Still one of Netflix’s Top Ten movies, KPop Demon Hunters is still dominating your streaming schedule. Whether you’re obsessed with the movie’s music or its resonating critical message of a person’s inner demons, I had a feeling that the animated movie would find its way to Halloween this year. It’s no surprise that Huntr/x costumes are huge this year, but the Lorax TikTok meme influencing trending costumes is just plain weird.

With K-Pop Demon Hunters being called the movie of the summer, my hunch was growing that young girls and boys would be dressing as Huntr/x and the Saja Boys for Halloween. Lo and behold, TODAY revealed Google’s Top Halloween Costumes this year were Huntr/x band members, followed by two Saja Boys. However, I’m flabbergasted to see Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax make its way there ,and I’m assuming it's because of those weird viral TikTok memes.

Regarded as one of Dr. Seuss’ best movies, I can imagine many kids who saw The Lorax wanting to be the “guardian of the forest” for the day. However, I’m starting to think it’s because the viral TikTok memes surrounding the orange costume are the source of its popularity for Halloween costumes.

The trend was first started by TikToker McKenna Douglas, who would dress as the animated character wearing a potbellied, bright orange bodysuit with a big yellow mustache and eyebrows, dancing along to upbeat party tracks. Like wildfire, the silly meme started catching on, with more TikTok users following suit with their own videos donning the colorful costume. Take a look at Douglas dressing as The Lorax dancing to J. Dash’s “Wop:”

As McKenna Douglas has achieved a TikTok following of 93.3K followers, these strange videos must be doing something right. They're inspiring many other social media users to dance around in the bodysuit like no one's watching, and wear the orange Halloween costume this year. Here’s the full list of Google’s Top Halloween Costumes 2025 below:

1. Rumi
2. Zoey
3. Mira
4. Jinu
5. Baby Saja
6. Chicken Jockey
7. Labubu
8. Derpy the Tiger
9. Elphaba
10. The Lorax

Look at that! Huntr/x’s Rumi, Zoey, and Mira are the top Halloween costumes. As a Rumi cosplayer was once seen riding on a motorbike this summer, I knew right there that I’d expect to see plenty of trick or treaters donning the purple hair and demon scars. It’s nice that the boys are showing love for the Saja Boys, too. I’m already prepping for some cute “Soda Pop” costume memes.

There are plenty on this list I haven’t heard of before, like Labubu and Derpy the Tiger. But it’s nice that Elphaba is getting her recognition this spooky season. As Wicked was such a big movie last year, little girls can make other trick or treaters green with envy (pardon the pun) for their magical costume. And then there’s… The Lorax. Well, it goes to show the power of social media memes, no matter how bizarre they are.

It was in the bag that K-Pop Demon Hunters would make a splash this Halloween, but having The Lorax featured on trending costumes was something I didn’t see coming. Clearly, TikTok can turn the most unexpected character into a pop culture hit. You can get into the Huntr/x-Saja Boys mood by seeing the trending musical-fantasy flick and The Lorax on your Netflix subscription.

Some of the most important and formative books from a person’s childhood tend to be less than 100 pages, or even much, much shorter. Yet, the stories they tell are brimming with enough imagination to inspire a feature-length film, and many of them have. Take a trip down memory lane with us as we reminisce about the beloved, short children’s books that were later adapted for cinema (or as a made-for-TV movie).

Zathura (2005)

More than two decades after he wrote Jumanji, Chris Van Allsburg released a 32-page sequel about another board game that took two brothers on an adventure in a whole different kind of territory: outer space. Three years later, director Jon Favreau turned Zathura into an exciting sci-fi flick starring Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, and Tim Robbins that is fun for the whole family.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

One of Dr. Seuss' most beloved books, 1957's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, was first adapted into a half-hour, animated TV special in 1966 that is now considered one of the all-time best Christmas movies and an annual tradition. Also recognized as an annual tradition by many is director Ron Howard's live-action, feature-length adaptation, featuring incredible production design straight out of the 64-page book and led by a wonderfully uproarious performance by Jim Carrey in the green, curmudgeonly title role.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009)

In Judi and Ron Barrett's 32-page 1978 picture book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, there is no explanation for why food conveniently falls from the sky over the town of Chewandswallow. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller reimagine the gastronomic weather phenomenon as the result of a revolutionary device by aspiring inventor Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) in their animated feature adaptation, which also inspired a 2013 sequel and a TV series prequel.

Night At The Museum (2006)

One of Ben Stiller's most beloved family films is director Shawn Levy's Night at the Museum, which spawned two fellow live-action sequels and an animated follow-up made for Disney+. The book that started it all is writer and illustrator Milan Trenc's 32-page 1993 effort in which a night watchman for New York's American Museum of Natural History discovers the exhibits come to life when the sun goes down.

Where The Wild Things Are (2009)

Writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak won the Caldecott Medal for Most Distinguished Picture Book for his 1963 classic, Where the Wild Things Are. With the use of brilliant puppetry, writer and director Spike Jonze brought the story of the young, mischievous Max (Max Records) and his journey to a land of large monsters to life in a visually stunning live-action film.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

The first stop-motion animated Wes Anderson movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox, features the voice talents of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and others as a group of furry woodland creatures fighting a group of farmers threatening their livelihood. The story comes from a 96-page novel by Roald Dahl.

The Polar Express (2004)

Robert Zemeckis' first experiment with performance capture was an adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's award-winning, 32-page book, The Polar Express, from 1985. It stars Academy Award winner Tom Hanks as several characters, including a conductor taking a group of children on a trip to the North Pole by train.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Did you know that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang comes from the mind of the same author whose work inspired the James Bond movies? Ian Fleming's illustrated story about a flying car, which was later adapted into a magical, musical adventure comedy starring Dick Van Dyke, was first published in three 48-page volumes in 1964.

Dumbo (1941)

Dumbo, the Flying Elephant, by writer Helen Aberson and illustrator Harold Pearl, was originally going to be published in 1939 as a "Roll-a-Book," which was read by turning a scroll a tablet-like device in lieu of flipping pages. However, before the technically inventive story could officially hit the shelves, the rights to the large-eared, aviary circus animal were purchased to make what would become a classic Disney animated movie that Tim Burton later adapted as a live-action feature.

Jumanji (1995)

Chris Van Allsburg's 32-page, 1981 picture book, Jumanji, was the basis for director Joe Johnston's Robin Williams-led hit about a board game that releases a jungle's worth of mayhem into our world. The concept was later reinvented for two sequels about a video game that literally immerses its players into the wild.

Horton Hears A Who! (2008)

Years after he played The Grinch, Jim Carrey returned to the world of Dr. Seuss as the title character of the animated Horton Hears a Who! Just like the original 72-page book from 1954, the story follows an optimistic elephant who becomes the guardian of a microscopic community led by a nervous Mayor (voiced by Steve Carell), which Horton's fellow jungle inhabitants do not believe is real.

Curious George (2006)

Curious George made his debut in H.A. Rey's 1939 book, Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys, before the overly enthusiastic young primate became the star of his own series of children's books. Frank Welker voiced the character in an animated film adaptation that also starred Will Ferrell as The Man in the Yellow Hat.

Zenon: Girl Of The 21st Century (1999)

One of the most popular Disney Channel Original Movies was Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, starring Kirsten Storms as a teen living on a space station who is sent to Earth as punishment. The made-for-TV film, which spawned two sequels, was based on a 48-page 1996 picture book by Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen.

The Cat In The Hat (2003)

Mike Myers donned heavy makeup and a suit of human hair to become Dr. Seuss' most iconic creation in The Cat in the Hat, which is not considered one of the best Dr. Seuss movies by many. In fact, according to Today, the author's widow, Audrey Geisel, was so unimpressed with Bo Welch's film, which also starred Spencer Breslin and Dakota Fanning, that she prohibited Hollywood from making any more live-action features out of her husband's work.

Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)

Writer Judith Viorst and illustrator Ray Cruz's award-winning 1972 book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, tells the story of a young boy having a crummy time in 32 pages. In Disney's feature-length, live-action adaptation, not only is Ed Oxenbould's Alexander struggling with bad luck, but so is his family, including his parents, played by Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner.

The Boss Baby (2017)

In Marla Frazee's 2007 illustrated children's book, The Boss Baby, an unreliable narrator describes how his infant brother took over the household with his domineering managerial skills. The Dreamworks Animation movie based on the book expands on the concept in wildly bizarre directions, making the title character (voiced by Alec Baldwin) the leader of a heavenly organization who is accidentally born on Earth.

Clifford The Big Red Dog (2021)

The first feature film based on Norman Bridwell's picture book series about an unusually large dog, 2004's Clifford's Really Big Movie, was a spin-off from PBS' animated series adaptation. Years later, Clifford the Big Red Dog was brought into the real world in a live-action film starring Darby Camp as his owner, Emily Elizabeth, and Jack Whitehall as her uncle, Casey.

The Stupids (1996)

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Harry Allard and James Marshall wrote four books about The Stupids, a family so incompetent that they often run into confusion or trouble completing even the most mundane tasks. John Landis helmed a live-action film adaptation in which Stanley Stupid (Tom Arnold), his wife Joan (Jessica Lundy), daughter Petunia (Alex McKenna), and son Buster (Bug Hall), try to solve the mystery of their missing garbage and stumble upon a supposed conspiracy.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022)

Bernard Waber's 48-page, 1965 book, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, is a sequel to 1962's The House on East 88th Street. Both serve as the basis for Will Speck and Josh Gordon's family film, which stars pop star Shawn Mendes as the titular singing reptile who befriends and moves in with a human family who recently moved to New York City.

The Lorax (2012)

Dr. Seuss' environmentally conscious 1971 story, The Lorax – in which an orange creature tries to save the trees from an ignorant industrialist – was made into an animated film starring Danny DeVito as the title role and Ed Helms as The Once-ler. Two years earlier, student filmmaker Lee Keeler imagined The Lorax as a grindhouse movie with an amusing and hilariously sleazy fake trailer.

Family Switch (2023)

Director McG's Family Switch is very loosely based on writer Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrator LeUyen Pham's Bedtime for Mommy, in which a little girl is tasked with putting her mother and father to bed for once. The Netflix original movie expands that concept into a traditional body swap movie a la Freaky Friday, in which a married couple (played by Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms) magically switch bodies with their children (played by Emma Myers and Brady Noon), and their infant child swaps with the family dog.

Miracle At Moreaux (1985)

Miracle at Moreaux is a made-for-TV movie that originally aired on PBS and stars Loretta Swit as a nun for a Catholic boarding school where a group of students help hide Jewish children during the Holocaust. It is based on the 76-page book Twenty at Ten, written by Claire Huchet Bishop and illustrated by William Pène du Bois.

Laura's Star (2004)

Published in 1996, author Klaus Baumgart's 28-page German fantasy book, Lauras Stern, is about a five-year-old girl who befriends an injured, fallen star. The story has inspired multiple adaptations, including the animated feature film, Laura's Star, and a live-action movie that was released in 2021.

Eloise At The Plaza (2003)

Originally, the very first book in writer Kay Thompson and illustrator Hilary Knight's Eloise series was published in 1955 as a book for adults before the 65-page book was re-released two years later as a children's story. ABC would later air two feature adaptations, Eloise at the Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime, starring Sofia Vassilieva in the title role of the precocious, adventurous six-year-old and Julie Andrews as her nanny.

Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More To Life (2010)

Author Maurice Sendak's illustrated 1967 story following the adventures of Jennie, a Sealyham terrier, has inspired a couple of different adaptations, including an operatic stage adaptation that was filmed and released on video. The more notable adaptation is a vividly animated 24-minute Candian film that features Academy Award winner Meryl Streep as the voice of Jennie.

Fuchsia The Mini-Witch (2010)

Dutch writer Paul van Loon is one of the Netherlands' most prolific authors of fantasy books for children, including 1989's Foeksia de miniheks, which translates to English as Fuchsia the Mini-Witch. The 32-page story, in which a young spellcaster teams up with a mortal boy to stop his uncle's evil plans against people like her, was brought to life in director Johan Nijenhuis' family film, starring Rachelle Verdel in the title role.

Dot Goes To Hollywood (1987)

Dot Goes to Hollywood, starring Barbara Frawley in the young title role, is the eighth installment in a series of animated films based in Australia, but also the first to be released in the United States. It takes inspiration from Ethel C. Pedley's 81-page children's book, Dot and the Kangaroo, which was published in 1899.

The Dog Who Travelled By Train (2023)

O psie, który jezdzil koleja, which translates to The Dog Who Travelled by Train in English, is based on the true story of a dog named Lampo, whose journeys across Italy in the 1950s and 1960s made him famous. The 72-page Polish book by Roman Pisarski would serve as the basis for a live-action feature film in which Lampo's companionship proves beneficial for the health of an ailing young girl named Zuzia (Liliana Zajbert).

Balloon Farm (1999)

Balloon Farm is an installment of ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney series starring Mara Wilson as a young girl who discovers a mysterious man (played by Rip Torn) who grows balloons out of the ground. The inspiration for the movie is the 32-page children's book, Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm, by Jerdine Nolen.

Frode Og Alle De Andre Rødder (2008)

Frode og alle de andre rødder (which translates to Frode and All the Other Rascals) is a Danish family film based on a 1979 book by Ole Lund Kirkegaard. Just like the 73-page story, the movie follows three kids trying to collect money so they can attend a fun summer event.

Duma (2005)

Director Carol Ballard's Duma is about a disillusioned young boy who befriends a wild animal (in this case a cheetah) and risks his life to be able to keep it for himself. The movie is based on Carol Cawthra Hopcraft and Xan Hopcraft's 64-page picture book, How It Was with Dooms, which is also based on a true story.

Harold And The Purple Crayon (2024)

The 1955 children's book, Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson, first inspired a beloved animated series on HBO. It was later adapted into a live-action film that follows a grown-up version of the young, enchanted artist, played by Zachary Levi.

I think it’s safe to say that just about everyone is familiar with Taylor Swift and her incredibly successful career. Her music career that is. What people may not be as aware of is her side hustle as an actor. On top of many albums and world tours, she's has had roles in five movies, and I’m here to rank them for you.

While most people have seen her on their screens because she was filmed dancing at award shows, or during the viral moment that started her feud with Kanye West, most of her screen time is directly related to her music career. She has also written many songs for movies and TV shows, like The Hunger Games with “Safe and Sound,” or her original song in Where the Crawdads Sing. But, with Amsterdam on the 2022 movie schedule, and her involvement in quite a few different movies now, this felt like a good time to do a little retrospective ranking of her roles in several Taylor Swift
movies. 

Honorable Mention: All Too Well: The Short Film - Her, Later On

While Swift is in this short film for a few seconds, it’s worth mentioning. This music video marked her directorial debut and it’s a detailed and meticulous music video for the 10-minute version of "All Too Well." She stars alongside Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink, who play the couple the song is based on (allegedly Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal). 

It’s a beautiful short film that truly encapsulates the vibe of the song and the aesthetic of Red (Taylor’s Version). This music video not only shows off her songwriting and musical abilities, but her skill as a filmmaker. However, since her performance is minimal, it’s on this list as an honorable mention. 

5. Valentine’s Day - Felicia

I’m just gonna be straight up: I don’t like this movie. It’s very cingey, and so is Swift’s performance. When she made this she was in the infancy of her career, like “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story” (not Taylor’s Version) era. She’s not in much of the movie, but the scenes she is in are difficult to watch.

