A few months ago I read the book Dr Seuss' The Lorax for the first time to my daughter. She had all sorts of questions about why this happened or that happened in Thneedville and was really taken with the story, so when her grandma invited her to the movie one afternoon she was elated. Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen the movie myself, so when she again had all sorts of questions, I had no answers for her.
Since she’s been talking about the movie ever since she saw it and posing questions like “do you think the Lorax would do that?” or “wasn’t The Lorax movie the BEST?” I couldn’t wait to check out the movie for myself and knew this would be one that we would end up owning. And, even with that kind of build-up, The Lorax movie did not disappoint.
With such an important message woven into a very kid-friendly plot, I loved watching the movie together as a family and then talking about the message. And, even though it’s been more than 40 years since Dr Seuss first published The Lorax, the classic tale of consumerism and environmental disaster is just as, if not more, relevant today in our world of over indulgence and greed.
Dr Seuss' The Lorax does a great job explaining to children how important it is to protect our environment and leave it healthy for future generations. Instead of some abstract “leave the world a better place for your children’s children”, The Lorax movie shows kids what a world without trees, greenery, and nature would really be like, all while infusing lighthearted humor.
I thought the film was done really well and it really felt like I had just stepped inside the storybook into the world of Dr Seuss. It followed along with the book in many ways, but also added its own plot points and made several smaller parts into more of the story, which I love. Whereas some movies from books take too many liberties in telling the story, I thought The Lorax movie did really well sticking to the original text while adding truly loveable characters throughout.
My daughter especially loved the Lorax himself and has been screaming “The LORAX!” whenever we pass an ad or something from the movie, so she was thrilled that she got to meet the Lorax outside of the BlogHer Expo Hall this year, and proceeded to have her picture taken with him… twice {going in and going out, of course}. She told him how much she loved his movie and how she was happy the trees came back, and I was one proud mama.
One of her favorite parts of the movie was when Ted's mom showed off how technologically advanced their faux tree was with changing lights for each season and the built-in disco party. But even though part of her probably really, really wanted that fun disco tree, she still knew that real trees are far better than fake – for the environment and for aesthetic reasons.
Even though she’s still young, I know the message of The Lorax isn’t lost on her. I love that I can now use this as a great teaching point to help her realize how important it is to protect what we have and resist what we just don’t need. And, what could be better than a fun movie the whole family loves that has an important message to share?
BLU-RAY 3D COMBO PACK AND BLU-RAYTM COMBO PACK BONUS FEATURE EXCLUSIVES
- MINI MOVIES
- Serenade — Two Bar-ba-loots — one love shy and the other suave and confident — battle for the heart of their would-be sweetheart with the help of a colorful cast of characters, including the Humming-Fish and Swomme-Swans.
- Wagon-Ho—Two Bar-ba-loots take The Once-ler’s wagon on a ride they won’t soon forget.
- Forces of Nature—Determined to scare The Once-ler out of Truffula Valley, The Lorax decides to create the illusion of ominous forces of nature.
- MAKING OF THE MINI MOVIES—Go behind the scenes at Illumination Mac Guff to see the joys and challenges of continuing the characters’ stories in the dynamic format of the mini movie.
- DELETED SCENE
- SEUSS TO SCREEN—A fascinating look into the translation of Seuss’ iconic style from book into the big feature film canvas.
- SEUSS IT UP!— A great tutorial on how to draw the Lorax, a Humming-Fish and a Bar-ba-loot in the unique Seuss style.
- TRUFFULA RUN—The player moves left and right to avoid obstacles while attempting to pick up berries with modes for easy, medium and hard. As difficulty increases, the player will have more obstacles to avoid.
- “LET IT GROW” SING ALONG— Karaoke-style sing along to the end credit version of Let It Grow.
- FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH CO-DIRECTORS CHRIS RENAUD & KYLE BALDA
- ONCE-LER’S WAGON— While the Once-ler is away peddling his wares, the curious forest creatures have fun with his belongings. Users can select an item for the creatures to mimic or play with and then watch the adorable antics of all the forest friends.
Find out more at TheLoraxMovie.com. Looking to buy Dr Seuss' The Lorax? Thrifty Northwest Mom just posted this awesome Lorax deal happening at Safeway this week that you should definitely check out!
A big thank you to Universal Studios for sending The Lorax to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.