The Lorax (2012)
Directed by Chris Renaud
A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.
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What critics say influenced The Lorax
Not only are these people unpleasant for the most part, but the new aspects of the story are forced, frenetic and so far from the gentle but pointed original that the film's musical riff from the "Mission: Impossible" theme does not sound out of place.
The movie, which also benefits from the straightforward agenda of the villainous air salesman Mr. O’Hare (Rob Riggle), would be even cleaner without some of its comedic lunges—like Ted’s mom (Jenny Slate) dancing to a tree’s disco ball or a group of fish singing the “Mission: Impossible” theme song.
There are a few pleasures to be had here, beginning with those charming fish (their rendition of the "Mission Impossible" theme is a highlight).
The fish who inhabit the forrest can’t just walk around on their fins; they have to do a Mission: Impossible spoof as well.
When the Lorax and some animals sneak into the Once-ler's house late at night, we hear the "Mission: Impossible" music.
The gorgeous and glorious new film of this fable from Universal’s “Despicable Me” team turns a somewhat gloomy, cautionary tale into a 3D musical, with catchy tunes and gags borrowed from every film from “Toy Story” and “The Truman Show” to “Babe.”
Thneedville is a futuristic metropolis not unlike the sheltered environment of “The Truman Show.”
Thneedville feels like an animated version of the world inhabited by Jim Carrey in The Truman Show.
The singing and dancing reminded me of “Jesus Christ Superstar” more than anything else.
Because there is no reasonable motivation for Ted’s actions in leaving the Terry Gilliam’s Brazil-esque “sanctuary” of Thneedville on his quest to find a real-live-tree for Audrey -- unless you sincerely believe that teenaged boys are nothing but perpetual erections -- The Lorax must bend over backwards, in whatever ridiculous ways it deems necessary, in order to hold itself together.
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Ted, inspired by Audrey's dreams for a better, realer place to live, the Once-ler's grim downfall of "Citizen Kane" proportions, and the Lorax's messages of empowerment and respect, hopes to change all that's gone wrong in Thneedville.
While the O’Hare character is somewhat reminiscent of Edna Mode in Pixar’s The Incredibles, Thneedville’s visual and thematic cues are similarly evocative of the twin worlds of WALL-E.
The boy has a name now, Ted, and he's voiced by Zac Efron; he journeys out to the wasteland home of the Once-Ler (Ed Helms), trying to impress a girl, Audrey (Taylor Swift), who wants to see a real-live tree - for Ted and Audrey and everyone else lives in the walled city of Thneedville, where everything is artificial, including the air, sold by the cunning entrepreneur Aloysius O'Hare (Rob Riggle), who looks like The Incredibles 's Edna Mode on drag king night.
He looks less like a Dr. Seuss character than Edna Mode from "The Incredibles."
Even those who appreciated former vice president Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” will find themselves squirming at just how blatantly the filmmakers stack the deck.
Like "An Inconvenient Truth" for the 12-and-under crowd, "Dr.
As far as computer-animated adaptations of Dr. Seuss classics go, "The Lorax" is an altogether more confident rendering than 2008's " Horton Hears a Who! " Perhaps its moralistic themes are simply expansive enough to better lend themselves to feature length, or maybe director Chris Renaud (2010's " Despicable Me ") and screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (2011's " Hop ") are just working on a higher level.
And while I could never forgive this - if you plan to abuse Seuss, the least you can do is hew close to his original themes, like Lorax producer Christoper Meledandri did with his Horton Hears a Who! - and for that matter, the amount of Seussian language present in the film is negligible to the point of invisibility - it would be acceptable, at least, if the film were still a solid bit of entertainment; for after all, those bright colors are tremendously appealing.
Like Fox Animation’s 2008 Horton Hears A Who! , Illumination Entertainment’s musical feature The Lorax, helmed by Despicable Me co-director Chris Renaud and feature first-timer Kyle Balda, keeps that filler mild and simplistic.
Having previously blended the irreverent and the touching to rewarding effect in Despicable Me, director Chris Renaud and writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (the pair previously got their Seuss on with Horton Hears a Who!) prove to be the right team for the job at hand.
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The gorgeous and glorious new film of this fable from Universal’s “Despicable Me” team turns a somewhat gloomy, cautionary tale into a 3D musical, with catchy tunes and gags borrowed from every film from “Toy Story” and “The Truman Show” to “Babe.”
Certainly the film has scored no shortage of green-friendly merchandising tie-ins (look for Lorax-approved laundry detergent at a store near you), though as far as artistry goes, the result is closer to "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" on the eco-friendly toon scale than to Hayao Miyazaki or "Wall-E."