She plays Felicia, a high schooler pining after Willy, who's played by Taylor Lautner. She’s clingy and annoying, which is the point of the character, but it’s not fun to watch. While I love Swift, this role was not it for her. I think it would have been better if she would have gotten that Twilight cameo she mentioned not too long ago.

4. Cats - Bombalurina

There isn’t much that’s redeemable about Cats. It must be one of the most memed movies out there, and I know no one who likes it. However, we aren’t talking about the movie, we’re talking about performances, and Taylor Swift’s performance in this movie is good. She also had so much fun making the film, as she explained to Variety:

She plays Bombalurina, and really all she does is sing the song “Macavity,” which is a bop. Swift is a sassy cat, and she pulls it off. Another reason why I enjoyed her performance is you can tell how much fun she is having. So, while there may not be much to complement Cats on, her performance is a bright spot in this musical movie. 

3. The Lorax - Audrey 

The Lorax is a childhood favorite film of mine. I’d be lying if I said the reason I saw it wasn’t because it starred two of my childhood faves, Taylor Swift and Zac Efron. The musician plays Audrey, the cute girl next door, and the main character, Ted, played by Efron, has a crush on her. When we meet her we see she has painted Truffula trees all over the back of her house, showing her love for the trees. 

As the film progresses, we learn about the lack of trees and how people didn’t take care of the Earth. When Ted figures it all out, and he stands up to the evil Mr. O’Hare (Rob Riggle), Audrey supports him. They explain to the crowd that trees are important and they create oxygen. She delivers the lines with gusto and in a way that I think will have all kids believing in the importance of photosynthesis. 

Her performance is sweet and she makes the perfect girl next door. However, The Lorax has musical numbers in it, and while Ed Helms, who plays The Once-ler, sings throughout, Swift does not. So, points deducted for no singing, but overall a cute and fun performance. 

 2. Amsterdam - Liz Meekins  

The Amsterdam cast is stacked; much like with Valentine’s Day, Swift joined an epic ensemble in a small role. In the David O. Russell film, the singer plays Liz Meekins, the daughter of General Bill Meekins. When her father is murdered, Liz goes to Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale) and Harold Woodman (John David Washington) for help. While she’s only in the movie for a small part of the first act, it’s an important role and she sells it. 

It’s not easy to keep up with an ensemble that features Bale, Washington, Margot Robbie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldaña, and more. However, she holds her own in the role, and really sells the urgency of what’s happened to her father. It’s, honestly, too bad she wasn’t in more of the movie. 

Also, she gets bonus points for the bit of singing she did in the film. 

In conclusion, I thought her performance in this movie was really good and truly helped move the plot forward. 

1. The Giver - Rosemary 

While the "Bad Blood" hit maker is only in about five minutes, maybe, of The Giver, this stood out as her best performance to me. The character Rosemary is vital to the story, and she's is able to show the viewer her importance without having much screen time. 

In the movie, Rosemary is The Giver’s (Jeff Bridges) daughter, and we see her training to take over her father’s position as Receiver of Memory. Early on we learn that Rosemary could not handle all the power of being the receiver and ran away, this acts as a turning point for the main character, Jonas (Brenton Thwaites.) When he learns the same things Rosemary did he almost quits, but unlike her, he comes back the next day. While short, you can feel the pain and anger in Swift’s performance, making the stakes for Jonas even higher as the movie carries on. 

This is one of the rare occasions we see her sing and play an instrument in a film; she plays the piano and sings with her dad during the movie. It’s a sweet moment and a good way to capitalize on the artist's talents. 

Overall, I thought she was really good in this movie. Though it wasn’t much, we did get to see her show off her musical talent, and I think she’s better when she’s in a musical setting. Her performance helped the plot pay off, and helped us better understand the stakes of what our main character was going through. 

Well, there you have it; my personal ranking of Swift’s performances in movies. Overall, it’s really fun to see the pop star show up from time to time in a movie. You can tell she has fun switching it up every once in a while, and I’m sure her fans like it, too. I know I do. 

When you think of the best of the Dr. Seuss movies, perhaps 2003’s The Cat in the Hat is not one you find very groovy. But what about The Lorax or the most recent The Grinch? Do those animated adaptations make you laugh or make you flinch?

Surely there is no way Hollywood can replace the warmth and joy from your toes to your face that those books and old TV specials once made you feel. Yet, they can be just as fun on a feature-length reel. Reinventing Dr. Seuss’ world with an all-star cast, whether animated or live action, has been mostly a blast.

But just how do these cinematic Seussical hits rank against each other, based on faith, style and, wit? Here’s my picks for the best Dr. Seuss films of all time, and don’t worry: that’s all I have written in rhyme.

5. The Lorax (2012)

Dr. Seuss (née Theodore Seuss Geisel) was always a master of subtle social commentary, yet his message could not be clearer in The Lorax, in which the titular orange grump (voiced by Danny DeVito) takes on the Once-ler (Ed Helms), an environmentally threatening industrialist. Like the book, the feature-length animated adaptation is framed as a flashback to explain why trees no longer exist in Thneed-Ville, but reimagines it as a young boy's (Zac Efron) search of the rare plant for his dream girl (pop star Taylor Swift), which leads him to become acquainted with the man responsible for their extinction. The bloated subplot and hit-or-miss humor struggles to live up to its source material's simple cautionary tale, but it at least gets its eco-friendly message across at a time when such awareness is needed more than ever.

4. The Grinch (2018)

Illumination's take on The Lorax was successful enough to earn the chance of an animated reinterpretation of a Dr. Seuss property even more iconic, and one that would be guaranteed TV airplay on an annual basis. Benedict Cumberbatch lends his voice to the title role of The Grinch, co-directed by longtime Kevin Smith collaborator Scott Mosier, which follows the the green, furry fiend's war on holiday festivities in Whoville, a story the world knows quite well already. Despite its familiarity, the family film became a financial success of unexpectedly huge returns and had many critics and audiences convinced that it surpassed the live-action version starring Jim Carrey... yeah, we shall see about that.

3. The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T (1953)

Outside of, maybe, The Cat in Hat, this is probably the one title you least expected to appear on this list as you, more than likely, have never heard of it before. That is quite understandable considering the initial poor reception and dismal box office returns of The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, in which a young, reluctant piano student (Tommy Rettig) daydreams he is one of 500 boys enslaved to play the black and whites for life by a mad music teacher (Hans Conreid). However, this film, from the only feature-length screenplay Dr. Seuss ever wrote, should be noted, and honored, for its Oscar-nominated music and exceedingly unique concept, as well as being one of the the first major attempts to translate the author's surrealist vision into a live action setting.

2. Horton Hears A Who! (2008)

As previously mentioned, Dr. Seuss had a knack for making big, real-world statements through a whimsical lens, whether his younger audiences realize it or not. One of the more notable examples of this is Horton Hears a Who!, the story of an elephant struggling to protect the microscopic inhabitants of a speck of dust from his disbelieving jungle friends, which has long been a source of speculation among grown-up fans over its hidden meaning. I will not go too far down the rabbit hole over that because, regardless, this animated hit, in which Jim Carrey voices the title role and his pal Steve Carell plays Whoville's mayor, is one of the funniest and most charming Seuss adaptations in recent memory. It's also one of the few that, despite some necessary creative liberties, remains "faithful, 100 percent" to the heart of the story.

Honorable Mention: How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Before we reach the top of our ranking, an article focusing on Dr. Seuss adaptations would feel incomplete without some inclusion of arguably the greatest holiday tradition that the author's work ever inspired. The animated TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas, originally airing on CBS on December 18, 1966, stars screen legend Boris Karloff (known best as both Frankenstein's Creature and The Mummy from Universal's iconic monster movie lineup) as both the title character and narrator of this straightforward retelling of the fiendish crime thriller that becomes a heartwarming (or heart-growing) redemption tale. Plus, if not for this 26-minute classic, we have never gotten what I believe is the finest feature-length Seuss adaptation to date.

1. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Before providing the voice of Horton, Jim Carrey had already established himself as a good-luck charm for Dr. Seuss adaptations by bringing his incomparable physicality and energetic wit to what is arguably the definitive portrayal of the Grinch. This dazzlingly funny extension of the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas earned an Academy Award nomination for its engrossingly authentic recreation of Whoville in live-action and won an Oscar for Rick Baker's astonishing makeup. Most critics may not have wanted to touch this one with a 39 and a half-foot pole, but that did not stop it from becoming a beloved holiday tradition for all ages and a dramatic, yet welcome, change of pace for director Ron Howard (yes, that Ron Howard).

What do you think? Did my choices steal your heart or are you actually disappointed I did not include Mike Myers’ The Cat in the Hat? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on how Dr. Seuss continues to influence the media, as well as even more lists ranking the best in pop culture, here on CinemaBlend.

Zac Efron has come a long way from East High School with his starring role in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, on Netflix now. Looking back to 2006, Zac Efron was at the forefront of High School Musical, a corny-but-peppy-and-bubbly Disney Channel original movie that became a full pop culture phenomenon, the likes of which likely surprised even the folks at Disney. It was an overnight sensation — literally — once it aired on the Disney Channel that fateful evening. Since then, Zac Efron has been a household name, and has earned no shortage of adoring fans.

However, because of his success in this three-part film series, there are some folks out there who still associate Zac Efron's acting with his work as Troy Bolton in High School Musical. Despite his best efforts to branch out and expand himself as an actor, there are some musical lovers out there who only see Zac Efron for the work he did in the past without recognizing his developing talents. That's not really fair. In the past decade, Zac Efron has proven to be a versatile, charismatic performer, having varied himself well enough to be more than his work in the Disney Channel trilogy. He should be accredited as an accomplished, talented and dedicated actor.

Much like how we are not much like our high school selves once we get older, Zac Efron has grown up and matured in a strong, promising actor. He has developed an esteemed resume and shown himself to be an established actor in many different respects. So, let's take a moment to showcase a number of the roles that prove that he's bigger than his hit performances in High School Musical 1, 2, and 3.

Me And Orson Welles

In 2008, shortly after he rose to celebrity through his appearances in High School Musical 1 & 2, Zac Efron worked alongside director Richard Linklater in the period piece biopic Me and Orson Welles, which followed a starry-eyed teenager who got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with the great Orson Welles in his 1937 production of Julius Caesar. It was certainly the work of a young performer, but it gave audiences outside of the High School Musical fanbase a chance to see an actor on the rise.

Plus, it showcased that had dramatic range and potential that wasn't fully explored in those TV movie musicals. Sure enough, as the years went on, the actor would continue to prove himself in a variety of different performances.

The Lorax

While Zac Efron rose to super-status through his vocal pipes, singing tunes for High School Musical, the actor reached a new career phase when he did his first voice-only performance in The Lorax, Illumination Entertainment's 2012 feature-length adaptation of Dr. Seuss beloved children's book. As the voice of Ted Wiggins, the child protagonist, Zac Efron uses his popularity with the younger crowds to draw viewers into this new take on the old environmental tale. While the film itself didn't win over many critics, it provided Zac Efron with one of his first major box office smashes. During its 2012 release, The Lorax made over $348 million worldwide.

During its 2012 release, The Lorax made over $348 million worldwide. That's not too bad for a first big animated outing.

Neighbors

After a series of unremarkable performances in inert or underwhelming dramas, Zac Efron finally found his calling outside of High School Musical. And it was in the comedy department. In a role that allowed the rising actor to finally be free from the restraints of Disney's child-friendly image, Zac Efron appeared alongside Seth Rogen in 2014's surprise hit R-rated comedy Neighbors, allowing the actor to prove his comedic chops (while also not being afraid to take off his shirt a few times).

Though the comedies he appeared in afterwards didn't acquire the same success (See: Baywatch and Bad Grandpa), Efron's work in Neighbors proved that he was on his way up the ladder, creatively. Plus, could be really funny, to boot.

The Disaster Artist

As anyone who has seen The Room will note, the role of Chris-R is just as puzzling and bizarre as anything else in Tommy Wiseau's elusive passion project. Yet, the actor who played the role, Dan Janjigian, gave a convincingly menacing and surprisingly compelling performance, channeling more believable and palpable emotion intensity in just one scene than anyone else did throughout the entirety of the movie. It is often considered the one good performance in a film that's certainly less-than-great, and Zac Efron certainly had his work cut out for him.

In James Franco's dramedy biopic, The Disaster Artist, Efron played Janjigian/Chris-R in a similar memorable sequence, and he reportedly went method in the same way his on-screen persona did. Once again, Zac Efron proved his talents are quite versatile.

The Greatest Showman

Following 2008's High School Musical 3, Zac Efron opted not to participate in any more movie musicals. The actor was focused more on comedic and dramatic roles, challenging himself as an actor and pushing himself more as a performer. It wasn't until nine years later when he appeared in The Greatest Showman that he got a chance to sing and dance again.

Sure enough, while it was nearly a decade after his first movie musical, Zac Efron was far from rusty in the singing department. The box office numbers and chart-topping album sales also suggest that audiences will continue to come out in droves to see Efron belt out a tune or two in a theater near them. Plus, this time, Zac Efron got to sing as a very much adult character dealing with the period issues of the day.

The Beach Bum

Similar to how fellow High School Musical alum (and Efron's former fling) Vanessa Hudgens moved away from her Disney image with Harmony Korine's cult hit Spring Breakers, Zac Efron wanted to work with the auteur indie director to push himself as an actor into more adult territory. The result is a limited-but-impressive turn in The Beach Bum, Korine's recent follow-up to Spring Breakers, which finds Efron playing the role of Flicker, a hard-drinking, Creed-loving, Panini beard-wearing party-lover who mirrors Matthew McConaughey's titular Beach Bum on his path to self destruction.

Even though he is only in the movie for 10 minutes -- maybe 15 minutes max -- it is a great and unique turn for Zac Efron. And it's another performance that shows Zac Efron's talents as a supporting actor, beyond his leading man roles. Plus, just look at that facial hair.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

In what could easily be described as his most controversial role to date, Zac Efron's performance as Ted Bundy in the historical drama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile was met with a great deal of trepidation and concern from the media due to the subject matter at hand. The story of Ted Bundy is not for the faint of heart, and it was certainly a far cry from Zac Efron's Disney days. Yet, through his involvement in this film, Zac Efron provided a meta thesis to the dramatization of this true story.

Zac Efron's charisma and good looks are eerily similar to the late serial killer, and it shows how the media painted a muddled picture of the events that caused people to question whether a person like Ted Bundy could commit such heinous crimes, despite the stark evidence that suggested — over and over — that he did. It's an intriguingly metatexual performance, and one that shows Efron's dramatic range.

As a young, on-the-rise actor, Zac Efron is continuing to prove himself with a variety of different movies and shows. The actor is steadily expanding and challenging himself in different roles and with different opportunities, and there's a good chance that we'll continue to see Zac Efron's stardom rise in the future. For now, though, we hope we showed you how Zac Efron continues to develop and excel an actor, and how he is much bigger than his work in the High School Musical movies.

Some movies are great. They blow your mind, show you the world in a bold, new way, and otherwise stick with you in one way or another long after you watch. Other movies are god-awful and make you question all of the various life choices that led you to purchasing a ticket to that screening of that film on that particular day.

As good or bad as movies can be, there are also those that you watch, were perfectly serviceable, and that, after you walk out of the theater, turn off your TV, or close your laptop, you never, ever think of again. They're fine, existing in a space that is neither good nor bad, and that's okay. With that in mind, we've compiled a list of movies that are most remarkable for how unremarkable they are. There are, of course, many more, so let us know what movies you think are just good enough.

