"The Lorax" is based on the titular 1971 book "The Lorax," which tells the tale of a gruff, orange and fuzzy creature of the same name who cares for his land of Truffula Trees, Brown Bar-ba-loots, Swomee-Swans and Humming-Fish. When the business-driven Once-ler chops down the Truffula Trees in order to manufacture Thneeds, the Lorax and his friends are forced to move away from their home.
English professor Donald Pease, who is the Ted and Helen Geisel Third Century Professor in the Humanities and the author of the 2010 book "Theodor Seuss Geisel," said there are numerous close connections between the tale of the Lorax and Dartmouth's campus today. The aims of the Dartmouth Outing Club and First-Year Trips, for instance, certainly align with the message of the Lorax's story, according to Pease.
"The Lorax is a figure who's giving voice to the vox clamantis in deserto,'" he said. "He's a voice speaking from within a space that's about to become destroyed, a voice speaking in the wilderness in the name of sustaining the wilderness."
Coinciding with the release of the new film by Universal Pictures, "The Lorax Speaks" environmental action campaign was recently launched through Facebook by Illumination Entertainment and the Nature Conservancy.
"The purpose [of the campaign] is to restore the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, which like the Truffula Forest is under the threat of complete deforestation and defoliation," Pease said.
"The Lorax" has sparked several environmental campaigns, including "The Lorax Project," a 2008 initiative between Conservation International, Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Random House. "The Lorax Project" aims to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire "earth-friendly action," according to the official Dr. Seuss website.
Pease said the retelling of the Lorax story is important for our modern-day society, not only as a "literary imagining, but also for imagining the future for the United States."
"The Lorax' is a tale about making certain that the next generation of adults take care of the environment in the ways that the proceeding generations have not," Pease said.
Pease will be lecturing on "The Lorax" and the work of Dr. Seuss at several advance screenings in Hollywood, Boston and New York organized by Dartmouth on Location, part of the Alumni Continuing Education Unit in the Dartmouth Office of Alumni Relations, according to Pease.
The sneak-peek screening was made possible by film producer Chris Meledandri '81, according to the Hopkins Center's website. Meledandri is the founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment, the production company behind other animated hits such as "Horton Hears a Who!" (2008) and "Despicable Me" (2010). Dr Seuss' wife Audrey Geisel, who is listed as one of the film's executive producers, worked closely with Meledandri in the realization of "The Lorax."
"Conversations with Audrey along the way served as checkpoints to remain tethered to Ted's original goals and set of ideas," Meledandri said in a recent article in The Wall Street Journal.
"The Lorax" pays homage to Theodor and Audrey Geisel's marriage, as the main characters in the film are named Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) and Audrey (voiced by Taylor Swift). The film adaptation integrates a love story into the book's original plot, as Ted goes off in search of a real tree to win over Audrey, a nature-enthusiast, despite the lack of plant life in their town of Thneedville.
In addition to Efron and Swfit, the film's voice cast includes Danny DeVito as the Lorax, Betty White as the voice of Grammy Norma and Ed Helms as the Once-ler.
Meledandri could not be reached by press time.
