Question about the release of "The Lorax" in March 2012

[Drtooth]

Perhaps because traditionally it's assumed people will not notice if a message is delivered in kid format. They'll think, "Oh well they can't possibly be saying that, it's an innocent little kid's show!"

It's not just the "ooh, look at what slipped through the censors" Animaniacs "Finger Prince" line... it's stuff like the episode of Arthur "Never, Never, Never" where they snuck the entire plot of King Lear into a deceivingly simplistic story of D.W. and her little friends. There was a much less subtle Macbeth episode that managed to make little references here and there. Not to mention the episode that referenced Kafka's Metamorphosis. The Simpsons is basically one of the few adult series that makes references like that... Maybe South park as well. It's like all animation writers are English lit scholars or something.

 

[minor muppetz]

Perhaps because traditionally it's assumed people will not notice if a message is delivered in kid format. They'll think, "Oh well they can't possibly be saying that, it's an innocent little kid's show!"

Though it seems many parents have complained about certain things in kids programming over the years, though.

I watched the original Lorax TV special on ABC Family last december, and one thing I sort of noticed. It's in one song sung a few times, "For he's a jolly good onceler, aren't we all?" A catchy and soemwhat funny line (and it seems like they were singing a variation of "For he's a jolly good fellow"), but I thought Onceler was his last name, not his species, and then they act self-congraduatory. Though it seems they were all part of the same family so I guess that makes them all Once-lers.

And recently I wondered if avoiding The Once-ler's face was a way of calling him a faceless corporation (wait, is that a term? I've been thinking it is, but I also wonder if I suddenly thought it up recently and subconciously made myself think I'd heard the term).
Considering what we see of the Once-Ler and his family, I wonder if he could really be the Grinch... Since his arms and legs are green. Hmmm...

 

[CensoredAlso]

Though it seems many parents have complained about certain things in kids programming over the years, though.

What I often find is that parents miss the "hidden" messages and end up complaining about minutia, lol.

I watched the original Lorax TV special on ABC Family last december, and one thing I sort of noticed. It's in one song sung a few times, "For he's a jolly good onceler, aren't we all?" A catchy and soemwhat funny line (and it seems like they were singing a variation of "For he's a jolly good fellow"), but I thought Onceler was his last name, not his species, and then they act self-congraduatory. Though it seems they were all part of the same family so I guess that makes them all Once-lers.

Well I think the line is sort of meant to be ironic that we're all just as bad as this Onceler is.

Considering what we see of the Once-Ler and his family, I wonder if he could really be the Grinch... Since his arms and legs are green. Hmmm...

I confess as a child I always just kind of took that for granted, lol.

 

[D'Snowth]

Considering what we see of the Once-Ler and his family, I wonder if he could really be the Grinch... Since his arms and legs are green. Hmmm...

I actually assumed his WAS the Grinch as a kid, I just didn't get why they were refering to him as "Once-ler".

 

[Drtooth]

The Grinch is a much different sort of character... The Onceler is someone who was a visionary who was so blinded by his own greed he brought the downfall of himself and others. The Grinch just feels alienated and hates the Whos.

Like I said, I'm going to complain, and moan, and groan about this, then I'm going to wind up seeing it, feel it isn't that bad for a few months and then flip flop back to saying it was lousy... like I usually do. It really feels that the biggest impact the book and original special have it's that Onceler cares so much about maximized profits and mass consumerism, that he completely forgets that what he's selling isn't being renewed, and therefore limiting his supply. Thus ruining the environment, and ALSO royally boning himself in the long term for short term gains. A message both of environmental conservation AND strategic business sense. had the Onceler planted 2 Truffula trees for every he chopped down (or better yet, just took half of each tuft), in time there would be more. It's that whole message that the logic of "There's always more! That's what More Means" is illogic. That's something that's probably going to be overlooked in the film.

 

[CensoredAlso]

The Grinch is a much different sort of character... The Onceler is someone who was a visionary who was so blinded by his own greed he brought the downfall of himself and others.

