The Lorax (2012)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Mark H

  
  The Lorax is a mixed bag. There are some bright spots. The animation is vivid and there are a trio of fish that sing in unison with amusing high pitched vocals. They are memorable. They're reminiscent of character types in early Max Fleischer shorts. But the Lorax himself, which… More
  The Lorax is a mixed bag. There are some bright spots. The animation is vivid and there are a trio of fish that sing in unison with amusing high pitched vocals. They are memorable. They're reminiscent of character types in early Max Fleischer shorts. But the Lorax himself, which should have been a tragic figure, is an annoying pain every time he shows up here with a lecture. The movie is a product of our modern age. I'll admit I was amused by the irony of a film warning against the dangers of consumerism in a movie that totally represents that mentality. The 3D computer graphics are oddly inappropriate for a story about going back to basics. The script is like a result of some focus group trying hard to be hip. Phrases like "You rule Grandma!" or "I know, right?!" are so distinctly 2012 that they betray the timeless quality of the original message. Dr. Seuss adaptations have been historically difficult. The Cat in the Hat remains one of the worst aberrations of the source material ever made. Yet these are the same scribes that adapted Horton Hears a Who! and that was rather charming. The Lorax isn't a horrible picture. It's a vibrant, colorful spectacle that is pleasant enough. The pro-environment moral is well intentioned. But the simplicity of the book is missing. In its place is a heavy handed tale of corporate greed that feels labored and somewhat joyless.

• Thomas B

  
  A feast for the eyes but completely unsubtle in its message. Full review later.

• Kase V

  
  'The Lorax' is a heartfelt animation flick with good voice acting and catchy songs, but the visuals are nothing you haven't seen before and the 3-D is next to meaningless. It has snippets of funny parts, but usually falls flat when trying to get some clever jokes… More
  'The Lorax' is a heartfelt animation flick with good voice acting and catchy songs, but the visuals are nothing you haven't seen before and the 3-D is next to meaningless. It has snippets of funny parts, but usually falls flat when trying to get some clever jokes across. It's never annoying, never too boring, and never disinteresting, but its not unique or fresh enough to earn any major praise.

• First L

  
  The makers of The Lorax must've thought they had a no-brainer on their hands. Dr. Seuss has an already established fanbase, both adults and children love his stories, and previous film adaptations of his books have done extraordinarily well at the box office. So maybe they… More
  The makers of The Lorax must've thought they had a no-brainer on their hands. Dr. Seuss has an already established fanbase, both adults and children love his stories, and previous film adaptations of his books have done extraordinarily well at the box office. So maybe they skipped some of the writers staff meetings, or maybe they let the animators throw in some of their own comedy ideas, or maybe they didn't think about the actual movie they had to create. Whatever the case, The Lorax lacks. In a society made entirely of plastic, a boy (Zac Efron) has a crush on a hippy girl (Taylor Swift, who's actually pretty bad here) who loves trees. The boy wants to impress her, so he goes off on a search for the very last tree. In the wasteland of the outside world, he finds the home of the Once-ler (Ed Helms), who tells him the tale of the trees and their guardian, the Lorax. Of course the evil, greedy, stereotypical, corporate businessman (Rob Riggle) is going to do everything in his power to hold his monopoly on air, so he tries to thwart the kid and his girlfriend. The Lorax comes off as a pastiche of other environmentally conscious cartoons, from Wall-E to even Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Even the animation is pretty generic looking. It feels like they're not even trying. And in the world of children's entertainment, there are few crimes worse than sullying the good name of Dr. Seuss. This may have been one of the few rare instances where my one year-old daughter (fascinated by all the flash and pretty colors up on the screen) wanted to watch a movie and daddy wanted to leave. But as a parent, I know there are better cartoons for my child than this crummy, souless movie.