We Bought A Zoo

Cameron Crowe, Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, and a ton more recognizable names working together should add up to something spectacular, right? But 2011's We Bought a Zoo, which is a comedic family drama about a father and daughter who literally buy and run a zoo, is just kind of okay. A perfectly functional film, it never rises above its formulaic, predictable plot and never achieves the levels of emotion or connection it needed to be something more. In retrospect, maybe we can look at this as an antecedent to the flop that was last year's Aloha.

Kate & Leopold

We love Meg Ryan, we love Hugh Jackman, and the idea of them together in a romantic comedy has so much promise. Jackman and director James Mangold have put their stamp on Wolverine, but the first time they teamed up was in 2001's Kate & Leopold. Unfortunately, the story of a 19th Century nobleman transported to modern day New York City is bland and expected. The leads are, as you can imagine, charming and are the real strength of the movie, but the rest of the picture fails to gel into anything particularly noteworthy.

Seven Pounds

Will Smith has shown that he can handle himself when it comes to drama, but 2008's Seven Pounds is not one of his greatest. His performance is fine, as is costar Rosario Dawson's, but the story about a man's extended, sprawling quest for redemption after causing a horrible car accident, by donating his vital organs no less, is an overly sentimental affair. But a jellyfish does play an integral part, which is something you don't come across all that often in cinema. Seven Pounds isn't a terrible film (unless you agree with A.O. Scott's brutal review), but it's not particularly noteworthy either.

We Are Marshall

True-life inspirational sports stories are a big part of Hollywood, and use the stage of athletics show everything from the power of friendship, determination, and commitment to overcome huge obstacles, to how sports can unite people across great barriers. Based on a remarkable real story---the aftermath of the 1970 death of 37 Marshall University football players in a plane crash---this seems tailor made for dramatic interpretation. A cast fronted by Matthew McConaughey only adds to its potential. And it's almost really, really good, but falls into too many easy, feel-good, sports movie clichés to distinguish itself from the herd.

Dan In Real Life

Steve Carell has the ability to balance comedy and drama like few other actors working today, and the idea was that he would bring this skill to the sad-sack role of Dan, a widower, overprotective parent, and general bummer of a dude to be around. And he does deliver a fine performance, full of deadpan humor. However, the surrounding film, though it tries to deal with themes of love, loss, and grief, reeks of Hallmark Channel style sentimentality, and there's an inauthentic feel to much of it that hamstrings it from being anything more remarkable.

Knight And Day

The 2010 romantic comedy spy adventure Knight and Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, is a decently fun movie. The two leads are charming and entertaining to watch, director James Mangold delivers some solid action scenes, and a quick, snappy pace carries the audience along. Aside from that, however, there's not much substance. There are some logical jumps, underdeveloped characters, and the plot is purely paint by numbers. You can watch Knight and Day, it fills almost two hours of your day, and then you can go on about your life without expending any more energy on it than that.

Killing Them Softly

How do you follow up a movie a remarkable as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford? That was what writer/director Andrew Dominik had to do with the noir-style crime film Killing Them Softly. With great performances from Brad Pitt and Scoot McNairy, and support form the likes of Ben Mendelsohn, James Gandolfini, and Richard Jenkins, the picture sags and meanders. And though its gallows humor is funnier than you expect, and it's perfectly interesting at times, by the end, all of the pieces never come together in any substantial way.

What Lies Beneath

A psychological thriller full of supernatural horror elements directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford? Yes, please. The idea of whether a Vermont home is truly haunted or if Michelle Pfieffer's character is losing her mind, is an intriguing one, but 2000's What Lies Beneath is less Hitchcock than it was intended to be. The first hour is fine, spooky and creepy as it should be, but as it goes on, the film falls into creaky clichés, the script runs out of steam, and for every jump scare that lands there is one that is equally laughable.

The Judge

Robert Duvall received nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, and more for 2014's The Judge. It is, in fact, a wonderful performance, and costar Robert Downey Jr. also delivers a nice turn. While watching these two actors share the screen as an estranged father and son is compelling, that's really all The Judge has going for it. Outside of Duvall and RDJ, the script is super formulaic and full of contrivances, and there is little development for the supporting characters---which is a horrible waste as it includes the likes of Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Billy Bob Thornton. The Judge really could have been so much more than just okay.

The Terminal

If you ever wanted to spend a few hours withTom Hanks in an airport, then Steven Spielberg's 2004 film, The Terminal, was your chance. Too bad the movie wasn't as much fun as actually hanging out with Tom Hanks in an airport. The story follows an immigrant who is detained at JFK Airport and not allowed to enter into the U.S., while at the same time he can't return to his home country due to a revolution. Inspired by real-life events, it's an interesting story, one that tries to be a post-9/11 statement about the condition of our national psyche, but it's toothless and light and it's really hard to make a movie about being stuck in an airport engaging. Steven Spielberg tried his best, but this is as good as it gets.

The Proposal

Sandra Bullock is charming, Ryan Reynolds is charming, put them together in a romantic comedy, you're bound to get something at least reasonably charming, and that movie is The Proposal. When a high-powered editor (Bullock) staves off deportation by saying she's engaged to her harried, tormented assistant (Reynolds), shenanigans ensue. This is a standard, unoriginal mismatched rom-com, and while it checks all the boxes and hits all the marks, the two leads can only carry it so far. This is the kind of movie that you can watch on cable some rainy weekend afternoon and not entirely feel like you wasted your time.

Just Go With It

Adam Sandler has a spotty track record when it comes to romantic comedies. The Wedding Singer is great, but the likes of Just Go With It are, let's just say less remarkable. Costarring Jennifer Aniston, the story follows a plastic surgeon on vacation who gets his assistant to pose as his soon-to-be-ex-wife to cover a lie he hold his too-young-for-him girlfriend (Brooklyn Decker). Apparently, at least according to this list, bosses often ask assistants to do some wildly inappropriate things. Just Go With It is never anything more than a run of the mill romantic comedy, totally forgettable, but it is exactly what it sets out to be.

Bruce Almighty

Jim Carrey is at his comedic best when he's given free reign go big and run wild and generally do his thing. He gets to do that to a degree in Bruce Almighty, when he has the opportunity to actually play God (taking over for Morgan Freeman, and if you've got to cast God, you can do a lot worse than that voice). While the 2003 comedy has some deranged, manic moments worthy of a place in Carrey's canon, a lot of it has a been-there-done-that feel. In the end, though this concept has a ton of potential, it runs out of momentum and ends up nothing more than a modest effort from Carrey.

The Lorax

Dr. Seuss' 1971 book The Lorax is a beloved classic with a contemporary environmental message that was just itching to be brought to the big screen. It's also only 45 pages long, and it's not a packed 45 pages. When it was adapted by Illumination Entertainment, the folks behind Despicable Me, in 2012, they added a bunch of new characters and storylines that muddies what was originally an elegantly simple plot and moral stance. It's a solid family film, but it is nothing spectacular, and more than anything, The Lorax film feels entirely divorced from the source material.

Ricki And The Flash

Meryl Streep is not an actress known for making bad movies. Sure, there are some middling entries on her resume, but there aren't many out and out dogs. One of these middling movies came just last year, with Ricki and the Flash. A family drama about an aging rocker trying to reconnect with her estranged daughter (Streep's real-life daughter Mamie Gummer), it's easy to see why it might attract the renowned actress---who doesn't want the chance to rock? And though Streep delivers a strong performance, the plot and tone are inconsistent, the plot is predictable, and the end result is a shoulder shrug of a movie.

John Carter has been hyped and re-hyped for months, including recent promotionals touting it as the first major blockbuster of the year. Turns out it isn't even in the top four biggest openings of the year so far.

