Okay, I don't know about you, but I've been waiting four years for this movie to come out. Like, as soon as I saw Horton Hears a Who I knew the Lorax was going to be the next Seuss-to-film project just because it was such an obvious choice. That being said, I finally got to see it today and now I wanna share my thoughts on it.

**SPOILER WARNING**

Overall, it was pretty good. And by pretty good I mean it wasn't the most spectacular thing I ever saw, yet I wasn't disappointed by the result. Actually, comparing it to Horton Hears a Who it's a little more childish - which is odd since this movie was rated PG and Horton was a G-rated film.

The story they went with I was was okay. Of course they couldn't focus the whole movie on just the story of the Lorax for the whole hour and a half, so they needed a subplot: Ted and Audrey. I'm not really a fan of film-inserted subplots for book-to-film adaptations, but I thought this one was pretty decent. Ted's character pretty much got the movie going, what with him wanting to impress some chick with a tree and all. So, I thought that was okay. It really wasn't until the O'Hare character came into the picture where I thought there was something wrong. He didn't need to be in the damn movie. Seriously, the only reason they put him in it was to have a ridiculous, douchebag antagonist - that's all. The original story didn't need to have some subplot with a short, money-hungry businessman because they had the Once-ler. This is where the movie bugs me a little.

The Once-ler isn't an evil, corporate, so 99% it hurts asshole in this movie.

Yeah, they actually diluted the character for the sake of this film. Like, what was wrong with portraying him on film the same way they did in the book, or even the thirty-minute short? I thought that was pretty weird. Granted, yes, they did show the Once-ler becoming this greedy bastard in the movie, but not in the same way as in the book. In the book he's fueled by greed and greed alone. He wants to mutilate trees for the sake of his own game and make fucktons of money whilst sitting on his ass and smoking cigars all day. Movie Once-ler doesn't have that evil businessman characteristic that so many are familiar with, but instead has this kinda "I really shouldn't be doing this but oh what the fuck" thing going on. In the movie, after he thinks nobody wants to by his pink ShamWow he calls a Thneed, he pretty much gives up. It isn't until everyone wants his Thneeds and his family pushes him to chop down trees where we finally see him become a prick. And it's made clear in the movie that he doesn't want to cut down more trees because the Lorax already bitched at him for doing so once in the beginning. So, all in all, he's more-so a pushover than anything else.

Another minor disappointment was the fact they seemed to be paying more attention to the film-inserted plots than the actual story. Like I said, I thought the overall story they went with was okay, but at times it really did not feel like a Dr. Seuss movie; it really felt more like a pre-written script with Dr. Seuss elements spliced in between. Again, my main complaint is with the Once-ler's side of the story. He's supposed to be the one telling the story, and the movie stirs away from him a little. We're not even given a good look at his factory or some of his greed-ridden antics. And where the original story ends comes far too soon in the movie. I think they should have focused more on the Once-ler and ditched the whole O'Hare part of the movie. If you wanted to show corporate douchebaggery, then use the character that was already one in the first place.

I thought they did a good job with the Lorax. They got his character right, so it makes up for what we lost from the Once-Ler. Not much more to say about that.

Going back to the complaints, I didn't care so much for some of the song numbers, especially the opening one. I dunno, it just felt too childish. The Once-Ler's song sequence was the best, though. I would recommend seeing this movie in theaters just for that scene alone.

As for the ending, I liked it. I thought the idea of the Once-Ler seeing Ted fix the mistakes he made by planting the Truffula seed was a pretty good move. And seeing him and the Lorax become friends at the end was also a nice touch. I still like the depressing as fuck ending the original story had, but this was just as good for variety's sake.

All in all, I really enjoyed this movie. I'd say check it out in theaters while you can, though don't expect a spot-on accurate book-to-film adaptation. Yes, they got a little carried away with some of the typical Hollywood crap, but I don't think any of it takes too much away from getting the message across to the audience.

My rating: 3/5

_{Also, Frankenweenie looks awesome. Oh my fucking god.}


~Jay!