Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this overall recommended Blu-ray release
A young boy goes to meet a ruined industrialist in a treeless wasteland and hear his tale of what happened to him. His tragic story is about how he began a thriving business with a useless fashion product derived from the trees of a forest. As his business booms, the forest and its inhabitants suffer as he wantonly clearcuts without regard to the warnings of a wise old creature called the Lorax about the dire consequences of his greed.
Remember when sitting down to watch a children's television special meant something? When an animated TV special was, well, something special? A warm blast of poignant holiday cheer, a tradition revisited year after year, a stirring small-screen adaptation of a classic children's book... ah, those were the days. Alas, with the advent of the Cartoon Network, twenty-one around-the-clock Disney Channels, and sixty-three Nickelodeon programming blocks, children's television specials are quickly going the way of Saturday morning cartoons. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown has been tossed aside for cash-ins like Scared Shrekless. There's no room left at the inn for the likes of How the Grinch Stole Christmas when drivel like Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special is taking up all of the rooms. Animated specials like Dr. Seuss' The Lorax are in even greater danger. With no holiday to celebrate, less nostalgia swirling around its 40th Anniversary release, and a feature film adaptation of Theodor Geisel's original book on the way, the 1972 CBS special could easily be forgotten. Here's hoping parents leave room for two Loraxes on their shelves...
"I speak for the trees! Let them grow, let them grow! But nobody listens too much, don't you know."
Geisel must have been peering into a crystal ball when he wrote "The Lorax," a more-timely-than-ever tale of a young boy (voiced by Harlen Carraher in the CBS television special) who visits the outskirts of the post-industrial wasteland he calls home. There, in a rundown shack, he meets the Once-ler (Bob Holt), a has-been cloaked in shadow that spins a story of his own; a story of the fate that befell the once-thriving Truffula Tree forest. Years ago, the Once-ler chopped down his first Truffula, fashioned his first Thneed (a worthless garment he was convinced everyone needed), made his first dime exploiting the natural resources of the forest, and came to his first realization of just how profitable a Thneed business could be. It was the day he first encountered the Lorax (Holt), a wise old creature determined to "speak for the trees." The Lorax, as the future Once-ler explains, spent his days warning the entrepreneur of the harm that was being brought to the forest. As the Once-ler's Thneed business grew into a wildly successful force of industrial nature, a thick cloud of smog settled in over the area, the bear-like Bar-ba-Loots had little choice but to leave, and the Lorax became increasingly distressed by the condition of his once beloved forest. Yes, the Once-ler's sad story ends more darkly than young readers might have expected -- with only the smallest seed of hope -- but Dr. Seuss' cautionary tale turned out to be startlingly prescient.
Fast forward forty years. Modern-day Loraxes are everywhere (yet largely dismissed and ignored), 21st century Once-lers are more aggressive than ever in fashioning worthless trinkets at the expense of the natural environment, and consumers are all too eager to consume insatiably and irresponsibly with little concern for the consequences. The Lorax doesn't rail against industry, though, if that's what you're thinking. Geisel targets avarice, indulgence and rampant materialism, unsavory character traits everyone -- regardless of which side of the political divide you fall -- can agree are bad; bad for business and bad for the environment. Geisel and The Lorax walk an admittedly fine line between cautionary tale and sermon, sure... if you're currently residing in the early 1970s. In 2012, the story is more relevant than ever and paints an all-too-vivid picture of some very grim but very real possibilities. That said, it's also become more and more of a measured cautionary tale over the years. Geisel's children's book, his 1972 teleplay, and the subsequent animated adaptation never demonize the Once-ler, allowing for a world in which both industry and the environment could, with a little bit of eye-to-eye compromise, co-exist and thrive. Greed is the only green-eyed monster in The Lorax, lest ye overlook Geisel's true villain, and it's a nasty, nasty beastie that brings destruction to anything in its path.