• Jason C

  
  For the most part, it's hard to go wrong with animated feature films. Even the lesser offerings can generate enough entertainment value to make the movie passable. Then there's "The Lorax", which represents a rare, but resounding whiff for the genre. The… More
  For the most part, it's hard to go wrong with animated feature films. Even the lesser offerings can generate enough entertainment value to make the movie passable. Then there's "The Lorax", which represents a rare, but resounding whiff for the genre. The animation is probably the film's only strength. The story is an adaptation of a Dr. Seuss tale, but everything is so uninspired and phoned in, that it quickly becomes apparent that Univeral was just cashing in on the source material. The characters are bland and forgettable, while the musical numbers regress from annoying to down right embarrassing. The part of "The Lorax" that I probably resent the most, is the environmental agenda that's forced down the viewer's throat throughout the whole mess. I guess the same message is evident in the Dr. Seuss story, so I should have known better. The true gauge for how good these movies are is the reaction of the little people, and all of kids in attendance, seemed as unamused as I was. So there you have it. Unless you're a hippie, you might want to avoid "The Lorax". Go chop down a tree instead.

• Emily A

  
  This movie really resonates. It's a really simple parable about how fragile and valuable the natural world is, and how easy it is to do the wrong thing. There is one song sequence in particular that drives the point home, that's insidiously catchy and elegantly ingenious is… More
  This movie really resonates. It's a really simple parable about how fragile and valuable the natural world is, and how easy it is to do the wrong thing. There is one song sequence in particular that drives the point home, that's insidiously catchy and elegantly ingenious is the subtle ways it goes from being playful to being menacing. "How Bad Can I Be?" the Once-ler sings as he happily disregards the warnings of the Lorax and harvests every single tree to make himself rich. I love the way it gets harder and harder to sing along with him as the situation gets worse and the Once-ler gets sucked into the finite cycle of greed. The story and themes aside, this movie is beautiful. The character and set designs are delightful and Thneedville doesn't have a single straight line as far as the eye can see. Visually stunning and cinetamtically very impressive, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I'm not even its target audience. This one's a gem.

• Liam G

  
  Beautiful animation, decent musical numbers, one or two funny moments, an enviromental message that's too heavy-handed, great voice acting but overall forgettable.

• Alexander D

  
  The most entertaining parts of THE LORAX were the scenes featuring the animal characters. Unless you count the Lorax himself, none of the animals actually speak (which I find quite unusual for an animated family film), but they grab more attention (even for the average four-year-old,… More
  The most entertaining parts of THE LORAX were the scenes featuring the animal characters. Unless you count the Lorax himself, none of the animals actually speak (which I find quite unusual for an animated family film), but they grab more attention (even for the average four-year-old, who probably has the attention span of a shrimp) than any other character can hope to grab. The little bears are always making a display of their cute bulging eyes, and there is a trio of fish that pops onscreen when it is least expected and begin singing. Their best number is the theme from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, but itâ(TM)s quite likely the intended audience wonâ(TM)t get the joke. When anyone other than the fish break into joyful song, itâ(TM)s another thing for sure. The songs sung by the town of Thneedville, or even by merely Ted himself, are childish and instantly forgettable. If these filmmakers wanted that many songs, they would have done better going for the gold and adapting Seussical. If you decide to see THE LORAX, I advise you strongly not to see it in 2-D. Almost every shot of this film was meant for 3-D and 3-D only; this becomes obvious with the frequent use of slow motion, the enlarging of objects, the perspective shots, and (as usual for a 3-D film) objects flying directly at you. In 2-D, it would just look silly (not Dr. Seuss silly, but rather pointless silly). I wouldnâ(TM)t recommend this for everyone, as it is quite uneven. There is a constant shift between jokes that only young kids would care to laugh at and jokes that only older kids and adults would actually understand. Thankfully, it is clear that this wasnâ(TM)t simply spat out in time for Dr. Seussâ(TM)s birthday. This was carefully worked, entertaining, and overall, a good amount of fun.

• danny d

  
  i loved this film. it is highly politically charged, but when viewing it as childrens entertainment it is beautifully drawn, well written, and the story moves quickly. the music is great, and despite some caricatures the message is noteworthy. a great film.

• Cynthia S

  
  This was top of my list to see this year, and I was not overly thrilled with it. It is very pleasing to the eyes. It is nicely done. It is well casted voicewise. The story, however, and the humor (what I look for), seemed lacking. Despicable Me (from the same creators) was sooooo much… More
  This was top of my list to see this year, and I was not overly thrilled with it. It is very pleasing to the eyes. It is nicely done. It is well casted voicewise. The story, however, and the humor (what I look for), seemed lacking. Despicable Me (from the same creators) was sooooo much better, in my opinion.

