# Dr. Seuss' The Lorax - Blu-ray Review



## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9097&w=o[/img]*Title: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
Starring: Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle, Jenny Slate, Betty White
Directed by: Chris Renaud
Written by: Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio
Studio: Universal Studios
Rated: PG
Runtime: 87 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: August 7, 2012* 

*Movie:* :3.5stars:
*Video:* :5stars:
*Audio:* :4.5stars: 
*Extras:* :3.5stars: 
*HTS Overall Score:*87.5



[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9098[/img]*Summary:* 

Dr. Seuss is a name that I, like many others, will always think fondly of. As Illumination Entertainment takes us into the world of Dr. Seuss, bringing all the familiarity and peculiarities to the big screen once again. 'Dr. Seuss' The Lorax' follows the story of a boy, Ted (Efron), in a town called Thneedville, who so desperately wants to win the hearts of the girl of his dreams, Audrey(Swift). The one thing that she wants more than anything in the world is a real-life tree. In the town of Thneedville, everything is plastic and the existence of plant-life is non-existent. Ted is instructed by his grandmother (White) to go outside the town of Thneedville and find the Once-ler. No one has left Thneedville in many years, in fact, leaving is pretty difficult because of a massive wall that encloses the entire town. Ted finds a way out and searches for the Once-ler (Helms). Once found, the Once-ler tells Ted that he must understand his story and how he met The Lorax.

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9099[/img]The Once-ler begins to tell the story of how he had an ambition to make it big in life and he had the invention that would do just the thing, the Thneed. Once-ler set out to find the right material needed to make his Thneed and after an arduous journey he finds himself in a place where the trees have just the exquisite material that needs to make his wonder-product. When the Once-ler cuts down the first tree, the guardian of the land, The Lorax, magically appears to stop him from causing further damage, which he eventually promises to do. Once-ler, torn between keeping his promise and making it big ends when the opportunity for him to sell massive amounts of Thneeds just falls into his lap. As Ted follows the story of the Once-ler, he begin to find out how Thneedville came to fruition and why there are no trees.

'The Lorax' is a peculiar film. I found it quite entertaining; however, it felt as though the entire movie was a political agenda. While I would have no particular problem if it was intentionally done, it just seems strange being a "Kid's movie" and also having a not-so-subtle statement that people are ruining the nature, the environment and the earth. Still, there were plenty of funny moments throughout the film that kept me laughing. The movie briskly breezes by and managed to be more memorable than forgettable, once it was finished.


*Rating:* 

Rated PG for brief mild language



[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9100[/img]*Video:* :5stars:

Dr Seuss' The Lorax has a stunning video transfer. The overall color saturation is perfect and the balance in contrasting colors really give this film a thoroughly enjoyable image to see. The general image contrast is also top notch and despite the _very_ Dr. Seuss-style world, retains a realistic image that is nothing short of amazing. Dimensionality depth is constantly apparent throughout the film. Also, the level of detail is top-notch. The environments especially are filled with intricate details. The trees and their feathery tuffs are distinct enough you can see individual strands nearly all the time. I may sound like I am gushing a bit, and all together this would seem like it would be a visual overload; however I found myself surprised at how subtle they were able to make every aspect of this fine transfer. I think that's the key to what impressed me the most about this transfer -- the subtlety. Every aspect of the transfer itself soared to its highest potential, while keeping it's basis grounded to make this one of the most quietly pleasing transfers I've seen in a long time.


[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9101[/img]*Audio:* :4.5stars:

The 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio track mixed for this movie also is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. The film is by no means an action movie, so don't expect it to compete in that level, but again, it clearly is about the subtlety. The overall sound stage was very natural given each scene's different settings. Surround usage was active throughout and provided an expansive element to the audio mix even during the less-active portions of the movie. This is not a Pixar film, but all of the audio mix retains an epic level that one would only expect to hear from one. This likely is due to the likes of the sound designer, Randy Thom, who has worked on sound design for Pixar movies. Also, while there isn't much that you would think could be thunderous about this film, the subwoofer still manages to show off some of its power. Overall, the audio track is very pleasing and is much better than I would have imagined it to be for this film.


[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9102[/img]*Extras:* :3.5stars:

•	Feature-Length Commentary with Directors
•	Mini Movies - Wagon-Ho, Forces of Nature, and Serenade
•	Making the Mini Movies featurette
•	Deleted scene
•	Seuss to screen – 4 minute featurette
•	Truffula Run -- Interactive feature
•	Once-ler’s Wagon -- Interactive feature
•	Get out of town -- Interactive feature
•	O’Hare TV – In-film experience
•	Expedition to Truffula Valley – Interactive feature
•	“Let It Grow” karaoke style sing-a-long


*Overall:* :4stars:

It's pretty easy to recommend this film on technical basis alone, however the film's story itself is only about average. I actually enjoyed 'Horton Hears a Who' a bit more than this one, despite 'The Lorax' having more instances that I laughed at. Still, with a video and audio transfer like this disc has I think the overall enjoyment for home theater enthusiasts, like ourselves, will be higher by default. I found myself entertained enough and thinking the little ones will likely get a kick out of this film, as well. So, my recommendation is to at least watch it to see for yourself.


*Recommendation: Watch It!​*







Official Blu-Ray Reviews Scoring


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks for the review Jon! :T

While I agree it did seem to have an agenda, I really enjoyed the movie immensely and the ending was done extremely well IMO.


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## Cyberfloatie (Jun 1, 2011)

My kids have been begging to see this once since they first saw the trailers. I'm hoping to pick it up this weekend and maybe view it Sunday afternoon.



Jon Liu said:


> 'The Lorax' is a peculiar film. I found it quite entertaining; however, it felt as though the entire movie was a political agenda. While I would have no particular problem if it was intentionally done, it just seems strange being a "Kid's movie" and also having a not-so-subtle statement that people are ruining the nature, the environment and the earth.


I didn't grow up with the book... in fact, I only discovered it earlier this year when browsing apps on my iPad. However, after reading it to the kids a few times you're left with a very strong, clear message: Take care of the trees. If that message comes through clearly in the movie then they have indeed stayed true to the book. Something I applaud.

Thanks for the great review! I am really looking forward to seeing the movie.


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

Thanks for the review. I saw this movie in the theater. I as well as my kids enjoyed the movie and I will get the dvd. I actually liked the political spin that was in the movie since it was geared toward saving the trees meaning to take care of the environent. It would be terrible to get rid of all trees and this is a good way to show kids to take care of nature.


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## avfidelity (Oct 19, 2012)

Thanks for the review also.
Saw it with kids and friends. Enjoyed Dr Seuss The Lorax thoroughly.
This is our first Dr. Seuss movie.

Love my green eggs and ham!


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