The Lorax: men in pink thneeds

I loved this movie. I loved it so much that I wasn’t going to blog about it, because I do have some of my usual complaints about gender stereotyping, and there is that awful sexist joke. But then I read a harsh review in the LA Times and feel like I must defend the movie.

The LA Times is upset that the film strayed too far from the original, created new characters, and also implied that it was too colorful.

I don’t mind the journey away from the book. I enjoyed the new characters.

Of course, I wish more of those new characters were female. I wish Audrey’s role was not the love interest/ muse, that Ted’s whole quest wasn’t about trying to impress her. I’m pissed the movie shows kids that boys are attractive for what they do, how heroic and brave they are, but girls are attractive for how they appear. Still, Audrey is a Token Feisty. She’s an artist and it is her love of trees that inspires the movie. She also has a role to play at the end.

And I was laughing through this whole movie. I was not bored one time. I loved the short, evil corporate guy (Ted’s mom calls him a “babyman.”) and his Girl With a Dragon Tattoo bob. In fact, all the hair in this movie made me smile. The mom and the Granny sport high piles of curls that look like mountains of fancy mashed potatoes. And speaking of the Granny (played by Betty White) she is also a Token Feisty. One of my favorite animated characters ever.

I didn’t think the movie was too colorful. I loved the swirly orange and pink trees. And those pink trees are used to make the famous thneeds, the useless accessory that everyone decides they must have. So you know what that means, right? The thneeds that everybody wants are pink! The thneed cracked me up and reminded me of those baby slings I see all the moms is San Francisco wrap around themselves in 12 different ways and wear so beautifully, but for the life of me, when I had tiny babies, I could never figure out.

One of my consistent complaints about animated movies is that the crowd scenes leave females out (not to mention Dr. Seuss books crowd scenes.) The crowd scenes in “The Lorax” are stunning and fascinating with lots of diversity shown, especially with body types.

Finally, I love the message about environmentalism and the warning not to let corporate greed steal your soul. There are allusions to contemporary times such as a “Too big to Fail” sign. The once-ler is not a bad guy, he just got on the wrong path. He redeems himself in the end WEARING PINK. I wish I could post a picture for you, but I can’t find one so you’ll have to see the movie.

Reel Girl rates “The Lorax” ***GG/S***

5 thoughts on “The Lorax: men in pink thneeds

  1. You do understand that the criticisms come from those of us who hold environmentalism as dear to heart as you hold gender equality in the media. That to some of us, this is a slap in the face? That “the warning not to let corporate greed steal your soul” is completely hypocritical, because that is exactly what the marketing tie-ins have done to an anti-consumerist, environmental tale?

    • Hi R,

      I get that but it also annoys me that groups like PETA care about animals but not exploiting women, not to mention acclaimed by sexist leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, Ghandi, JFK, the list goes on. Yes, these men did great things but what about women. As far as the hypocritical tie-ins, I’m totally with you. Its disgusting.

      MM

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