I took my little brother to see “The Lorax” over the past weekend. I made him watch the original before seeing the new one. He is too young to understand what the moral of the story truly is. Theodor Seuss Geisel, or better known as Dr. Suess, was a political activist in his day, and his messages carry on still today.

In the original “The Lorax” from 1972, the strong moral of the story was not to be greedy but also that we as humans shouldn’t take nature for granted. In the original movie, a boy learns about a man’s past and what he did to the land and all of its inhabitants. Mr. Geisel has written multiple children’s books with underlying issues. He held political issues high and he wanted everyone to know what was truly going on in the US and the world. Many of his children stories, such as Yertle the Turtle, Horton Hears a Who!, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Lorax,  show some form of political backing.

In the newest version of “The Lorax”, the mystical creature comes after a tree is cut down in the forest. It is similar the 70’s movie, but it posed a few differences. The child, named Ted Wiggins, at the end of the movie makes a stand against the mayor of the town. The boy is forces to show the people of the town what is truly happening to the world outside of the city. The boy convinces the town that trees need to be brought back to the city and it would make it a better and cleaner place. The movie was great. It is teaching the children what is really going on in the world and what they should start doing to help Mother Earth.

Written By Katherine Bangart