There are very few films made today that qualify for clean, healthy entertainment for children. Especially if you have to take a five-year-old to the movies.
Dr.Seuss's The Lorax is perfect for babysitting your kids this summer with its tree-hugging theme, cuddly, furry animals acting all cute, singing and dancing. All in 3D.
Set in a world where citizens need to pay for air, The Lorax tells the story of 12-year-old Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) who needs to impress the beautiful Audrey (Taylor Swift) and find a tree to gift her. His efforts lead him to Once-ler (Ed Helms), an outcast, who tells Ted the story of The Lorax, the magical furry creature that speaks for the trees. Lorax and the cutesy furballs of the forest used to be Once-ler's friends. Ed Helms and Danny DeVito take on the responsibility of all the serious voice-acting required, while the poster boy and pin-up girl for tweens Zac Efron and Taylor Swift are assigned the easier parts of the enthusiastic kids in love.
Though largely predictable, the makers keep us engaged with the antics of the animated cast (the singing fishes and baby bears and even a lazy donkey that rolls its eyes) and do make us feel bad about the butchering of trees shaped like cotton candy in the Dr Seuss world.
The film plays out with its younger audience in mind. The 12 year old, the hero of the piece, must plant a tree in the middle of the town to set an example and create awareness about trees.
The perfect message environmentalists would want to send out to kids in our world where trees are indeed beginning to disappear from the cities.
The Lorax
Genre: Animation
Directors: Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda
Cast: Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Danny DeVito, Taylor Swift
Storyline: In a world without trees, a little boy needs to find a tree to gift the girl he loves.
Bottomline: An ecological moral science lesson that kids of all ages will love.
