The Lorax - A Review

As a last minute decision after dinner on Saturday, the bf and I decided to catch the 10pm showing of The Lorax. I knew two things about the movie before the lights dimmed: it was adapted from a Dr. Seuss book and Taylor Swift was the voice of one of the characters.

The original book was published in 1971 and tells the tale of the Once-Ler, a faceless man who only cares about expanding his business and making more thneeds. In order to do so, he wipes the land clear of all truffala trees, which in turn forces the animals to evacuate and find a new home. The Lorax is a creature who speaks for the trees and tried to stop the man from his horrific actions. Apart from being a children's story, some people say the story is about: capitalism, consumerism, sustainability, and environmental issues. The bf didn't care for the movie because of the "environmental agenda." Sure, that might have been part of the movie, but I think it has deeper meanings.

As all movies based on short books do, it was true to the original story, but gave more of a plot with background information and extends the original ending. Besides the Lorax and the Once-Ler, another main character is Ted, a teenage boy trying to win the heart of a girl named Audrey (voiced by T.Swift). Audrey somehow found out about about "real trees" and Ted does everything he can to acquire one for her. As in the book, the Once-Ler gives him the last seed of a truffala tree and Ted is to plant it in the middle of town. The antagonist of the story, Mr. O'Hare (who has made a fortune selling air to the people of Thneedsville) hates the idea of a real tree being planted (for obviously reasons). There is a great comical chase through the plastic city, where Ted never loses sight of the seed and why he's chasing it down.

That scene says everything. Almost everyone is against Ted at that point, but he tries his hardest to capture the seed so it can be planted. He could have given up. Maybe Audrey would still like in the end, since he did try to plant the seed. But he didn't give up. And before he was able to plant it, he had to convince the townspeople why it was so important.

This is what I came away with after seeing the movie: Stand up for what you believe in and never give up in your fights against the world. People can be blinded by worldly views, but if someone exposes the truth, then maybe there's a chance others will change their minds. Right now the Catholic Church is going through a lot of trials and persecution for the things we believe in (i.e. the HHS mandate and our stand against contraception). We can't lose heart. Perhaps we just need to follow the words of Dr. Seuss:

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."