Review of The Lorax in Context of Our Societal Issues

 “Those are trees. Real ones. They used to grow all around here. And people said that the touch of their tufts was softer than anything, even silk. And they smelled like butterfly milk.” A character says this like he’s thinking of a fantasy. But he is not, he’s describing the past. What was once real but is now gone. For a film for younger children, this is a rather devastating gut punch when compared to our reality and it sets the tone for everything that follows. 

In 2012, Universal Pictures took Dr. Seuss’s book and turned it into an animated, colorful film. On the surface, The Lorax looks like any other kids book, with its catchy songs, romance elements, and silly animals, but underneath this exterior is one of the most urgent environmental films of its decade that deserves more credit than it gets. 

The story follows Ted (Zac Efron), a teen living in Thneedville, which is a completely artificial city where real trees no longer exist and fresh air is sold in bottles by the villainous Mr. O’Hare (Rob Riggle). I found it funny because of its absurdity, however the scenario is very scary in a real world context. To impress his crush Audrey (Taylor Swift), who is very interested in real plants, Ted ventures outside the city's walls to find the Once-ler(Ed Helms). This old man, outcast from society, tells the tale of how he single-handedly deforested an entire ecosystem while being warned at every step by an orange, mustachioed creature called the Lorax(Danny DeVito). 

One of the things I couldn’t stop thinking about in this film is the Once-ler. His arc is what elevates The Lorax from a simple kids movie to a painful cautionary tale. Despite being an antagonist, he's not cartoonishly evil. He's just an entrepreneur who started with a unique idea, and told himself “just a little more” at every turn. Eventually he looks up to find he had destroyed everything around him. If it sounds familiar, it's because it's a story that happens in real life. Every logging company, every fast fashion brand, every fossil fuel conglomerate that has ever existed can share this story, and one thing this film never does is try to hide this parallel. 

Another thing I found that is also very interesting is that Thneedville, with its artificial trees and bottled air, isn’t some cyberpunk dystopia that feels too distant to be real, it’s a logical and cheerful extension of where consumerism is taking us. Director Chris Renaud uses bright colors and pop music not to soften the message, but rather to deliver it sneakily. You’re having a good time until you realize you’re watching a city of people who have accepted environmental collapse as everyday life. 

Fans of Wall-E (2008) will enjoy this movie. Both films use cute animation to deliver ecological warnings in a way that younger audiences can understand. More than that, I always find films for younger audiences that have pertinent messages to be enjoyable for older audiences as well. Either way though, it's important for both audiences to understand that our planet is in crisis and if it's through a small orange creature speaking for the trees then so be it. 

However, one weakness I would like to point out is Mr. O’Hare. He’s very entertaining, however he's just a very "convenient" villain. Just some greedy man to shift the blame on, despite not having much connection to the original problem and just being an opportunist. 

But that's a rather minor complaint, and O’Hare makes up for it by being extremely funny. In the world of animated films, The Lorax, stands out as one that takes serious environmental issues seriously and wraps them into a simple package accessible to everyone to understand. Therefore I recommend you all to watch the Lorax, and once you’re done watching, maybe go outside and plant something.