The Lovely Lorax!

Children’s movies, such as The Lorax help spread awareness and educate children on the prevalent environmental issues in society today.

Growing up, I loved watching The Lorax and other animated children’s movies. These movies have played an essential role in my behavioral and cognitive development while teaching me morals.

Although children’s movies often occur in a fictional land, they highlight important themes and morals in a light-hearted way that makes children more aware of themselves, others, and the world around them.

My blog series aims to educate people on how The Lorax truly speaks to environmental issues in society, and how children’s movies are essential in opening up the conversation about sensitive topics.

Animated movies, like The Lorax, make real-world problems more palatable for children through the use of visuals and a compelling storyline that accelerate and enhance understanding. 

Watching movies can sometimes feel like a mindless activity, but animated children’s movies provide a moral compass for viewers in a creative way. The first time I went to see The Lorax in the movie theatre, I was in awe of the colorful trees, catchy songs, and storyline.

Growing up, Dr. Suess's books had been my favorite books to read, and seeing a live take on one of my favorite books felt like the best thing in the world! The Lorax came out when I was 8 and captivated my attention with striking visuals.

The movie is set in the fictional, consumerist land of Thneedville, and while its inhabitants seem happy-go-lucky, the world outside of Thneedville is dying. The main theme regarding environmental degradation was highlighted in the film, and since then, prevalent societal themes have caught my attention in other animated children’s movies as well.

This topic is important because more and more parents are limiting screen time for kids, and advocating against children’s films such as Cinderella, Peter Pan, and The Jungle Book for many different reasons.

Before The Lorax became a movie in 2012, Theodor Geisel (Dr. Suess) published the book on June 23, 1971.

An article about Dr. Suess’ inspiration behind The Lorax says that the book “sold more than a million copies and has been adapted into more than a dozen languages, may have drawn a more surprising element from nature, too” (Witter). The Lorax was one of the first environmental protection children’s books to be written, and since 1971, journalists and researchers have wondered where Suess’ inspiration stemmed to create such an imaginative story.

In “How Dr. Suess’ 1970 Trip to Kenya Inspired ‘The Lorax’,” author Brad Witter explains that The Lorax was published only a year after the first Earth Day was celebrated in the United States on April 22, 1970 (Witter).

At the time, Dr. Suess’ La Jolla, California home and community were suffering from deforestation of Eucalyptus trees as developers attempted to build more subdivisions.

Dr. Suess was experiencing ecological crises in his community in 1971 but experienced writer’s block when attempting to put his thoughts and feelings into words.

In September 1970, Dr. Suess traveled with his wife to Mount Kenya Safari Club in Africa to gain inspiration and clear his mind (Witter).

They explored some of Kenya’s most endangered species along the Laikipia plateau, especially the patas monkey. Suess’ biographer, Donald Pease explains how the story came to him at this resort, and the manuscript was written in just one afternoon.

There are many similarities between the Lorax character, who speaks for the Truffala trees, and the endangered patas monkies, who heavily rely on a tree called the whistling thorn acacia for survival (Witter).

Although The Lorax children’s book was written more than 50 years ago, this shows how environmental issues have been prevalent throughout history, and that this cautionary tale should be spread for years to come. 

Many environmental themes and ecological crises are present in The Lorax such as deforestation, pollution, animal endangerment, and consumerism.

The Lorax is a cautionary tale about a person’s responsibility to the environment. The environmental degradation shown in the film serves as a message to the audience to take care of the planet.

In a research article titled “Representing Ecological Crises in Children’s Media: An Analysis of The Lorax and Wall-E”, authors Brett and Kylie Carraway explain, “The citizens of Thneedville show no awareness or interest in the ecological impacts of their behavior. All the trouble lies outside the city walls. Thneedville’s residents seem to appreciate nature principally as an accessory or as a commodity to cheapen their day-to-day expenses (for example, they value trees as a way to reduce the cost of clean air) (Caraway 692).”

Thneedville’s residents are so worried about their cost of living that they would choose plastic trees and bottled air over the beautiful aspects of authentic nature.

Ecological crises are also shown in the tale of the Once-ler, which is told to Ted in the movie, who wishes to bring the girl of his dreams a real tree (Suess, The Lorax).

