I had grown up watching the 2d animation pretty frequently. It was a childhood classic of mine. I have intense nostalgia about that video. Had it on VHS of course.
So, needless to say I was really excited to see the new version. Just watched it today. Garbage.
If you’d seen the original animation, you’d remember that the film starts with the kid meeting The Onceler, and it ends with him walking away from The Onceler. The entire video takes place between the meeting and the walking away. You don’t get a context of why he went to see The Onceler, you have no idea of what the kid’s life is like, what his world is like, what his motivations are, what his city looks like, nothing. You also have no idea what he does with the seed once he leaves.
I think not knowing those things was an essential part of the beauty of the original. It made it all so mysterious, leaving so much to the imagination. Especially not knowing how it ends – the ending was way more powerful as it was, open and uncertain. It drove home the implied imperative very powerfully.
On the contrary, the new one gives a context – you know exactly what the kid’s world is like. You know what his family is like, what his community is like, what his life is like, what his motivations are, why he went to see the Lorax, and WORST OF ALL - what happened afterward. Nothing left to the imagination. It really just sucked out a lot of the charm. Unlike the original, the implied imperative at the end is kind of blunted by the fact that you know he succeeded – if he already succeeded, you don’t have to! Much less of the new film is gloomy and dark – that was a big part of the charm of the old one as well.
They replaced the mystery and gloom of the old one with shitty songs (not even sing-along songs, fucking dicks) and a lame back-story. Sucks.