• KJ P

  
  Although the messages are incredibly heartwarming, the story uplifting, and the characters loveable, "The Lorax" suffers from too little material to tell a full length story. it seems at points that they drag portions of it, in order to make it 90 minutes. It deserves to be… More
  Although the messages are incredibly heartwarming, the story uplifting, and the characters loveable, "The Lorax" suffers from too little material to tell a full length story. it seems at points that they drag portions of it, in order to make it 90 minutes. It deserves to be 20 minutes shorter, because the story of how trees being cut down destroys nature and life itself, is meant for a children's book, unless it is live action. That being said, "The Lorax" is very funny and will appeal to children all over the world. I won't lie, there are times when I actually had goosebumps from how amazing some of the overall messages were, and the musical numbers made my hair stand on my head. I wanted to sing along. There are many more memorable kids films out there, but as I walked out of this screening, I had no regrets and I was smiling from ear to ear. "The Lorax" is a wonderful little film, even if it's not complex enough!

• Nate Z

  
  Colorful, energetic, and with a nice message about conservation, The Lorax is an amusing film that is pleasant enough but with little else to recommend it. The visuals are terrific and the Dr. Suess-level of imagination is nicely incorporated in weird ways. The story is about a boy… More
  Colorful, energetic, and with a nice message about conservation, The Lorax is an amusing film that is pleasant enough but with little else to recommend it. The visuals are terrific and the Dr. Suess-level of imagination is nicely incorporated in weird ways. The story is about a boy (voiced by Zac Efron) trying to impress a girl (Taylor Swift), but really it's the story of the Once-ler (Ed Helms) and his destruction of the forest for the sake of making money. The Lorax (Danny DeVito) is an orange, mustachioed creature who "speaks for the trees," and conflicts with the Once-ler. The framing devices of the young starlets feel unnecessary, and the movie descends into a series of wacky chase scenes. The humor stays around family-friendly slapstick and a few knowing winks for the adults. The songs are amiable and witty but fairly forgettable. I'm having a hard time even summoning a single melody hours after seeing the movie. The rest of the movie is kind of the same way. It's pleasant and nice enough while watching, but afterwards it evaporates from your memory, leaving only the faint reminiscence of colorful imagery. It's from the makers of Despicable Me but lacks that movie's heart. The environmental message will drive some blowhards nuts, but the same activist message existed in Suess' original book. Anyway, I think The Lorax is a bit too busy and yet simplistic to be anything other than a pleasant diversion. The story just can't match the greatness of the animation. Nate's Grade: B-

• Aaron N

  
  The Once-ler: Little did I know, I had just summoned a mystical creature as old as time itself. The legendary, slightly annoying, Lorax. I was kind of excited about this one. That's saying something in my eyes, as I have yet to really enjoy a full length Dr. Seuss feature… More
  The Once-ler: Little did I know, I had just summoned a mystical creature as old as time itself. The legendary, slightly annoying, Lorax. I was kind of excited about this one. That's saying something in my eyes, as I have yet to really enjoy a full length Dr. Seuss feature film. How the Grinch Stole Christmas was pretty forgettable, I try not to talk about The Cat in the Hat, and Horton Hears a Who was a step in the right direction, but they all suffer from the same problem. Dr. Seuss' books simply were not really meant to be stretched into 90-minute films. Sure one could feasibly write enough new material to keep things interesting, but that still has not really worked. The Lorax is the latest attempt at this, but once again, I found myself quite bored with the attempt at making this film last longer than it needed to. It didn't help that the musical numbers, which there are quite a few of, were fairly uninteresting, let alone the fact that two of the lead actors are singers that didn't sing. I was also kind of missing out on learning more about the title character, who only appears so much in this film. There was a certain amount of charm that I thought could be had with The Lorax, but unfortunately, it did not pan out as well as I was hoping; though it is a brightly animated experience. read the whole review at thecodeiszeek.com read the whole reviw

