The Lorax

Directed by: Chris Renaud
Screenplay by: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
Based on: "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss
Produced By: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy
Starring: Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle, Jenny Slate, Betty White
Music by: John Powell (score and songs), Cinco Paul (songs)
Production Company: Illumination Entertainment
Release dates: February 19, 2012 (Universal Studios Hollywood), March 2, 2012 (United States)

Plot: Twelve-year-old Ted Wiggins lives in Thneedville, a walled city where all vegetation is artificial. Ted is infatuated with a teenage girl named Audrey and decides to impress her with a "real tree". His grandmother, Norma, tells him about the Once-ler, who knows what happened to the trees. Ted leaves Thneedville and discovers that the outside world is a barren, contaminated wasteland. He finds the Once-ler, who agrees to tell Ted the story of the trees over multiple visits. The next time he leaves town, Ted encounters Thneedville's greedy mayor, Aloysius O'Hare, whose company sells bottled oxygen. Explaining that trees and the oxygen they produce pose a threat to his business, O'Hare intimidates Ted to stay in town, but Ted continues to visit the Once-ler.

The Once-ler recounts how, as a young inventor, he arrived in a lush forest of Truffula Trees. Upon chopping down a tree, he was confronted by the Lorax, the self-proclaimed "guardian of the forest." After attempting to force the Once-ler out, the Lorax made him promise not to cut down any more trees. The Once-ler used the Truffula fibres to create the "Thneed", a knitted garment with numerous uses, which became a major success. He harvested the Truffula tufts in a sustainable manner until his unscrupulous relatives persuaded him to resume cutting down trees to speed up production, leading to large profits, but also deforestation and pollution. After the final Truffula tree fell, the Once-ler was ruined and abandoned by his family. With the region uninhabitable, the Lorax sent the native animals away and vanished into the sky, leaving behind a pile of rocks etched with the word "Unless".

The Once-ler gives Ted the last Truffula seed and tells him to plant it and make others care about trees.

End of Spoilers

Review: This is a fun film of discovering what matter most in life. The protagonist, Ted, heads out to impress a young girl. Yet as he travels and explores he soon discovers something even more important than his wishful hearts love for someone. He learns the meaning of caring for the planet and the trees that mean so much to us all. This charming adaptation of a classic Dr Seuss book is perfect for the whole family. It's also a good conversation starter.