At a cost of $250 million John Carter ranks among the most expensive movies made. That makes the weak $30 million it banked for its opening weekend that much more humbling. Adding insult to injury: it finished second place after last weekend's top entry The Lorax.

It's the box office equivalent of a kick in the groin for director Andrew Stanton who enjoyed major success with this first two movies, Pixar's WALL-E and Finding Nemo. His first entry in live-action film has barely scratched $100 million world-wide, making it a certain fincancial flop.

The Lorax continued to soar, adding $39 million to its now $121 million domestic haul, and becoming the highest grossing movie of the year so far. Many expected John Carter to eventually move into that spot, but now it looks like Lorax will get to the hold the limelight until teenagers and adults alike turn out in two weeks to make The Hunger Games 2012's first big box office bonanza.

Horror flick Silent House lived up to its name, opening quietly in fourth place with just $7 million. But it's still a better showing than Eddie Murphy's A Thousand Words which slumped into a sixth place debut at $6 million. That makes three Murphy-headlined movies in a row opening under $10 million. Meet Dave in 2008 and the subsequent Imagine That in 2009 both bowed in at $5 million. Murphy's ensemble roles in Shrek Forever After in 2010 and Tower Heist in 2011 fared far better, leaving the conclusion clear: Murphy needs to stop making movies that star himself, and stick with being a team player.

For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below:

Apparently when the Lorax isn't speaking for the trees, he's hocking SUVs, sugar-stuffed pancakes and disposable diapers. Today in news that is deeply discouraging, The Lorax has been revealed to be a hairy little hypocrite. While its Facebook page proudly promotes saving the rainforest, Mother Jones has drawn our attention to some dubious cross-promotion. There's a wide array of "launch partners" for the film that will be offering Lorax-themed promotions and products, which isn't surprising for a kids' movie. In fact it's generally expected. However, because of The Lorax's ardent message of eco-awareness and the dangers of rampant consumerism, it is shocking and shameful that its producers have signed on to such anti-green products.

For instance, there are these "Lorax Approved" disposable diapers, so your child can literally shit all over the idea of reducing waste:

And despite the film's mockery of unnatural, chemically manufactured food, here's an add for "Truffula Chip Pancakes," where Truffula apparently translates to "rainbow sprinkles, topped with more sprinkles."

But most egregious of the cross-promotions revealed so far is this ad for a ''Seuss-ifed' 2013 Mazda CX-5 crossover SUV," a car that the tasteless commercial below insists is "Certified Truffla Tree Friendly."

Now, when a company chooses not to promote any sensible facts or figures about their supposedly eco-friendly model, and instead boasts something lawyers can't refute, I'm immediately suspicious. But I'm not a car person, so I consulted Automobile magazine to understand just what these purposely-ambiguous claims may mean. It turns out that the "Skyactiv technology" the announcer repeatedly refers to basically means that this SUV "delivers a 15 percent improvement in both torque and fuel economy" compared to Mazda's last SUV models. However, it does this without going the way of the electric engine, but instead keeping the gas-dependent combustible engine going under the guise of being green.

So the CX-5 is an improvement over, say a Hummer, but nowhere near something that's a truly eco-friendly machine, like a Volt or a Prius. But hey, advertise the approval of an imaginary guardian of the environment in your commercial and who cares, right? At least Fox News will be pleased.

Fox News doesn't get a lot of mention on this site, as we typically talk movies, not politics. But Lou Dobbs drew our attention when he spoke out a supposed conspiracy between President Obama and Hollywood to brainwash children with cartoon characters. On his show, Dobbs declared that two new movies, The Secret World of Arrietty and The Lorax were created by Hollywood to "indoctrinate" children into supporting environmental causes and Occupy Wall Street…or something. His logic is pretty mind boggling, but can be viewed in below in this clip courtesy of Media Matters:

Dobbs claims the liberal media is ignoring this so-called "plot" that is "plainly demonizing the so-called '1 percent' and espousing the virtue of green-energy policies, come what may." How this seems to boil down is that Dobbs feels the four-inch Borrowers at the center of The Secret World of Arrietty who take scraps from humans to live, are meant to represent the 99% of the OWS movement. First off, I'm certain no one in the Occupy movement would want to be compared to a Borrower because of all that connotes, what with being easily ignored little people who essentially steal scraps to survive. Secondly, the film was not a Hollywood production, but rather a co-production between Japan's heralded animation maker Studio Ghibli and the America-based Walt Disney Company, and was based on a popular children's novel written by a Brit author Mary Norton in 1952. So it's highly unlikely it was intended to be some sort of OWS commentary. Lastly, as someone who has actually seen the movie, I have to admit I find this allegation absurd, as there is no whiff of class conflict within the fantasy tale. It's a story of friendship, summer love, and growing up, not revolt.

Next Dobbs tackles The Lorax, which he acknowledges is "an adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss children's book" about a creature who "speaks for the trees and fights rampant industrialism." (Emphasis is his). Then he jumps to clips of President Obama talking about "fair play" in a baffling attempt to explain the connection and so-called collusion. Now, I have no intention of arguing with Dobbs that The Lorax has a political agenda. Of course it does. Most of Dr. Suess's books did, as a recent meme reminded us all. But I fail to see why it's a bad thing to warn children about excess. Dobbs himself notes that the story is about "rampant industrialism," yet doesn't offer why such a message is negative. In the book—I haven't yet seen the film—the Lorax appears to warn the Once-ler about the consequences of his tunnel-vision drive to make thneeds, a thing that everyone needs but has no clear purpose. Of course, in his quest for wealth, the Once-ler ignores him and devastates the land, forcing all the native animals to leave or die. But is moderation really such a radical message?

For his final stroke, Dobbs turns to his guests for their thoughts. One flat-out denies this is a threat, and says parents should monitor what their kids see and determine for themselves if it suits their own ideology. A second insists that parents need a break from all this liberal media brainwashing! And his third guest suggests that conservative parents subvert The Lorax's green message by buying a bunch of snacks and paper products and then trash the theater with the materialistic mess to prevent kids from becoming "Occu-toddlers." That's right, make those movie theater workers feel your disdain for environmental awareness! That'll show Hollywood!

It's a good thing Dobbs didn't notice that The Lorax's marketing has expanded to attempts to save the rainforest.

Coming soon to theaters everywhere is a familiar figure from our shared childhoods who has a metaphorical axe to grind concerning environmental preservation. Born from what is arguably the most directly political of Dr. Suess's children's books, Universal Pictures glossy adaptation The Lorax expands on the story we all remember well. Beyond being a tragic tale of the Once-ler who destroyed the once beautiful land of truffula trees and bar-ba-loots, screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul, who co-wrote 2008's Horton Hears a Who!, have crafted a story of a young boy (Zac Efron) who lives in a world of artifice but aims to get back to nature—if only to impress the dreamy girl next door (Taylor Swift).

Cinema Blend's Eric Eisenberg recently shared his impressions of The Lorax's first 20 minutes. Now hot on the heels of its chipper Super Bowl spot, Universal Pictures is offering a new clip from the film courtesy of Yahoo:

Here we see a younger pre-hermit Once-ler (Ed Helms) getting a literal rude awakening thanks to the Lorax (Danny DeVito) and his band of woodland friends. It's a scene that doesn't exist in the source material, but seems as well-suited as a thneed as it draws attention to what the Once-ler is really doing by chopping down truffula trees, namely invading someone else's home and treating it with little to no respect. Of course aside from the allegory there's also plenty of kid friendly jokes and physical gags. Basically, it looks like Daurio and Paul are applying the same level of thought and silliness that they did to Horton Hears a Who!

The Lorax opens March 2nd.

