What’s that you say? The Lorax hits theaters today? This article discusses Dr. Suess movies, which we think are rather groovy.
As a small child learning to read, the Dr. Seuss books were among my favorite stories. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t like his books, but there has been controversy among the recent Dr. Seuss film adaptations.
Since 2000, we’ve seen three Dr. Seuss books turned into feature films: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Cat in the Hat, and Horton Hears a Who!. Personally, I’ve been pleased with the 21st century Dr. Seuss films. They provide entertainment for all ages: over-the-top sets bring awe to children, and there is also a lot of adult comic relief snuck in. Fantastic actors such as Jim Carey, Steve Carell, and Mike Myers bring the stories to life. Because the films were developed from short children’s books, there is a lot of room for creativity in a full-length feature film.
The most intriguing aspect of the three films are the new plot lines written in the movie, e.g., The Grinch’s personal childhood history in Whoville, the threat of Conrad going to military school in The Cat in the Hat, and Horton’s trek to the top of mountain Nool to safely place the speck in a cave. Horton Hears a Who! has stayed the most true to the original book, however, The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat received criticism for straying far from the original stories. While this is a problem among many book-to-film adaptations, I think it is perfectly acceptable to explore deeper plots in Dr. Seuss’ case.
Dr. Seuss was a very creative person as demonstrated through his imaginative and lively books. His rhyming schemes, fun illustrations, and moral life lessons have been received well throughout generations. As a children’s author from the 1950s and beyond, he thought outside the box and dared to be different. He was once quoted stating, “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.”
If Dr. Seuss were alive today, my guess is that he would enjoy the film adaptations despite the fact they do add plot lines to his classic books. Film directors, producers, costumer designers, everyone who works on a film needs to have a big imagination in order to bring any story to life. Anyone who has worked on a Dr. Seuss film adaptation has done exactly that – they’ve used their imagination and creativity to go beyond the basic story and illustrations Dr. Seuss has already provided them.
The newest Dr. Seuss film, The Lorax, hits theaters today. It is also conveniently what would have been Dr. Seuss’ 108th birthday. This weekend, witness the creativity of not only the brilliant Dr. Seuss, but also the daring movie crew who used their imaginations to bring words and pictures into a full-length feature film. Some of the recent Lorax reviews complains the film strays too far from the book and label those who worked on the film as crazy for allowing new plot lines. But, as Dr. Seuss once said, “being crazy isn’t enough.”