The Lorax (TV special)

This article is about the animated television special. For other uses, see Lorax (disambiguation).

The Lorax is a musical Dr. Seuss animated short produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises which first aired as a television special on CBS in the United States on February 14, 1972, and in Canada on CBC Television on October 22, 1972.^[1] The special was written by Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), based on his 1971 book of the same name.^[2]

The Lorax
Genre	Comedy/Fantasy/Musical
Based on	The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Developed by	CBS. BFA Educational Media.
Written by	Dr. Seuss
Directed by	Hawley Pratt
Voices of	Bob Holt Athena Lorde Harlen Carraher Thurl Ravenscroft Matt Bennison
Narrated by	Introduced by: Eddie Albert
Composer	Dean Elliott
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	David H. DePatie
Producers	Friz Freleng Ted Geisel
Running time	24 minutes
Production companies	The Cat in the Hat Productions DePatie–Freleng Enterprises CBS Productions
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	February 14, 1972 (1972-02-14)

Plot

A young boy in a gloomy ghost town meets the Once-ler, who recounts the story of the Lorax, a creature who speaks for the trees: as a young man, the Once-ler had arrived in a forest filled with brightly colored Truffula trees and playful animals. Initially enchanted by the trees, he starts a business making Thneeds from the trees, which depletes them, and the Lorax warns him.

As the Once-ler grows more obsessed with profit, he ignores the Lorax's warnings. As industrialization progresses, the environment deteriorates and the animals leave. The Once-ler still tells the Lorax that he will keep on "biggering", turning more trees into Thneeds; but then the last tree is cut down. With no more trees, the factory is forced to shut down.

The Lorax departs, leaving behind a pile of rocks marked "Unless." The Once-ler reveals to the boy that "Unless" signifies the need for someone who cares to take action. He gives the boy the last Truffula seed, encouraging him to restore the forest, signaling hope for the future.

Cast

• Eddie Albert – Narrator
• Bob Holt – The Lorax, the Once-ler
• Athena Lorde – Miss O'Schmunsler
• Harlen Carraher – Boy, Singing Bears
• Thurl Ravenscroft – Singer

Home media

The Lorax was released on VHS in 1994 as part of a CBS Video four-tape package called "Dr. Seuss Sing-Along Classics".^[3]

In 2003, Universal Studios Family Productions got the rights to the original 1972 TV special, and Universal released The Lorax on DVD under its home video label, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, with newly remastered picture and sound. This release also included another special Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? as an extra.

To tie-in with the 40th anniversary of the special and the release of film The Lorax, Warner Home Video released the special on a deluxe edition DVD and Blu-ray on February 14 (Valentine's Day), 2012.^[4] This release once again included Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? and now also included The Butter Battle Book as another extra (however, when The Lorax was released on digital retailer sites in 2021, the two extras were taken out of the release and moved over to being included with the digital retailer release of Green Eggs and Ham and Other Treats, where they were restored in high definition).

Reception

The Lorax received the Critics Award from the International Animated Cartoon Festival (Zagreb, 1972) and the Silver Media from the International Film and Television Festival (New York, 1972).^[5][6]