The Lorax

Movie Analysis

"Unless someone like you care a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not"

- Dr. Suess.

It is said that what you do to nature will cone back to you ten times fold. Be it in any way, it will
always come back.

Dr. Seuss really did made an eye opener in his story "The Lorax".The story teaches so many
lessons on giving importance to nature. It showed problems and ways to heal the problem. The
main characters were the Onceler a young entreprenuer who wanted to become rich and at the
same time prove to his family that he is not a failure and the Lorax who is the speaker for the
trees. It began when a boy asked the Onceler about real trees and the Lorax. The Onceler told
the boy how the place was once a vast forest of Truffula trees with lots of creatures living there.
Then the Onceler discovered that he can make Thneeds which is a clothing that can turn into
anything you need, out of the trees. After cutting down one tree the Lorax appeared and
confronted him. But the Onceler did not listen and even asked his family to join him the Lorax
confronted him again. After the Onceler cut down all the trees his family, the animals and the
Lorax left him. He was left alone and in shame. When the Onceler finished his story he asked
the boy to plant a Truffula seed to redeem himself from the destruction he has done.

In the movie "The Lorax" the scenes, made a perfect reflection of environmental problems we
face in many parts of the world. The most dominant one which resulted to more environmental
problems is the mass destruction of the forest which in the case of the movie is the forest of
Truffula trees. When all the trees were gone every other problem started. The animals lost their
habitat, the air and water became polluted, some animals died, and the most fearful one is the
people has to buy the fresh air they need. One can just imagine how many bottles of those
fresh air you need a day just to breath. In the movie the Onceler represents the humans, the
destruction they can cause to mother earth for their own good which they do not realize unless
the effects reach them. Like what is happening today in our environment, forests are turned
into industrial places, factories are built in some places that were once grassy plains, residential
areas are built in once a mountain and a forest. Malls and other business centers are built on
once a farmland. This modernization is good but if it causes the destruction of nature? Maybe
it's time to think twice. You can see at the movie that the once magnificent forest filled with life
was turned into a lifeless, dirty and unlivable place. The once beautiful place has turned dark
and barren because of a mass murder of trees. Another place there is the town that looked
beautiful at one's sight but the truth is it's all made of plastic and outside the town became a
wasteland.

The boy on the other hand symbolizes the future generations, in the movie the Onceler gave
the Truffula seed to the boy so the boy could plant it. In this way the Onceler could redeem
himself. In the same way the past generations can redeem theirselves through the children. As
the saying goes "the children are the hope of the future". The seed represents the lessons the
adults can teach the children so that the children will be the one to do what the adults have
missed to do. They can improve the world, they can still plant those seeds make them grow and
pass them on to the next generations. If the adults finally acknowledged the problem which
was the result of their own doing, of course they want to fix it, and if they can't atleast they can
pass the lessons they have learned to someone who is more capable to do the job. So it is very
important to teach the children, it is most important to make them aware to the problems of
our environment this will encourage them to love nature.

As I said in the beginning "The Lorax" is an eye opener, the movie doesn't just show the effects
of our own doing, it teaches us how to redeem ourselves. What the Onceler did came back to
him, ten folds or even more but the most important thing is he learned from it and he did
something of course through the help of the boy to redeem himself from what he has done.
Imagine a world where we need to buy everything even fresh air, a world without animals, a
world that is full of plastic and waste. Would you let your future family live in such a place? It is
horrible just thinking about it. A world where trees can be controlled by a remote? It is not
likely a place I would live in. Think of the future generation, what will happen to them they will
grow up not knowing how a tree would look like in person, what an animal would exactly look,
and how fresh air would really taste.

Modernization is not a bad thing, the same as making money through good means is not a bad
thing, but if it causes destruction which will affect the entire planet, there, that is a bad thing.
The movie is a great reflection of what is exactly happening today, climate change, global
warming, extinction of some animals, and pollution. This is all because of the Onceler (humans),
the Truffula forest is the environment, the boy is the children and the seed are the lessons. In
the beginning the world was vibrant, full of life and peaceful. Then the humans discovered
something, they found out that they can do business, earn, and become rich through what they
can find in the enviroment, because of that greed we invented and found ways to earn even
faster just like what the Onceler's family used the super tree-chopper. Then here comes the
problem, pollution, global warming, climate change, stronger storms, floods and etc. It came
back to us like how a boomerang returns after it was thrown but this time it is much stronger
and faster. After this we acknowledged the problem and we want to have another chance to fix
it, this time we teach the children, teach them how to plant the seeds and they can grow a
forest. Like what the Onceler said: "Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water.
And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all his
friends may come back." So UNLESS we care for the environment and the future generation,
nothing will change, we can't wait for someone, we must start with ourselves and we must start
today.