We went and saw The Lorax this past weekend and had a fun day enjoying all kinds of Dr. Seuss fun. We went to the early show to try to hit up the before noon $5 per ticket pricing (some AMC theaters offer this great price). However, the show sold out 15 minutes before we got there so we had to wait until the next show. So we headed to IHOP to try their Lorax inspired breakfasts instead, more about that yumminess later.
The Lorax is based on the Dr. Seuss classic, The Lorax. Following the bright colors and whimsical scenes and characters of Dr. Seuss, the movie was fun to look at it. The fish can dance, people have trees made of plastic that light up at night and the houses are full of crooked, twisting stairs. We chose the standard film, not 3D version. Trying to keep the glasses on a preschooler isn’t always the easiest task and without the 3D glasses, 3D films become fuzzy and difficult to watch.
The story follows the theme of the original Lorax with modern twists to add interest for today’s audiences. There is plenty of singing and dancing almost in a musical broadway style, it was fun to see the characters of the people throughout the town of Thneedville. I saw many kids stand up to dance at their seats while some of the songs played. We absolutely loved the singing fish. They were fun to watch and made us laugh throughout the movie.
My preschooler was worried that there was a scary side of the movie. Some of the trailers and commercials we had seen showed the Once-ler and the darker side of the story making it seem like there would be some scarey scenes. However, watching the movie there is enough cute and happy surrounding the dark that it wasn’t scary for her at all. The story talks about using and cutting down all the trees to manufacture a must have product called a “thneed”. There’s a song about being greedy and scenes showing all the trees disappearing. Funny jokes and events are sprinkled throughout the movie so even in the darker moments there are laughs to be found. It’s a fantastic animated message about saving and protecting our resources.
I think some of the messages are definitely more complex than a preschooler can fully comprehend, but the basics are there enough for them to start to understand and to spark questions and conversations. The Lorax is a good positive message movie in a fun and colorful light that the entire family should enjoy.
Back to the IHOP breakfast. Unlike character breakfasts we’ve had at IHOP in the past, The Lorax versions were less sugar filled and more nutritious than I expected. There are sprinkles and fun colors, but the Pipsqueaks breakfast includes eggs with spinach and the pancakes for adults were whole wheat. It was all very tasty. As always with IHOP, you can replace any item… so your preschooler can enjoy plain or cheesy eggs if you think the spinach won’t work. The best part about breakfast was the free bookmark that came along with the kids’ meals. It included a little paper with seeds in it that we brought home and can plant to grow our own tree. We’re going to plant ours today, I’ll keep you posted how it goes.
If you haven’t seen The Lorax yet, I think it’s well worth the movie visit. It’s a great film to see on the big screen with all the movement, dancing and colorful scenes. Preschoolers are sure to enjoy this movie with so much to catch their attention.
Find out more about The Lorax, meet the cast, read more about going green and the Lorax story on The Lorax Movie website.
More Lorax fun:
We also saw The Lorax this weekend. My girls and I loved it. I thought the visual part of the movie was very Seuss like, even though the dialogue was lacking. The singing fish and funny barbaloots were our favorites. I have always loved The Lorax and it’s very important message.