Nothing brightens up a cloudy day like a healthy dose of Dr. Seuss. Luckily THE LORAX, starring Zac Efron, Taylor Swift and Danny DeVito, hits theatres today!
Based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name, the movie tells the story of Ted (Efron), a twelve-year-old boy who lives in a completely fake city called “Thneed-Ville.” Ted’s mega-crush, Audrey (Swift), wants for nothing more than to see a real tree, so Ted sets out to find her one in hopes of getting her attention. Along the way, he meets Once-ler (Ed Helms), a man who caused almost all the trees – called Truffula Trees – to go extinct by using them for his amazing invention. Ted also runs into our hero, the Lorax (DeVito), who’s the cranky but nevertheless loveable guardian of Thneed-Ville who encourages the citizens to think about how their actions affect the world around them.
But before it hit theaters, we wanted to take a stroll down memory lane and dig up how Dr. Seuss’s famous story came to be. Here are ten fun facts about THE LORAX that we bet you didn’t know:
1. The movie was made in France.
2. A fourth grade class from a school in Brookline, Massachusetts made a petition to have the environmental awareness message on the official THE LORAX website.
3. DR. SEUSS’S THE LORAX, the book on which the movie is based, came out in 1972.
4. Dr Seuss’s real name is Theodor Seuss Geisel.
5. Dr. Seuss wrote 90% of THE LORAX in one afternoon, inspired by a herd of elephants while on vacation in East Africa.
6. Ted is named after Dr. Seuss (his first name was Theodor) and Audrey is named after his wife, Audrey Geisel, who worked on the movie. Neither of the characters are in the book.
7. In the book, the Once-ler is a green monster that never shows his face, but in the movie, he’s a regular human being.
8. Danny DeVito also did the voice of the Lorax for the Spanish, Italian, Russian and German versions of the film…even though he doesn’t actually speak any of those languages!
9. Zac Efron said he felt silly doing the voice and footage for the film because he had to make big, unnatural gestures and say some really odd lines.
10. The movie has little details that pay homage to the movie DESPICABLE ME. Keep your eyes peeled for those minions!