Genre Animation

The Lorax (2012)

Item: The Lorax
Rating: 2.5
Author: Ross McLaren

★★½ — The Lorax (2012)

Dr. Seuss's 1971 picture book The Lorax has always carried more political weight than its cheerful illustrations might suggest. Written at a time when the environmental movement was finding its feet, the original story is a fairly pointed critique of industrial greed and ecological short-sightedness, told through the framing device of the mysterious Once-ler recounting how he stripped a valley bare of its Truffula Trees. It was adapted for television as early as 1972, but the 2012 feature film, running 86 minutes and produced by Illumination Entertainment in association with Japanese advertising giant dentsu, represents a considerably larger commercial undertaking. The film arrives in the wake of the studio's breakout success with its animated output, and carries with it all the polish and glossy ambition you would expect from a major Hollywood family release.

The director is Chris Renaud, who had already established himself as a reliable hand at Illumination. Fans of his work will know Despicable Me (2010) and Despicable Me 2 (2013), films that share a similarly bright, kinetic visual language and an instinct for broad comedy softened by a little warmth. The Lorax sits comfortably alongside those efforts in terms of its look and approach, though it adds a musical dimension that gives the production a slightly different texture. The screenplay, by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (who had collaborated with Renaud on the Despicable Me films), translates Seuss's spare, rhyming cautionary tale into a feature-length story by expanding the framing device considerably and adding a new protagonist. The voice cast is well assembled: Zac Efron voices the twelve-year-old boy at the centre of the story, Ed Helms takes on the Once-ler, Rob Riggle plays the film's principal villain, and Taylor Swift appears as the girl the young protagonist is trying to impress. Most notably, Danny DeVito voices the Lorax himself, the gruff, mustachioed creature who speaks for the trees. DeVito is no stranger to family films with a slightly subversive edge, as anyone who has seen Matilda (1996) will attest, and he brings a similar grouchy charm to the role here.

It is worth noting that The Lorax was a significant box office performer on release, though whether that commercial success translates into lasting artistic merit is rather the question. The film has attracted both affection from younger audiences and a fair amount of scepticism from critics and parents who found its relationship with its source material somewhat complicated. That tension, between populist family entertainment and the sharper edges of the original book, is probably the most interesting thing about it as a cultural object.

The Lorax (2012) is a bright, bouncy, and well-meaning animated musical that clearly aims to entertain kids while sneaking in an environmental message, and for the most part, it succeeds on that front. The animation is vibrant and stylized, with Dr. Seuss’s whimsical world brought to life in bold colors and exaggerated shapes. A few of the songs (particularly "In Sneedzville") are genuinely catchy, and the voice cast (including Danny DeVito as the Lorax and Zac Efron as the boy hero) gives it plenty of pep. My kids loved it. Played it on repeat. Laughed at the Humming-Fish, quoted the Once-ler, danced around the living room during the musical numbers. So as children’s entertainment? Mission accomplished. But as a film for anyone older than, say, ten? It’s pretty average. The story simplifies Seuss’s sharp ecological parable into a more generic “save the trees” tale wrapped in corporate-friendly packaging (ironic, given its anti-consumerism message). The humor leans heavily on slapstick and pop-culture nods, and the emotion feels manufactured rather than earned. It’s harmless, colorful, and effective as a gateway to eco-awareness for young viewers. Just don’t expect depth, subtlety, or staying power beyond childhood nostalgia. Fun while it lasts, but like a Truffula tuft in the wind, it doesn’t stick around long after the credits roll.

That tension between what the film is trying to say and how it goes about saying it is, for me, the thing that lingers longest, and not entirely in a flattering way. There is a genuine audience for this kind of polished but unremarkable entertainment, and I would never begrudge a film that gets kids asking questions about the natural world, even if it does so wrapped in a fairly slick package. If it sends a few of them in the direction of the original book, that is no small thing. But I keep coming back to that irony: a story about the dangers of selling everything short, delivered with considerable commercial efficiency. Fun for what it is, then, and I mean that in the most measured sense possible.

Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2012 | Watched: 2026-03-04

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Trailer

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Where to watch

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Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

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