Dr. Seuss is one of those writers whom we will never forget. From themes that touch children and adults alike to the unique drawings to his use of trisyllabic meter, the author’s work is already beloved by multiple generations and it will continue to be until the end of time. One element helping to ensure Seuss’ is never forgotten is the on-going film series based on his books. It began in 2008 with Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino’s Horton Hears a Who! and on March 2nd it will continue with Dr. Seuss' The Lorax.

A few months back a group of journalists, including myself, was granted the opportunity to visit Illumination Entertainment, the production company behind the upcoming adaptation. While there we not only had the opportunity to watch nearly 20 minutes of footage from The Lorax, but also speak with producer and company founder Christopher Meledandri.

For those unfamiliar with the story, The Lorax begins with a young boy named Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) who lives in a city in which everything natural or organic has disappeared. Hoping to earn the affection of his neighbor, Audrey (Taylor Swift), who wants nothing more in the world to see a live tree, Ted goes on an adventure outside of the city to find one. He learns that the one person who can tell him what happened to the natural world is a man called Once-ler (Ed Helms), who not only tells Ted his own story, but also about The Lorax (Danny DeVito), a creature who spoke for the trees.

While I can’t give you a second-by-second breakdown of the footage that I saw, I can tell you about my initial impressions. For starters, while the footage we saw was in 2D instead of 3D (which it was how it will be presented come March) and some of the animation was still unfinished, The Lorax looks quite beautiful and is perfectly in line with Dr. Seuss’ original artwork. Everything in the world, from the Truffula Trees to the Bar-ba-Loots are brilliantly detailed and textured, making the audience feel the desire to reach out and touch them (we’re talking maximum levels of fuzzy here). Seuss’ oddball designs are recreated with care, from the houses within the city limits where Ted lives to the Lurkem, Once-ler’s home.

What really struck me about the footage, however, was just how funny it was. The young Once-ler and the Lorax have some terrific interactions, from waking up in the same bed (which the Lorax has invaded) to the little orange creature’s attempt to get rid of the human by floating him down a river. Obviously what I saw was only a sample from the overall film, but hopefully it will be a solid reflection of the whole.

Following the footage, Meledandri was kind enough to sit down with us to discuss not only the footage that we saw, but also the film as a whole and the process that went into making it. Read on below for our conversation with the producer about how 3D will affect the world of The Lorax, capturing the Seussian look, and the future of Dr. Seuss adaptations. Universal Pictures has also sent over 12 brand spanking new stills from the film, which you can see all of over in our Blend Film Database and in the gallery at the bottom of this article.

In your opinion, should the movie be seen in 3D? How important is it to the experience of the film?

My general feeling about 3D and CG animation is that it is a way to express 3D animation because the films are already being made dimensionally. So there’s already, from the outset, a lot of thought that’s going into creating and the utilization of space. Now, when you introduce the 3D aspect into it, obviously the artistic process focuses more about how you can stretch the utilization of that space to create an experience that is immersive and how you can utilize the space to support the storytelling. There are, I’d say, the general feeling about how Chris Renaud and team used 3D here is that it tends not to be intrusive, but there are sequences where absolutely it’s used, the space is used to create a sense of isolation or a sense of exhilaration or hope, and so I think it’s perfectly appropriate that some audience members want to see it 2D and some want to see it 3D, but what we have found going from the first movie in 3D to now the second movie in 3D and watching how the artists own ability to mature in terms of how they’re thinking about that space through greater and greater parts of the process, from storyboard artists are thinking about it, vision effects artists are thinking about. Obviously layout has to think about it. So it is a very organic extension of this creative process. That’s not to say that some director may decide a movie should be more flat, that’s fine, but I’d say as the rule that the 3D expression of these films is something that feels quite appropriate to me and that additional focus is quite a dynamic one watching it happen within the process.

When it comes to the 3D, are you capitalizing on both the depth as well as the elements coming out at the audience?

Yeah, I think what you find is that directors tend to prefer to capitalize more on the depth and that they’re very cautious about what comes out of the screen. Rightfully so, they’re concerned about popping you out of the movie, doing something that feels like a gimmick, being intrusive. I look at, actually you guys saw one today, a sequence that is going to be quite dynamic in 3D. It’s also dynamic in 2D, which is that old axe, when he’s riding out to the Lurkem and he passes that axe hacker, which, by the way, is modeled almost exactly on the design of the book. But that old thing that had been abandoned by the road, when you see that in the big screen in 2D you feel the sensation of these blades coming at you, so it’s not like you don’t get that in a 2D version, but that’s a case where it’s a prominent experiential moment in a 2D version and in a 3D version you’re going to feel those blades coming at you. I feel those tend to be done more sparingly when you’re in a natural environment there are certain values to feeling, because that’s an idealized Seussian Truffula forest, you want to feel the contrast between that world and what it’s become. So that immersion in that world is of great value, but you’re going to get that in 2D as well.

The idea of Seussian architecture in 3D is something that’s exciting and watching him go up and down things, he built those worlds like roller coasters anyway.

Well, he did. You’re absolutely right. So it would always be interesting, if he were alive, to hear what he would say about things. But he was always fairly contemporary in his thinking. Beyond contemporary – he was always thinking beyond the present.

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. still plays modern, it feels very advanced.

So my guess is that you would find him, also just as an artist he was interested – he sculpted. That was one of the things that we found when we started work was, well, how do you take his very simple flat line drawings into three dimensions and is this a good thing? Then you find that he made three dimensional pieces.

Knowing how much time it takes to make CGI hair and fur, how much time did it take to make an individual tree, for example, let alone a forest.

I don’t have a smart way of kind of translating that into man hours because what ends up happening is that it becomes extremely computing intensive, so there’s a fairly long period of R & D where you’re going through trial and error to get a certain effect. And that happens over the course of the visual development of the film, so that’s happening over many, many months. It’s one of the main projects which is you identify what’s a major project within this film that has to be…where you’re not just basically calling upon things that have been done for Despicable [Me] or things that have been done before, and the quality of those tufts is a visual, it’s visually specific to this. So there are a number of projects like that that become research and development projects, and then once they’re defined then what happens is that they become rendering intensive and take tremendous amount of rendering power. For example, we have continually been expanding the render farm through the course of creating Despicable and then this film demanded an increase of, I think, at least a half again as much more. Vegetation in general is very render intensive and when you get to something like that it’s even more so.

I have the impression, and I could be very wrong, that the development timeline for your films is less than some other animation studios.

Well, certainly on Despicable it was. We were start to finish on Despicable from inception to completion of the film just a little over three years. That was lightning fast. And that was including the writing of the script. We got a head start here on the writing on the script because the screenwriting was going on while Despicable Me was being made. Once we get into production timeframes as oppose to development time frames we’re a little bit shorter, but not significantly. We’re still roughly making the movie in a production timeline of about 18 months. Pre-production being all the boarding prior to that, about nine months prior to that, and we condensed that on Despicable. But we make the films, we’re basically using the same model as we used for Despicable, which allows us to achieve what I think is exceptional visual quality for a price that I think that is extremely smart way to be making movies today so that every movie is not dependent on everybody in the universe coming to see it in order for you to be able to continue to make more movies, which I think the goal is – is that you can sustain this process and bring these people together to make movies.

You’ve done Horton Hears A Who, you’re doing this, you’re talking about the biopic, is this going to be an ongoing relationship, something that you’re cultivating? Are there other stories that you have your eye on already?

There are other things that Audrey [Geisel, Dr. Seuss’ widow] and I are talking about and the combination of my feelings about his legacy and her comfort level, having now been working together for eight years, it just makes sense for both sides to continue to do this and there’s an opportunity to…with any great artist from the 20th century whose work lends itself to this medium, or film medium in any way, there’s an opportunity and a responsibility to secure that legacy for future generations. And if you’re not actively working on it, a lot of other things come into the global consciousness and things can get lost. I think that that’s an objective of ours, to make sure that we do what we can do to make him extremely relevant for future generations because he was talking about things that were absolutely timeless.