Plus what I love about the Onceler is that he actually loves the Truffula trees. He's not just some one dimensional greedy villain, he has layers which allows him to feel guilt in the end.

Like I said, I'm going to complain, and moan, and groan about this, then I'm going to wind up seeing it, feel it isn't that bad for a few months and then flip flop back to saying it was lousy... like I usually do.

I'll just avoid all that and not see the movie in the first place, hehe.

It's that whole message that the logic of "There's always more! That's what More Means" is illogic. That's something that's probably going to be overlooked in the film.

How true that is.

 

[Drtooth]

Plus what I love about the Onceler is that he actually loves the Truffula trees. He's not just some one dimensional greedy villain, he has layers which allows him to feel guilt in the end.

I watched the special recently, and the Lorax almost comes off as a jerk (or rather a "GIT OFFA MAH LAWN!!" type) when he first shows up, shouting at the Onceler to leave the trees alone, when the Onceler just gently picked the tree tufts and hand knitted one Thneed. You almost feel like saying, "HEY! Relax. The guy's just trying to create something." But at that point, there could have been compromising on the part of both of them. Two trees planted for every tree plucked (though I wonder how the story would have been affected if Seuss gave the explanation that said trees either grow a new tuft or not)... yet a plucked tree would be left still.

It's the Onceler's lazy, cut rate methods that do everyone in... polluting factories, massive deforestation, building a populous for those to live closer to work... that's where he goes wrong. If anything, both the environment and progress can co-exist with the slightest bit extra of effort. Especially at the end, the all too familiar "there's no work left" abandonment of an entire town. In the end, all that's left is a polluted, worthless, baron, ghost town that needn't have been if extra steps have been taken. Gently plucking some of the trees, shipping those tufts to another site (like a previously abandoned factory that's been refurbished), being mindful of the creatures habitats, letting more trees grow... nature is left relatively untouched, your source of income is renewable, so you have a steady stream of income and work coming in. It may have cost a little more in the short run, but in the long run, it pays for itself. But everything is about the get rich quick schemes, the short term profits at the risk of long term disasters... that's why most companies are screwed up.

If I were to have made this film, instead of that useless bit of some kid trying to get a girl to like him, I'd've added more allegories of why our system of capitalism
is so screwed up... I'd have the Onceler bought out for a small fortune, having the entire operation shipped off to be outsourced to Foomaphazoom where the Phazooms all live in one room, spending most of their profit on PR to make it look like everything they do is great, and lobbyists to make sure they can keep doing what they're doing, then filing for bankruptcy after a massive scandal and punishing everyone under the CEO and stock holders... all leading to the Onceler living alone, imprisoned in the wasteland remains. THAT'S the message we need besides the environmentalist message... that is greedy stupid people run big business when they're incapable to run a 2k.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I watched the special recently, and the Lorax almost comes off as a jerk (or rather a "GIT OFFA MAH LAWN!!" type) when he first shows up, shouting at the Onceler to leave the trees alone, when the Onceler just gently picked the tree tufts and hand knitted one Thneed. You almost feel like saying, "HEY! Relax. The guy's just trying to create something."

Oh yeah you could definitely argue that the Lorax sometimes veers into annoying tree hugger territory, the same way the Onceler veers into annoying greedy Capitalist territory. They both have good points and bad points which makes the problem so difficult to solve.

 

[D'Snowth]

And so, western civilization crumbles...

 

[Drtooth]

Oh yeah you could definitely argue that the Lorax sometimes veers into annoying tree hugger territory, the same way the Onceler veers into annoying greedy Capitalist territory. They both have good points and bad points which makes the problem so difficult to solve.

Well, if you look at the Lorax's point of view, it almost seems to me that he knew EXACTLY what could go wrong, and was very much that fearful that one little deed, even one with very good intentions, could lead down a very bad path in the end. Almost like he could sort of tell that Onceler would be so greedy that he'd let that cloud his judgement.

To me, the Lorax is like... uh... that guy in the "B" movie that says "no good can come from this." The one that if they didn't ignore, they're be no story.