The Lorax (film)

"Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" redirects here. For the book, see The Lorax. For the TV special, see The Lorax (TV special). For other uses, see Lorax (disambiguation).

The Lorax
An orange poster with the Lorax's face in the center.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChris Renaud
Screenplay byCinco Paul
Ken Daurio
Based onThe Lorax
by Dr. Seuss
Produced by
Starring
Edited by
Music byJohn Powell[1]
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
Running time
86 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$70 million[4]
Box office$351.4 million[4][5]

The Lorax (also known as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax) is a 2012 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, and distributed by Universal. The film is the second screen adaptation of Dr. Seuss' 1971 children's book The Lorax following the 1972 animated television special. Directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Kyle Balda, produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy and written by the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (who also served as executive producers alongside Dr. Seuss' widow Audrey Geisel), it stars the voices of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle, Jenny Slate and Betty White.

The film builds on the book by expanding the story of the Lorax and Ted, the previously unnamed boy who visits the Once-ler. The idea for the film was initiated by Geisel, who had an established partnership with Meledandri from a collaboration on Horton Hears a Who! (2008). Geisel approached Meledandri with the idea when he launched Illumination. The film was officially announced in 2009 with the creative team attached, and by 2010, DeVito was cast as the titular character. John Powell composed the score, and also wrote the film's songs alongside Paul. The animation was produced in France by the studio Illumination Mac Guff (the animation department of Mac Guff that was acquired by Illumination in 2011).

The Lorax globally premiered at Universal Studios in Hollywood on February 19, 2012, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 2, in IMAX, 3D (known in the film exclusively as "Tree-D") and 2D. Critics praised the animation, music and voice acting but criticized the characters and story, while the marketing received backlash for its perceived contradictions to the book's original message. Despite these criticisms, The Lorax was a commercial success, grossing $351 million worldwide against a budget of $70 million.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Collider1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Dr Suess' The Lorax". Filmaffinity. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX (U)". British Board of Film Classification. May 4, 2012. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference BOM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NUM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).