• Bradley W

  
  The Lorax is based on the classic tale written by Dr. Seuss, who is to this day the greatest children's author ever, and this 3D musical adventure captures the fun he was trying to show, but for me it just didn't capture the complete message of his story. Don't get me… More
  The Lorax is based on the classic tale written by Dr. Seuss, who is to this day the greatest children's author ever, and this 3D musical adventure captures the fun he was trying to show, but for me it just didn't capture the complete message of his story. Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty good movie and definitely lovely for kids to check out, but parents may not find it entertaining due to the very childlike humor. I enjoyed the film because I watched it as if through the eyes of a kid, and I ended up laughing and having a fun time. It's not perfect, it's not great, but its good old fashioned fun and wants nothing more than to spread the wonderful message the Lorax to the modern age of children. The story follows Ted (Zac Efron), a kid who lives in a town made of nothing but plastic, but used to be covered in nothing but fields of animals and trees. His neighbor Audrey (Taylor Swift) who Ted has a huge crush on, wants nothing more than to see a tree, so Ted sets out to find one by meeting the Once-ler (Ed Helms). The Once-ler knows what happened to the trees long ago, and how it may have been his fault that they are gone and he tells Ted about the story of the Lorax. His story may also show Ted that the world needs trees and that unless someone like him cares a whole awful lot, things are not going to get better, they're not. The plot of the film is simple and cute enough for kids to fall in love with, but as for adults I felt like they could have kept the humor and characters enjoyable enough for all ages to love. It carries out its message about helping the environment just like the book did but with so much comedy and songs it hard to really take the message seriously like I did with the book. They also have changed so much that it just felt weird at times, like completely changing the personality of the Once-ler, adding some weird villain named Mr. O'Hare who of course is just out for money, and adding all these new songs that ruined the essense I want to feel in adaption of a Dr. Seuss movie. But other characters such as The Lorax, the Granny, Ted, and all the little animals were very cute and enjoyable and very humorous. So overall other than major changes that I did not enjoy, this kept the environmental message Dr. Seuss was trying to bring and itâ(TM)s simple enough for kids to enjoy, and the ending will be very good for those of us who grew up how the story would end for the boy with the Truffula seed. The animation was wonderfully beautiful and I was truly amazed how well they animated it to look like actual drawing from one of Seuss's books. If they ever make another adaption of a Dr. Seuss book (which they will because Hollywood is running out of ideas) I hope Illumination Studios will do it to make as beautiful as what I saw here. Now as for the music of the film, I thought the score was great and I never expected to find such a good composition from this film. But the songs were not as great as I had hoped, in fact they threw me off a little bit because some of them had absolutely no reason to be in a adaption of a children's book, and many of them included the Once-ler on his guitar singing solo and I looked around in y theater to see if any parents were laughing at how awkward it was watching this. The Lorax is a nice film with nice characters, which made it very likable but it just did not live up to the book written by one of the greatest authors of all time. There is a scene at the start of the film where Audrey recites a line from the book and Ted replies with "What does that even mean" and then Audrey replies with "I know right?" When I heard this I laughed but then realized they were in a way making fun of Seuss in a way, and I was really mad at the writers for doing that since Dr. Seuss had more writing ability in his pinky then these writers have in their whole body. The reason I mention this is because past Dr. Seuss film adaption such as Horton Hears a Who and The Grinch respected the author and kept his message without mocking him, and just that one scene made me mad enough to mention it in thi review. This film may not be perfect due to the lousy songs, pointless changes and disrespect to the author, and some dumb new characters, but I still found it to be a good movie with beautiful animation, smartly written comedy for kids, and just teying to be nothing more than fun at the movies. But also a special bonus, I have been answered the question that I have asked myself since I was a kid and read the book, after the end of the book, did the Lorax ever return?

• Jeff B

  
  Disjointed but spirited, falsified but cute, The Lorax's too much a mixed bag to really give a hoot. It begins with true promise because the book on which 'tis based came from a good doc keen on throwing ecology in our face. He birthed a film star named Grinch and the peeps… More
  Disjointed but spirited, falsified but cute, The Lorax's too much a mixed bag to really give a hoot. It begins with true promise because the book on which 'tis based came from a good doc keen on throwing ecology in our face. He birthed a film star named Grinch and the peeps of Whoville too, but when it came to filming his Once-ler, the binding came unglued. The problem comes down to story, as in for movies there's not enough, so instead the screenwriters crammed the pages with filler and love-fluff. This is not so much the problem as the script being mostly backstory, but on-screen it feels like two films, which is definitely cause for a worry. In this PG-rated adaptation, a boy (Efron) searches out a tree for the girl he desires (Swift), only to encounter a sad old man (Ed Helms) and a grumpy lil' imp (Danny DeVito) that make him perspire. It starts with a boy, looking for love and some answers, but the tale of the Lorax stands alone and this combo feels unfettered. And the voices are decent, especially DeVito and Swift's 'toon debut, but the songs that come out of them leaves the audience quite blue. They're emptily hollow, like the plasticine city crowed about, but the truth is these shallow songs leave much room for doubt. Horton sure heard something but it definitely wasn't Whos, instead it was mediocrity unworthy of a doc named Seuss. Bottom line: Crap in the hat.

