Monday, June 2, 2014

The Lorax (2012)



Similar: Despicable Me, The Croods
Bechdel Test: Fail

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Rating: 4!
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I was impressed with The Lorax. It lays the message on thick but I feel that it was necessary. It's not an amazing movie. It doesn't really stun nor is it a new idea. It's just animated really well, has some really catchy songs, and focuses on the problems that came along with the industrial revolution.


source

The thing with the message in this movie is that it's up against a really huge problem. The movie paints corporations as the villain with the big line being "How bad can I be? I'm just building the economy." Considering that the world as we know it is run by corporations, it's taking quite the stand. Which is super refreshing because it basically throws the massage at you. Movies are losing their subtleties because it seems that no one is getting the hint (this is also why I don't mind how loose of an adaptation the movie is from the book). He talks about how it comes naturally. So many people try to say that it's just how animals work while at the same time trying to say that humanity is above certain things.

The Lorax also takes a jab at family. Family has always been a big deal for humanity across the entire planet but there does seem to be this idea that family can do no wrong and you should always forgive what they do. 'They can't be bad because they are blood.' It's never directly addressed but the Once-ler was clearly led astray by his family. Manipulated by the pressures they put on him, he turned into the heartless business man that we see in the video. Family isn't always perfect but that title shouldn't excuse them from everything.


The Lorax is a good movie that can be watched by kids but (like The Croods) is definitely meant for the adult audience to stop what they are doing and listen.

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