From the creators of ‘Despicable Me’ and the imagination of Dr. Seuss comes the 3D-CG feature ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,’ an adaptation of the classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a 12-year-old as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.
Danny DeVito will lend his vocal talents to the iconic title character of the Lorax, while Ed Helms will voice the enigmatic Once-ler. Also bringing their talents to the film are Zac Efron as Ted, the idealistic youth who searches for the Lorax, and Taylor Swift as Audrey, the girl of Ted’s dreams. Rob Riggle will play financial king O’Hare, and beloved actress Betty White will portray Ted’s wise Grammy Norma. ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ is scheduled for release March 2nd in the US and July 27th in the UK.
What was your initial reaction to this film?
Zac Efron: At first, when I heard about ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,’ I vividly remembered being read that book by my parents. I remember flipping through the pages. It was this book that first planted that seed of the environmentalist in me. Also, who doesn’t want to do Dr Seuss? He’s just the coolest person ever. The fact that The Lorax is about the environment and has those messages, it’s one of the reasons I feel the way I do today. Dr. Seuss taught me that when I was so young. And I wanted to be a small part of his legacy. I feel very very lucky to be apart of this film.
Taylor Swift: It’s got this magical essence to it. There’s something so insane about the story, there’s such loss, but then there’s also such hope to it. And that’s always been my favourite thing about the story – the hope. One of the reasons I’ve been drawn to Dr. Seuss is the rhyming, I’ve always had this obsession with rhyming – so I grew up and became a song writer, so now I get to rhyme stuff all the time (laughs). Also, I’m drawn to anything cute, these animals in the story are heartbreakingly cute. Just ridiculously cute – maximum capacity of cuteness (laughs).
What appealed to you in particular about Audrey?
Taylor Swift: She’s got some really extraordinary characteristics about her personality. She’s adventurous, she takes chances, she’s brave, she’s strong, all the while being the object of affection for Ted – which is this really cute crush that he has on an older girl. Also, this character, Audrey….this book was in part inspired by Dr. Seuss’ wife Audrey. Audrey is an original character in the film. For the filmmakers to create a character and name her after Dr. Seuss’ wife, it’s amazing , and to get the honour to do the voice is pretty cool, very exciting.
Ted’s crush on Audrey, it’s the catalyst of his journey and adventure.…
Zac Efron: Yeah. Audrey’s into nature, she’s into trees. And he’s never seen trees, he doesn’t really know what they are. But besides him doing anything he can for this girl that he loves, he decides he’s gonna go and find a tree. Which is pretty hard in a world where they practically don’t exist. As soon as he gets to the Once-ler and hears the Once-ler’s story and starts to become involved, he realises there’s a much more important reason that he’s been put on this journey. He suddenly takes charge and realises he can make a difference, and that there’s a reason he was sent here.
What really speaks to you about Dr. Seuss’ stories?
Taylor Swift: My favourite thing of Dr. Seuss’ books is that he creates an entire world. His imagination spans so far that he’s created this entire world of…..whimsy and quirkiness. You’re so drawn into it that you almost forget that you’re being fed a really important message. I think the message of ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ is that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Appreciate what you have while you have it. Appreciate the beauty of what’s there right now, and try to preserve it for tomorrow.
You’re joined by a great voice cast in this film?
Zac Efron: Oh yeah, there’s definitely something for everybody in this movie. The cast is incredible. I love every single person in it. I can’t wait for people to see them bring these characters to life. Also, from where it is in the book, we’ve really made this a cool movie adventure version of it. This is a once in a life time epic journey to save the planet, it’s a fun journey to be on. Taylor’s perfect for this, she’s so sweet all the time – unconditionally sweet. I think she’s great because….she has exactly what I think the reason Ted has such a big crush on Audrey – sweetness.
You’ve also got Danny Devito as the grumpy but charming Lorax.
Zac Efron: When I heard Danny Devito was doing the voice of the Lorax, I thought that was legendary (laughs). I just saw a little mock-up that they created, it was actually very detailed, you could see the hairs moving on his face. It was Danny’s voice put through, he was walking along and saying, “Who’s chopping down that tree? Was it you?” I was in love, I just thought I love this character, I was sold straight away, I wanted see what happens to this guy. It’s a magical pairing.
