook first set by 2008's Horton Hears a Who, infuses the movie with a particular brand of giddy humor in the vein of his prior work, Despicable Me. With The Lorax, he finds a way to broaden Seuss' environmental cautionary tale without straying too far from the source material's ideas, and armed with a splendid voice cast, he delivers a zany fable that will delight both kids and parents alike. The story centers on Ted (voice of Zac Efron) an idealistic 12-year-old boy who lives in the artificial city of Thneedville. Inspired by the wishes of a cute girl named Audrey (Taylor Swift), Ted sets out to find the one thing that will win her affections -- a real, living tree. While searching for a tree, he meets the reclusive Once-ler (Ed Helms), who lives beyond the city limits and explains how greed stripped the countryside of its vegetation, despite the intervention of the Lorax (Danny DeVito), a grumpy yet charming creature who serves as protector of the Truffula trees. Armed with the last Truffula seed, Ted sets out to remind the town of the importance of nature, while fending off the wealthy mayor of Thneedville, O'Hare (Rob Riggle), who has no intention of leaving any traces of the Lorax's once lush countryside. Zac Efron adds a boyish innocence to the role of Ted, the idealist who sets his sights beyond the plastic walls of the artificial town of Thneedville, while Taylor Swift brings an agreeable virtuousness to the much more enlightened Audrey. Supporting voices include Betty White as Ted's spirited Grammy Norma, Jenny Slate as Ted's nurturing mother, and Riggle as the villainous mayor. There's a strong theme of environmentalism that writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio emphasize throughout the film, with the aim of inspiring young people to take an interest in protecting the environment and learning to become eco-warriors. This message bred criticism by some who claimed that the movie was trying to indoctrinate children with an anti-big business, pro-environment message, but controversy aside, the writing duo translate the book's themes without being overly preachy. Considering the brevity of Seuss' works, one of the drawbacks of The Lorax is that the creative team's attempts to stretch out the story are at their weakest when the film strays from the book by adding action sequences, extraneous subplots, and original songs that seem wholly out of place. Regardless, the end result is still a solidly entertaining movie that captures the magic of the beloved tale.