Political land mines and gateway environmentalism aside, The Lorax is a wonderful little story full of wit and wisdom (gloomy as it may be) and its DePatie-Freleng animation should make most Seuss fans feel right at home. It isn't as expressive or nuanced as Chuck Jones' Grinch, nor is it as much zany fun as Hawley Pratt's 1971 adaptation of The Cat in the Hat, but it certainly has its own charms, from the wooly Truffula Trees to the displaced Bar-Ba-Loots to the huffy desperation of the Lorax. Eddie Albert's voice is perfectly suited to his narration duties as well, and Holt has a grand ol' time manning dual roles: scoffing the green-gloved justifications of the Once-ler and barking the whipersnappery pleas of the poor creature who speaks for the trees. It ends with a more pointed call to arms than most Seuss tales, and its message is much more apparent from beginning to end, but neither detract from the magic of the pristine forest, the tragedy of the Once-ler's rule, or that last, promising glimpse of redemption that finds the Once-ler lamenting his past. All told, The Lorax hails from an age of meaningful animated TV specials and still stands as a lesser-known classic, even some forty years after its broadcast debut.
The Lorax thrives with a colorful 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that preserves the 1972 animated television special's every quaint charm. Greedy greens, wooly reds, vivid blues, bounding oranges and even smoggy browns have been given new life, black levels are dark and inky, and fine detail -- be it the film grain present in the original print, the errant lines of the animators' pens, or the smallest branch or furry leaf in the Truffula Tree forest -- has been retained and rejuvenated without fail. The grain field is a bit uneven at times, yes, and nicks and spots litter the original print, but, short of granting The Lorax a high-dollar frame-by-frame restoration, Warner's efforts are commendable and the results are impressive. Even the worst of the print damage is fairly benign, and other issues are in short supply. Artifacting, banding, aliasing and ringing aren't a factor and the encode is a proficient one. I was pleased with the presentation and I have a feeling those with reasonable expectations will be as well.
I was worried when The Lorax main menu appeared and Dean Elliott's score began to play. A distracting hiss accompanied the music; a noise floor I feared would be present throughout the special itself. Thankfully, that wasn't the case at all. Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix is about as wholesome and pristine as they come, without any noticeable hiss, noise floor, popping or, really, any serious signs of age at all. Narration and dialogue is bright, warm and rooted in the soundscape, effects are crisp and playful, and Elliot's music sounds cleaner and clearer than it ever has. Naturally, there isn't any LFE output or rear speaker activity to comment on, but I'd rather listen to an exceedingly faithful and wonderfully restored mono mix than a forced, cumbersome 5.1 remix any day. (Not that all 5.1 remixes are forced and cumbersome. Some are quite lovely.) I suppose multiple tracks would have been more ideal, but I'm not about to dock an otherwise excellent lossless mono track for that. The Lorax has, quite simply, never sounded better.
Two vintage specials are included -- Dr. Seuss's Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? (SD, 25 minutes) and Butter Battle Book (SD, 24 minutes) -- but neither is presented in high definition. Beyond that, there's only one Lorax-themed extra: "The Trees! The Trees! The Voice of the Trees!" (HD, 11 minutes), an environmental EPK about Geisel's forward-thinking tale, the importance of trees, and the purpose of environmental organizations like TreePeople.
The Lorax isn't the first Dr. Seuss animated TV special that usually comes to mind when asked to rattle off favorite Dr. Seuss adaptations, nor is it as timeless a classic as How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Nevertheless, it is a timely classic, and its message is more relevant than ever. Warner's Blu-ray release doesn't disappoint either. With a fit and faithful video transfer, an equally fit and faithful DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix, and a few decent extras on tap, The Lorax should serve as a tasty appetizer for families anxiously awaiting Universal's upcoming CG-animated Lorax feature film.
Next year, Warner Home Entertainment will release Dr. Seuss' The Lorax on Blu-ray/DVD/UltraViolet Digital Copy combo pack. The beloved animated program, which first premiered on television in 1972, tells the story of The Lorax, a forest creature trying to prevent ...
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