Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

This computer-animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss's (aka Theodor Seuss Geisel) 1971 cautionary environmental fable, focuses on taking responsibility for the devastating effects of industrialized society. Idealistic 12-year-old Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) lives in the isolated, artificial city of Thneedville, where greedy Mayor Aloysius O'Hare (Rob Riggle) found it profitable to eliminate all organic, oxygen-producing trees, making fresh air available for sale only in bottles. Knowing that his teenage playmate Audrey (Taylor Swift) yearns to see real—not plastic—vegetation, Ted embarks on a quest to find a seed from the Truffula Tree. Encouraged by his nervously protective mother (Jenny Slate) and feisty, wisecracking grandmother (Betty White), Ted ventures off to find the reclusive hermit Once-ler (Ed Helms), who recalls—in flashbacks—how he chopped down the region's beautiful, pinwheel-shaped, orange, pink, and purple-blossomed Truffula Trees, much to the chagrin of the portly, mustachioed guardian of nature called the Lorax (Danny DeVito). Unfortunately, the big screen translation of this despairing tale doesn't fare as well as Horton Hears a Who! or How the Grinch Stole Christmas, mainly because the ecology-propelled story is stretched so thin, but filled out with clutter in the form of slapstick chase sequences and mediocre musical numbers that ultimately become tedious. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by filmmakers Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda, three related mini-movies and a “making-of” featurette on those shorts (12 min.), a “Seuss to Screen” featurette (5 min.), a sing-along for the “Let it Grow” music video (4 min.), a deleted scene (2 min.), a “Once-ler's Wagon” interactive featurette, the “Truffula Run” game, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the “O'Hare TV” interactive viewing option featuring pop-up segments, the “Expedition of Truffula Valley” interactive featurette, the “Get Out of Town” game, the BD-Live function, and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven film.] (S. Granger)