Author Dr. Seuss often wrote his children's stories with morals in mind, and his 1971 parable The Lorax was one such work, as it tried to warn against the dangers that industrialization posed on the environment. Forty years later, the story is making its way to the big screen in a 3-D, CGI-animated feature adaptation, with a newly released trailer offering the first look at what's in store.
The Lorax begins with the idealistic Ted (voiced by Zac Efron), who, in order to impress the girl of his dreams by finding a live tree, seeks out the grumpy Lorax (Danny DeVito), who fights for the environment against the Once-ler (Ed Helms), a character that was never revealed in Suess' original story, only appearing as a pair of thin, green arms.
The move was not without controversy, since the character, the personification of corporate greed in the story, has not been given a face in over four decades. Lorax producer Chris Meledrandri (Despicable Me) explained to EW last week that the decision was made to make the Once-ler a human gave the creature's actions a more relate-able quality. "There is a Once-ler in all of us,” said Meledrandri.
watch the trailer >> Posted 10.28.11 by Ryan