"Dr. Seuss's The Lorax" Review

I am The Alex and I speak for the teens!

    I'll admit I never read The Lorax as a kid. I've heard Horton Hears a Who! more times then I can count and How the Grinch Stole Christmas is my favorite Christmas story of all time. And yet, despite all kids reading Dr. Seuss, The Lorax somehow never crossed my path. But, especially now, The Lorax is a timely topic for all the little kids. But, is the film itself good? Ya, it's good.

    Dr. Seuss's The Lorax starts when Ted (Zac Efron), who lives in Thneedville, where everything is plastic and fake, learns that the girl of his dreams, Audrey (Taylor Swift), desperately wants a real tree to plant. Ted, on the advice of his grandmother (Betty White), leaves the city and travels to meet The Once-ler (Ed Helms). When he meets hims, The Once-ler tells Ted the story of what happens to all the trees and who the mysterious Lorax (Danny DeVito) is. As Ted learns more of the story, the more the evil Mr. O'Hare (Rob Riggle), who controls Thneedville, tries to stop Ted.

He spotted Mike Myers.

    The Lorax, obviously, is all about the environment. But, unlike most environmental films, this one isn't too preachy. Mostly. See, The Lorax is first and foremost a children's movie. The animation, done by Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me), is nice and colorful. The animals are all really cute and funny. There are a handful of big musical numbers that are surprisingly good (Though, oddly enough, famous singer Swift never sings a note in this film). Your kids will love this movie, like they probably loved Despicable Me. And, if they are learning about the environment, then all the better.

    But, the film does have it's share of problems. The environmental message of the book is dumbed down just a little bit for the little'uns in the audience. Plus, while the film is often funny and the cast is all good, I don't really have much else to say about it. The Lorax is a movie that comes and goes and leaves very little left in it's wake. I'm not terribly interested in a sequel and I can't say I'd even be up for re-watching this one again. There's just not much too The Lorax. I literally don't have anything else to say about it. Oh, wait. Taylor Swift did a surprisingly good job acting for someone whose only other role was in Valentine's Day. 

Okay. Why not poker?

    Your kids will love Dr.Seuss's The Lorax. The animation's bright, the jokes are funny, the music is loud and the animals are cute. For the adults though, The Lorax does offer much. The acting's good, especially by Swift, but the book's message is a little watered down and the movie just isn't that memorable. Dr. Seuss's The Lorax gets 4 stars out of 6.