Unfortunately, the setup and content of the bonus features here leaves a lot to be desired. There are three cute mini-movies, deleted scene, and a commentary track all of which are nice enough and easy enough to access. The same is true of some unimpressive games included and the ability to watch with O'Hare commercials inserted into the film. The behind the scenes pieces, however, are far more difficult to find and overly short. One needs to select characters/locations from various screens and then click on them to see what is available in terms of data, artwork, or featurettes. It is a needlessly confusing endeavor and everyone would have been better served by simply presenting the features rather than requiring the viewer hunt for them. A behind the scenes piece on the mini-movies, sing-along track, DVD, and iTunes & Utlraviolet copies fill out the package.
In the end, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax comes off like a movie where the folks behind it read the book but didn't actually take the time to consider it, nor the story it tells, nor the message it imparts. They are The Once-ler in the middle of the book – they have been given the correct path, they have been told the right way to go, but they choose not to heed the warnings. No one is suggesting that the folks at Illumination are forced to hold to the exact nature of Seuss' work, but the changes made to the two main characters and the story represent a fundamental alteration of Seuss' work, and not one that benefits the story. The Lorax is a brilliant cautionary tale as a book and has been turned into a well-produced but overly cutesy story where the moral is all but missing.
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Article comments
1 - Brian
One of my supervisors said that the Lorax just came out on DVD, so I decided to see what they had done with the Dr.'s work. I just watched it with the kids. They absolutely loved it. But from some one that has read the book for years and years (I have a lot of nieces and nephews), I agree that plot seemed to leave a lot to desire. The story was well written, but I too expected that they would spend more time on the environmental message. At least I saved some money by renting instead of bought it. If they make Green Eggs and Ham next I would like a say in development.