There’s a really timely message to this film in terms of what you’re about to release to very young thinkers.

You may know this, but when he was starting out he was a political cartoonist first and he made the decision to write and illustrate for young thinkers because he realized that his political cartoons really didn’t change anybody’s mind. He was either preaching to the converted or he was running up against walls. So he realized that if you want to have an impact on the way people think, that you get a much bigger return on his artistic investment and that’s what was the motivating factor for him to go from being very sophisticated in terms of his presentation of ideas to this kind of very imaginative, but still with this level of… but because of who he is, he is at his core a very sophisticated thinker. And I think that’s why these books are the ones that adults pull off the shelves so quickly, because they do speak across…

Can you talk a bit about the casting of Danny DeVito and the importance of finding the right casting for a character like The Lorax?

Well, think DeVito was a particularly good example of fairly specific qualities that he’s bringing to the character. The Lorax, as conceived and as described, is mossy and bossy. He’s got an edge to him and so when we were thinking about actors to voice the character we were thinking about actors who had the ability to be crusty and be a little irascible, but still find the place of emotional access. And also can put a sense of comedic kind of quality to that. And so I think that the first name that we talked about was deceased, who was Walter Matthau. It’s that kind of embodiment of that kind of grouchy guy who you’re still charmed by. Then we realized Danny, and Danny has that. He has that quality.

Some of the other casting is…to cast Zac [Efron], it’s funny when you start casting, when you set out to cast kids, there’s a real challenge at that age. First of all, their voices are at risk of changing overnight, which can be a production problem. And then a lot of kids today, at that age group, are trained to be TV actors. So you listen to hundreds of kids and they all kind of sound the same. They’re all pitched at the same place because that’s where the jobs are. So Chris Renaud was very interested in thinking older to get just some more substance in the voice, some more acting in the voice. And Zac Efron has this boyish quality to him, and it came through, it’s not only who he is – he’s very boyish as a person and it comes through in his voice. So with each one there’s a lot of discovery that happens. There’s a lot of reason why you are drawn to them and then there’s a lot of discovery along the way. Betty White is…this phenomenon with Betty White is so wonderfully amazing, it’s like in a world where ageism runs rampant, out of left field suddenly the country decides to celebrate Betty White and she becomes cool at 90. It’s kind of remarkable and so just to have the movie be a beneficiary of her energy and her and that performance it brings a lot in a role that becomes, ultimately, very substantial role in the film and is Audrey Geisel’s favorite actress right now. She loves Betty White.

You talked about the visual style of Dr. Seuss’ books, but he also had a unique voice in his writing, and we did hear a few rhyming couplets in the footage, but is that something that’s consistent throughout the entire film?

It is not. It is sporadic in the film but the dialogue is not in rhyme, but there are moments where the rhyme just feels like it’s called for, it emerges. So it’s present, but it’s not consistently throughout the dialogue.

So it’s like a spice.

Exactly.

The Australian trailer for Universal’s upcoming adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax has made its way online and it seems to put a bit more emphasis on the source material than the previously released trailer did.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is a fable that barely masks its message about the environment. The book tells the story of “the Once-ler,” a faceless man who comes upon a vast land of trees, which he can chop down and use to make “Thneeds.” He successfully convinces people they need thneeds, putting them in high demand and resulting in the business’ fast expansion, which eventually obliterates the tree population, wreaking havoc on the environment in the process. All the while, the Lorax, a furry little creature who serves as the voice of the environment, is trying to make the Once-ler see what he’s doing to the place as the Bar-ba-Loots and Swomee Swans are forced to evacuate their homes in search of some less polluted, less decimated land. The lesson of the story isn’t hard to pick up on.

The trailer released for the film at the end of last month seems to put a great deal of emphasis on some of the added-on elements to the story, the adventurous look of the film, and the big names attached to lend their voices to the project. As The Lorax is a feature-length film based on a children's book, a bit of story development will be needed to flesh it out, which explains what we’ve been shown of the boy (Zac Efron) and his expanded story arc in the film. The Australian trailer takes us closer to the book and the story-within-a-story angle...

While the previously released trailer didn’t really offer much in terms of the story, aside from a boy’s interest in trees, this one gives us a little bit more, and at the very least gives us a better idea of how the source material fits into the movie. It seems likely that the message about killing trees and wrecking the environment will be a bit more subtle in the film, though the emphasis of the ax hitting the tree does suggest that it will be addressed and the moral of the story may remain intact.

Ed Helms is set to voice the Once-ler, with Danny DeVito speaking for the very Seuss-y looking flora and fauna as the Lorax. Meanwwhile, Zac Efron and Taylor Swift are Ted and Audrey.

More on The Lorax can be found in our film database here.

Big-screen adaptations of the works of Dr. Seuss don't have the greatest of track records. While 2008's Horton Hears a Who! received mostly favorable reviews, it still hasn't washed the bad taste of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat out of our collective mouths. That hasn't quenched Hollywood's desire to milk Seuss's beloved works, however, and this March will see the release of the latest Seussian outing: an adaptation of 1971's The Lorax. Whether it proves to be worthy of Seuss's legacy remains to be seen, but one creative choice may prove controversial to fans. The movie will reveal the full appearance of the Once-ler, the tragic villain of The Lorax, and EW has a first look.

You can click through to EW for the full, larger shot.

If your childhood memories are a little rusty, The Lorax is a fable about the clash between industrialization and nature. Specifically, it's the tale of a being called the Once-ler, a faceless, long-armed fellow who recounts his story to a nameless little boy who comes to hear the story of the Lorax. The story unfolds in flashback as the Once-ler explains how their desolate world was once a colorful paradise. Unfortunately, the young Once-ler discovered that the Truffula Trees could be harvested to make Thneeds, an all-purpose garment that "everyone needs." As the Once-ler begins chopping down more and more Truffulas, the strange creature known as the Lorax appears to "speak for the trees." The Once-ler doesn't heed the Lorax's warnings, however, and his greed grows as fast as his business, devastating the forest.

Where the film may hit some controversy is that in the storybook the Once-ler was never fully seen, shown only as a pair of long arms and a set of eyes. For years, Seuss fans have been imagining their own versions of what he might look like, and the mystery also allowed him to serve as a faceless personification of industrial greed. He could have been some strange creature, he could have been anything. The minds behind the Lorax film, however, decided audiences needed to get a better look at him. Producer Meledandri explained their choice to EW:

Their attempts to make the Once-ler a relatable villain will only be strengthened by having him voiced by Ed Helms. Their logic is understandable, but that won't be much solace if the producers are hunted down by angry, torch-wielding Seussites. All I know is, when they get around to it, they better not screw up Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

The Lorax opens in theaters on March 2nd, 2012. You can find out more about it in our Blend Film Database.

At last someone has combined my lifelong love of Dr. Seuss with my newfound love of grindhouse cinema. Maybe you’ve read the classic 1971 Dr. Seuss book, The Lorax. It’s a good book, but not his very best. I’ve always been partial to Sneetches and those who have bellies with stars upon thars.

But what was always great about The Lorax was that he speaks for the trees. The story was a classic fable pitting industrialized society against the environment, with the Lorax standing up for the forests. The Lorax was always kind of a preachy and offputting character, but I remember as a kid being pretty shattered by the scenes of the devastated forest and the sad little Lorax, sitting amidst the stumps all alone. So maybe what he should have done, is stopped looking on disapprovingly and picked up an axe.

The Lorax has been re-imagined as the world’s coolest, live-action grindhouse movie. Now it’s The Lorax: He Speaks For the Trees and boy does he ever. All the staples of the book are there, including most of Dr. Seuss’s genius, rhyming dialogue involving brown Bar-ba-Loots. Watch:

It’s worth noting that back in 2009 Universal actually announced that they were working on a 3D animated feature version of The Lorax. Somehow I doubt it’ll end up looking anything like this.