Towing a similar line - both stylistically and in terms of humour - to that of Universal Pictures other animated hit, Despicable Me, The Lorax is an effortlessly sweet and engaging family film that should delight the youngsters in your life while not being an endurance test for anyone else.
Based on the Dr Seuss book of the same name, the film (initially) centres on Ted (Efron), an idealistic sort who happens to be in love with a neighbourhood girl (Swift). Said girl's dream is to see an actual tree one day, but being that both she and Ted live in a completely artificial land, that proves quite a difficult task for the youngster to deliver. Breaking town rules and travelling to the outskirts of Thneed-Ville, he meets Once-ler (Helms), who regales him with tales of when the land was once full of trees and inhabited by The Lorax (De Vito), a crass but funny creature who struck a deal with the young Once-ler. Not everyone wants to see a tree in Thneed-Ville, though, and Ted soon finds himself in danger.
The Lorax pretty much ticks all of the boxes required to be a fun hour and a half at your local multiplex. It embraces is whacky animation in the same way that Despicable Me did, and has the pluses of being a familiar yarn on account of Dr Seuss. It is, naturally, light and fluffy with a strong comedic element throughout.
The voice cast all do solid work, with De Vito in particular a great fit for the titular Lorax. He doesn’t have a lot to say but he's full of energy and you can almost feel him bouncing around the voice booth. The core message - as told from the original tale - might get a little muddled in an expected saturation of sweetness towards the end, but it's still enjoyable stuff.
Funny, engaging and as disposable as you'd expect.