Rashid Irani's review: Dr Seuss' The Lorax

The animated adaptation of the popular 1971 bedtime book by Theodor Seuss Geisel has an eco-friendly storyline, bright colour palette and frenetic 3D chases — everything, it seems, except the good doctor’s magic. Rashid Irani writes.

No magic, misbegotten

Dr Seuss' The Lorax
Direction: Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda
Actors: Zac Efron, Danny DeVito
Rating: **

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The animated adaptation of the popular 1971 bedtime book by Theodor Seuss Geisel has an eco-friendly storyline, bright colour palette and frenetic 3D chases — everything, it seems, except the good doctor’s magic.

Admittedly, the target, under-10-year-old audience will be amused, but others may not relate to the attempts at fun and frolic. Overall, The Lorax is a far cry from the classic cartoon caper it desperately wants to be.

Remaining faithful to the broad outline of the source material, the narrative follows a young boy (dubbed by Efron) who ventures beyond his barren hometown to bring back the seed of all-but-extinct trees.

It turns out that an avaricious hermit (Ed Helms) is responsible for ruining the once-lush habitat, never mind the constant protests by the eponymous tree spokesman (DeVito)

This is a cautionary tale about the dangers of crass commercialism but co-directors Renaud and Balda pad it out with a perfunctory romantic subplot and a horde of peripheral characters.