• Bradley J

  
  Though some of the voice-work was overdone and the film isn't 100 percent faithful to Seuss, it still is a lightweight and fun little flick that is harmless. The film delivers eye-popping visuals with candy colors such as the trees that look like cotton candy. Sadly, the songs… More
  Though some of the voice-work was overdone and the film isn't 100 percent faithful to Seuss, it still is a lightweight and fun little flick that is harmless. The film delivers eye-popping visuals with candy colors such as the trees that look like cotton candy. Sadly, the songs aren't too memorable and are just there to add run-time, but they're entertaining to watch. Though the film isn't a classic and is not all-age appealing, it still is heartwarming and colorful for families. Overall Rating: 71

• Adam G

  
  This movie hits every single point of a good, harmless children's movie--it is colorful, has adorable characters, and displays important morals. While it is surely far off from the quality of the book it is based off of, there is no reason why a family should not enjoy this… More
  This movie hits every single point of a good, harmless children's movie--it is colorful, has adorable characters, and displays important morals. While it is surely far off from the quality of the book it is based off of, there is no reason why a family should not enjoy this film.

• Jason V

  
  Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is bright, colorful, energetic...and a good modern adaptation of the classic Lorax story until the final half hour. It's the end of the film which hammers its message about corporate greed and environmentalism into the audience even I had to roll my… More
  Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is bright, colorful, energetic...and a good modern adaptation of the classic Lorax story until the final half hour. It's the end of the film which hammers its message about corporate greed and environmentalism into the audience even I had to roll my eyes. There's a song called "How Bad Can I Be?" which so consciously sticks its middle finger at business it's hard to actually take the finale seriously. Up until that point, the film carries the themes in the original film quite nicely, without preaching or being condescending. I felt insulted straight through the final song where there is such a startling change is attitude among the townspeople adult moviegoers may be forgiven for thinking they missed something. So why three stars? It's not a middling movie even if Zac Efron is given one too many musical numbers for 94 minutes. The final half hour doesn't bring down the first 2/3s of the movie or the visuals and jokes I enjoyed. This would have been a four star movie for me had the preaching been dialed down.

• Sol C

  
  The film was so so. I love the animation. I loved the songs in the film. Danny DeVito is great as The Lorax. Betty White also does a good job as Granny Norma. Zac Efron and Taylor Swift were ok too. I thought this was better than Horton Hears A Who. On a negative the film felt like a… More
  The film was so so. I love the animation. I loved the songs in the film. Danny DeVito is great as The Lorax. Betty White also does a good job as Granny Norma. Zac Efron and Taylor Swift were ok too. I thought this was better than Horton Hears A Who. On a negative the film felt like a short film and not a feature length film. Too short. I wasn't crazy about the story and was expecting more.

• Nathan C

  
  This film was made by the same creators who made the uber-cute Despicable Me, which was decent in its own right. But is The Lorax better, decent, or worse? The one thing about this film is that it does have that Dr. Seuss atmosphere; it's bright, it's colorful, there are a… More
  This film was made by the same creators who made the uber-cute Despicable Me, which was decent in its own right. But is The Lorax better, decent, or worse? The one thing about this film is that it does have that Dr. Seuss atmosphere; it's bright, it's colorful, there are a lot of cute animals, and it has he occasional rhyme scheme antics going for it. It is also an environmental film that cleverly addresses it's message around its bright colors and rhymes. The only thing holding this film back is that it seems like it is missing something; while Despicable Me wasn't the best animated film released that year, the film was very enjoyable because of the antics of the Minions. This film does not take that extra step; the animals in The Lorax game this film Despicable Me-esque charm, but you would wish that this film put them in a little bit more. Overall, a very solid family film, with bright visuals and Dr. Seuss' magic touch. Could be a little bit better, but it is still very good in its own right.

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