Do you think 'The Lorax' is unfair to the timber and logging industries?

OK. I admit it. I watched “The Lorax” the other night. It’s a kid’s movie, and I enjoyed it.

Rated PG, this 86-minute animated movie is based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. Released on March 2, 2012 – which was Dr. Seuss’ 108th birthday – “The Lorax” was directed by Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda. It starred the voices of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, Betty White and Zac Efron.

The movie is set in the fictional city of Thneed-Ville, a walled city where there are no real trees. The main character, Ted Wiggins, who was voiced by Efron and named after the real Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), has a crush on a girl named Audrey, who was voiced by Swift. In order to win her heart, he sets out on a quest to find a real tree in hopes of presenting it to her as the ultimate gift. Ted ventures outside the city’s walls to seek an audience with a strange hermit called “The Once-ler.”

The Once-ler, who is voiced by Helms eventually tells Ted about how he was once a thriving young businessman, who was eventually ruined by his greed. The Once-ler not only lost his fortune, but he turned the countryside into a treeless wasteland. A nature guardian called The Lorax, an orange creature with a large mustache, tried to prevent this disaster, but was unsuccessful. Hearing this story, Ted hopes to undo the past and win the heart of Audrey. (And I’ll stop right there to keep from ruining the movie for anyone out there who hasn’t seen it yet.)

As mentioned, “The Lorax” is based on Dr. Seuss’ 1971 book of the same name. Published by Random House, this 45-page book was named one of the “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children” by the National Education Association in 2007 and one of the “Top 100 Picture Books” by the School Library Journal in 2012. However, not everyone loved the book. It was banned in a California school district in 1988 because it was deemed unfair to the timber industry. As chance would have it, we’ve got tons of Dr. Seuss books at our house, but not “The Lorax,” so far as I know. How the book compares to the movie would only be guesswork on my part.

To say that this movie was a financial success would be an understatement. Shot on a budget of $70 million, it went on to post box office revenues of over $337 million. Despite all of the potential money involved and the long-running popularity of Seuss’ books, “The Lorax” is just the fourth feature film based on his works. The others include “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000), “The Cat in the Hat” (2003) and “Horton Hears a Who!” (2008).

In the end, I enjoyed “The Lorax” movie. How many of you saw “The Lorax”? What did you think about it? Did you like it or not? Let us know in the comments section below.

For more information about “The Lorax,” visit the movie’s official Web site at www.theloraxmovie.com/index.php.