The Once-ler was a greedy ‘Thneed’ manufacturer who cut down all of the colorful, beautiful Trufulla trees after being warned many times by the Lorax, the land’s greatest environmental protector.

The Once-ler’s actions destroyed the homes of many animals and polluted the air and water, driving the forest to a wasteland. Before disappearing, the Lorax left the message, “Unless” engraved into a rock, meaning that nothing will ever improve unless someone cares about the environment (Suess, The Lorax).

Although Thneedville is an an over-exaggeration of real-world environmental issues, The Lorax shows how consumerism will overtake the planet if we do not take care of the Earth.

These examples from The Lorax and an analysis article do a wonderful job of exemplifying how environmental messages are portrayed in the movie. Environmental issues have serious consequences, and The Lorax highlights these issues throughout the movie. 

Through a compelling storyline and distinct characters, The Lorax sheds light on societal issues in a palatable way for children to comprehend.

 Dr. Suess creates lovable and hateful characters and an innovative storyline to show how The Lorax is a great movie to educate children on environmental issues.

One of the main characters, the Lorax, is shown to “speak for the trees” and acts as a caring creature who loves the environment (Suess, The Lorax). The Lorax is bright orange and fluffy with bushy eyebrows and a thick mustache that portrays a grandfatherly figure. Children are drawn to the Lorax because of his interesting look, but also because he provides constant warnings to the Once-ler about protecting the environment and saving the Truffula trees.

In contrast, the Once-ler is an evil character who makes all of the animals sad by destroying and polluting their home (Suess, The Lorax).

Although children might not understand every aspect of environmental degradation, they will build a moral compass on what is right and wrong while wanting to protect the environment through different characters.

In a 50th Anniversary Retrospective article, Elizabeth Blum wrote, “Far beyond a simple conservationist message, Geisel places the origins of environmental problems in westward expansion and resource overuse; he blames capitalism, advertising, and technological developments for destroying ecosystems and depleting forests; he gives nature agency and a voice through the Lorax himself; and, importantly, he locates the solution in children, centering them as agents empowered to make wide-ranging societal changes (Blum 790).”

Dr. Suess believes that children will learn from this movie and advocate for the environment in the future, aiming each message toward the importance of protecting the Earth.

The Lorax and other movies such as Inside Out are historically and socially significant in raising awareness about sensitive topics. It is important to consider other children’s movies when talking about the significance of The Lorax.

A majority of children’s films talk about prevalent societal issues, such as in Inside Out. Since Inside Out came to theatres in 2015, viewers have become aware of their minds and the nature of their emotions.

Greater Good Magazine published an article around the time of the movie’s release highlighting the film and said that important “messages are smartly embedded within Inside Out‘s inventive storytelling and mind-blowing animation; they enrich the film without weighing it down (Zakrzewski, Marsh).”

The children’s film takes place in Riley’s 11-year-old mind with five distinct emotions including Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, portrayed as different unique characters.

Riley is devastated when her family moves to California, and her emotions struggle to stay consistent (Docter, Inside Out).

Inside Out taps into deep themes surrounding depression and shows how happiness cannot be forced and that our society needs to normalize sadness.

The article continues by saying, “It’s a shining example of the power of media to shift viewers’ understanding of the human experience—a shift that, in this case, we hope will help viewers foster deeper and more compassionate connections to themselves and those around them (Zakrzewski, Marsh).”

As in many other films, these movies work to creatively introduce children to sensitive topics in a light-hearted way and raise awareness about society as a whole.

At the heart of children’s movies is an important message, as seen in both The Lorax and Inside Out, that teaches children more about themselves, others, and the world around them. 

Dr. Suess’ film, The Lorax, is an important production that creatively makes real-world issues palatable for children without overburdening them.

The Lorax presents a multitude of ecological crises and themes innovatively for children to understand, which ultimately plays an important role in society. Prevalent historical, cultural, and societal themes can be found in many children’s films, such as Inside Out, which shows how these issues are at the heart of most films.

Instead of isolating kids from the realities of our harsh world, let us work to ease them into sensitive topics at a young age to build a foundation of morals.