When corporate giant O’Hare creates a fake, perfect illusion of a world, it is obvious that his greed will soon lead to his downfall someday. In Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Ted must explore the story of The Lorax- the grumpy, chubby, cute little protector of trees, to bring back the good old days of trees.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Movie Review
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Movie Review

Rating: 3.5/5 stars (Three-and-a-half stars)

Voice Cast: Zac Efron, Taylo Swift, Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Betty White and Rob Riggle

What’s Good: A story with a message; the colourful, imaginative animation; the ability to connect with any age group.

What’s Bad:Repetitive gags; fans of the book might find it too glossy; The Lorax himself isn’t around in the movie for too long.

Verdict:It is a joy ride with moral values for kids and adults alike.

Loo Break: None at all.

Watch or Not?:Recommended for kids; adults will like it too, if they wish to revisit the good old, colourful, imaginative fairy-tale days.

We already get packaged drinking water, imagine what would happen if we have to buy packaged air as well (It’s just an imagination)! In Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, greed gets the better of The Once-Ler (Ed Helms) and he sets out to destroy every single tree in his own Thneedville. His little friend (oops, acquaintance), The Lorax (Danny DeVito), who is the protector of trees, tries in vain to stop this madness.

Now Thneedville is a completely different place to live; with artificial trees, artificial ponds and artificial just about everything, it has become a plasticky place to live where everyone is comfortable with this fake world. But Audrey (Taylor Swift) is different; she wishes to see the real trees at least once in her lifetime. Ted (Zac Efron), who is madly in love with her, decides to make her wish come true. Love makes people do crazy things and Ted is ready to go to any lengths to win Audrey’s affection. His Grammy Norma (Betty White) and The Once-Ler himself help Ted in this task.

Does he succeed? Can he bring back the real trees? Can he fight the greedy ruler Mr. O’Hare (Rob Riggle), who survives on this plastic world and sells the air which should be ideally free? Well, to find all that out, you will have to take the journey into the land of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Movie Stills

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Review: Script Analysis

The story is very easy to understand with a clear statement to teach a moral lesson while entertaining the kids. It is simply a wonderful way to play with children’s imagination and at the same time make them understand lessons like the importance of environmental protection, greed is bad, never break promises, etc. Along with kids, it gently tries to nudge the adult conscience showing us the kind of fake world we are headed towards. The screenplay is tight and we get as much interested in Once-Ler’s story, as Ted. But despite all this, the main problem with the script is that there is a certain lack of the fun element in terms of dialogues. With a little addition of funnier, wittier dialogues and situations, this one could’ve been a through-and-through entertainer. The 3D glasses make the bright colours a little dull and the 3D itself is not so necessary; nevertheless, it adds that extra flavor to the movie.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Review: Voice Cast & Direction

The voice cast has done justice to the beautiful animated characters but none of the voices stand-out in particular. Zac Efron can be said to be the best voice amongst all. Also, the singers who give the voices for the little fishes and teddy bears are cute.

Director Chris Renaud could’ve added more fun elements in the film rather than let it turn a bit preachy. John Powell’s music is fabulous though, and it adds a lot of cheer to the already cheerful and colourful movie.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Review: The Last Word

Overall, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, is a breezy, fun movie to watch with your kids or younger siblings. It will be a bit difficult for the Indian audiences to connect with The Lorax but it is still a visually beautiful, fun ride… worth taking at least once!

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Trailer

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax releases in India on 18 May 2012.

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