“Ugh, get me away from this tree-hugging nightmare,” is what I imagine hardcore environmentalists would even say after watching a film that beats its environmental agenda so far into the ground that it loses all semblance of being a story and instead turns into an ugly piece of propaganda. And I say this as someone that believes environmentalists are doing nothing but good for the Earth, but when a film becomes so focused on pushing an agenda, it runs so far away from clever that it becomes an annoying front steps sit-in. No thanks.
Oftentimes I look at the Fox News crew and think they are insane in the way they judge some forms of entertainment. Their recent attack against The Muppets was ridiculous, but when it comes to The Lorax I say have at it.
Based on a Dr. Seuss story I have never read, The Lorax is a hypocritical mess that presents an environmentally friendly story all while establishing marketing tie-ins with Mazda’s new hybrid SUV. Too bad you get the impression this film would prefer we all wear fig leaves for clothes and sleep in the dirt and drink river water instead of living in houses, driving any kind of vehicle and sucking down endless streams of bottled water. But wait, I’m forgetting something… that’s right, the story. My fault…
Our story takes place in Thneedville, a place made entirely of plastic and surrounded by a giant metal wall, and that’s how they like it. The grass is plastic and even the trees are plastic and run on batteries. The town’s motto, “100% In-Organic!” Nah, no metaphors there… this film is as subtle as a sledgehammer.
The town is essentially run by the villainous O’Hare (voiced by Rob Riggle). O’Hare sells “clean air” to the Thneedville inhabitants, and he’s now moving to fresh, bottled air… sold, of course, in plastic bottles. Where does all the sludge and nastiness from the manufacturing of all this stuff go? The people of Thneedville don’t care to ask, and O’Hare likes it that way.
Things begin to change, however, when Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) intentionally bumps into Audrey (voiced by Taylor Swift) and she tells him she would just have to marry the man that brought her a real-live tree. A Truffula Tree in fact, the very same tree that sponsors that Mazda SUV, which is “Truffala Tree Certified” don’tcha know.
So Ted makes for the wild world outside the walls of Thneedville, where only tree stumps remain and the Once-ler (voiced by Ed Helms) lives. Here we finally get to meet the tree-loving Lorax (voiced by Danny De Vito) and learn how Thneedville got into such a predicament. Of course it has to do with rampant consumerism, hateful capitalism, a disregard for the environment and just overall greed. You know, because that nail hasn’t been hit into oblivion yet.
As I said, I’ve never read the Dr. Seuss story from which this is based and, if anything, this movie has made me never want to. I know it would take me only a matter of minutes to read, but I have already spent more time with this story than I care to. Beyond all the over-bearing agendas being pushed, this is just plain bad storytelling.
Once Ted finds the Once-ler he’s willing to share his story, but only in snippets at a time, a plot device that only prolongs the story as Ted must find new ways to escape the city to learn more of the story while O’Hare becomes wise to his game.
Only one Dr. Seuss story has made a satisfying trip to the big screen as far as I’m concerned and that’s Horton Hears a Who!. With the dreck that is The Lorax I hope studios will finally put the idea of turning Seuss’s short stories into feature films to rest.
As for the film’s message, yes, save the environment, don’t litter, recycle, don’t use too many plastics, drive less, ride a bike, carpool, try solar energy if you can, etc., etc., etc. That’s about as over-bearing as I prefer to be. This film, on the other hand, has something else entirely in mind. Subject yourself to it at your own risk.
