Blu-ray Review: ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ Comes Packed With Extras But Still Falls Short

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CHICAGO – After it made a relative fortune at the box office (its number six on the year in terms of domestic gross and has made more than $300 million worldwide), I was eager to revisit “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” on Blu-ray to se if I missed anything in my initial 2.5-star review. Maybe I was just in a bad mood that day. Nope. The movie just doesn’t hold up on a storytelling level and it’s even more deeply flawed on repeat viewing. It’s only entertaining to littlest ones in your family and even they would be better served by a reading of the great source material. A trio of mini-movies on the Blu-ray help make the package more enticing but can’t dismiss the film’s flaws.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

Watching “The Lorax” again on Blu-ray (and, to be fair, the HD transfer is strong, as it almost always is for Universal new releases), I had the same reaction as I did in theaters. I wrote in my film review, ““Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” never becomes grating or overly weighed down with gross-out humor or pop culture gags – all crimes committed by many of its recent animated peers. It’s essentially harmless. But I’m not about to give a pass to a movie based on a legendary book, one of the most beloved of the last century, for being “just OK.” It comes down to this –Theodor Seuss Geisel might be on-board thematically but even he would be bored.”

The Blu-ray comes with several special features although a lot of them are of the annoying mini-documentary variety. You know those less-than-ten-minute featurettes that don’t really tell you anything. Of most interest is probably the three mini-movies but even those left me nonplussed. A musical bit called “Serenade” is the highlight of the three.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax was released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 7, 2012
Photo credit: Universal

Synopsis:
The imaginative world of Dr. Seuss comes to life like never before in this visually spectacular adventure from the creators of Despicable Me! Twelve-year-old Ted will do anything to find a real live Truffula Tree in order to impress the girl of his dreams. As he embarks on his journey, Ted discovers the incredible story of the Lorax, a grumpy but charming creature who speaks for the trees. Featuring the voice talents of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle, Jenny Slate, and Betty White, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is filled with hilarious fun for everyone!

Click here to buy “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax”

Special Features:
o Expedition Of Truffula Valley
o Get Out Of Town Game
o O’Hare TV
o 3 All-New Mini Movies
o The Making Of The Mini-Movies
o Deleted Scenes
o Seuss To Screen
o Once-ler’s Wagon
o Games
o Sing-Along

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]