‘The Lorax’: fun with a side of Liberal philosophy

Home Culture ‘The Lorax’: fun with a side of Liberal philosophy

Many Dr. Seuss stories have debuted as 30-minute TV specials. To bounce “The Lorax” onto the silver screen required a bit more padding.

Dr. Seuss’ classic tale teaches the virtue of personal responsibility: planting a seed when the trees have been cut down. With more context and humor, Hollywood’s “Lorax” adds another lesson – the evils of big business.

The film opens with Thneedville, a booming metropolis filled with satisfied consumers. But this seeming utopia masks a darker side: “plastic and fake, a town without nature.” Its citizens enjoy cars, skiing, and lounging in the sun, not seeing the deficiency of plastic trees and bottled air.

Ted, the young protagonist, falls in love with Audrey, a high-school girl who dreams about trees. When she tells Ted that she would marry whoever brought her one, he snaps into action.

Ted’s grandmother Norma points him in the direction of the Once-ler, a mysterious creature who knows why the trees are all gone. Finding a secret exit to Thneedville, Ted sees the hidden consequences of the town’s artificial lifestyle: a river of slime, a polluted atmosphere, and a landscape of tree stumps.

After proving himself to the Once-ler, Ted hears the tale of Dr. Seuss’ Lorax – with some embellishment. The Once-ler explains how he left home, seeking to make his fortune selling Thneeds –– multi-purpose garments that feature as hats, scarves, and rags. When he finds an idyllic forest, full of dancing bears and singing fish, he also discovers the perfect Thneed material- truffula trees.

Thneedless to say, he chops one down to harvest its fabric-like foliage. But with each swing of the axe, a tremendous crack splits the air. When the tree has fallen, lighting and thunder hail the emergence of the Lorax.

This furry, orange creature proclaims “I speak for the trees.” He places stones around the tree stump from which he came, and the animals gather to hold hands, commemorating the first fallen tree.

Even though the Once-ler appeases them with marshmallows, the animals push his bed into the river. Not only does the Lorax stop the Once-ler from perishing in a deadly waterfall, but he also sparks the intruder’s limp body back to life with static electricity from two bears’ fur. The intruder promises that he will not cut down any more trees.

But then the Once-ler’s family arrives, people discover the virtue of his thneeds, and the entrepreneur becomes a successful businessman. While destroying the animals’ habitat, he sings “how bad can I be?” His musical number praises the principle of natural selection in nature and business. At the end, he stands in a suit before a poster of himself, with the message “too big to fail.”

Another evil businessman also ruins the lives of innocents. While Ted seeks to learn about trees, Mayor Aloysius O’Hare, owner of O’Hare Air, does all in his power to stop him. O’Hare has discovered how to bottle and sell fresh air. Trees, which make fresh air “for free,” threaten his business. His power relies on dirty air, so people will pay him to clean it up.

But both millionaires get their comeuppance. As soon as the Once-ler cuts down the last tree, he loses everything: his family leaves, the animals migrate, and the Lorax rises up into the sky, leaving a stone carved with one word – “unless.” I won’t give away the ending, though.

The film mimics Dr. Seuss’ tale, teaching children the destruction of greed and the redemption of personal responsibility. In addition to these positive elements, however, the film also took liberties. Explicitly referring to Sunday as “family day,” may not constitute a shot at Christians, and there may be nothing wrong with entertaining romance at such a young age. Nevertheless, the film conveyed a not-so-subtle message: big business is bad, and the environment is good.

Its finish pounded home the moral point – suggesting a way for kids to get involved: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”     

                                 toneil@hillsdale.edu