Unfortunately for legendary author Theodor Geisel, or Dr. Suess, as he is so lovingly known, his classic children’s books have never properly been adapted to film. With two live action blockbusters, “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Cat and the Hat,” ruining both the message and ambiguity of Suess’ best work, it looks as if animation was the only way to turn in order for Hollywood studios to continually plunder the author’s goldmine of an imagination.
As for ruining the ambiguity, EW has a few new images from the animated adaptation of Seuss’ “The Lorax,” which offers a revealing look at one of Suess’ most mysterious creations. The Once-ler, a character who needlessly chops down the lush Seussian forest in the 1971 book, shown up top before he turns evil, looks more like your average Johnny Appleseed than the Grinch-like individual who is briefly seen in the books. Voiced by Ed Helms, the Once-ler is a very non-ecofriendly individual who eventually meets the wrath of the titular Lorax (voiced by Danny Devito), who stands up to the destructive character ruining the environment.
Much like “The Grinch” and “Cat and the Hat,” this is another star-studded Seuss adaptation, with the likes of Zac Efron, Rob Riggle, Betty White and Taylor Swift also joining in the animated lunacy. We have some hope in this being a non-sacrilegious affair, since the film is being helmed by the animation team responsible for the somewhat enjoyable Seuss adaptation “Horton Hears a Who” and “Despicable Me,” so perhaps this won’t be another mindless effort in the vein of those previous live-action Seuss adaptations. Judging by the image, everything looks appropriately Seussian, so at the very least it could be pretty for the kids to look at when it makes its way onto screens in 3D on March 2, 2012.
