The Lorax is helping the Woodland Trust

Over the weekend Leo and I snuggled down together to watch The Lorax.

The story of The Lorax begins with a young boy named Ted who lives in the purely artificial town of Thneed-Ville. Everything within the town from the trees, grass and flowers is constructed out of metal, plastic or synthetics and there is not a real living tree anywhere to be seen. It soon becomes apparent that Ted has a soft spot for a young girl named Audrey, and when she exclaims her wish of one day having a real tree of her very own; Ted sets out to make her dreams come true.

With Audrey’s wish in hand, Ted begins his quest of bringing Audrey a tree of her very own and is soon taking advice from his eccentric yet comical Grandmother who points Ted in the direction of the Once-ler.

Before Ted can find the Once-ler he needs to escape the city boundary, and once he does he is shocked at the landscape. Thneed-Ville is oozing pollution and contamination and as he leaves he see’s the town for what it really is as he discovers the empty wasteland filled with tree stumps and broken equipment.

The Once-ler begins to tell Ted exactly what happened to all of the trees and before long we discover it is actually the Once-ler’s fault that all of the trees have since died out. The Once-ler had all of the tree’s chopped down down to make his fortune in producing his invention ‘Thneeds’ despite all of the warnings that he received along the way.

The Once-ler encounters the Lorax during his tree demolition derby, the Lorax appeared in a magical thunderstorm to address the perpetrator who was destroying their home and killing the trees.

The Lorax is a grumpy yet charming creature who speaks for the trees and fights to protect his world and every creature in it, he warned the Once-ler that his actions would have serious consequences should he continue. The Lorax warns against mindless progress and the danger that it poses to the Earth and it’s natural beauty.

When the last Truffula tree falls to the ground, all of the animals begin to leave. With their home completely devastated by the Once-ler they can no longer stay, so the Barbaloots, Swammy Swans and my favourite the Humming Fish all leave for greener pastures.

At the end of the the Once-lers story Ted is handed a seed, the last Truffula seed. He is instructed to head back to town and to plant it right in the centre so that everyone can see it. And so begins their adventure in restoring the world of trees, with Audrey and his Grandmother on side they set out to show everyone why trees are so important, and in the process go head to head with Mr O’hare who has been supplying the grungy town with fresh air.

Mr O’Hare is against the idea of any trees being planted as they will cost him his fortune and provide the town with fresh air for free! So Mr O’Hare goes out of his way to stop Ted from planting the single seed.

In the end good prevails and Truffula trees are soon sprouting up everywhere, prompting the Lorax to return and reconcile with the Once-ler.

The Lorax is a lovely family film that will have even the grown up’s chuckling and to celebrate National Tree Week Universal Pictures (UK) has teamed up with the Woodland Trust.

Together they have created the first ‘Like and Plant’ app and have committed to plant a tree for every ten likes that they receive on the Lorax Facebook page during the 12th and 25th December 2012.

Kid’s can sign up and join in the fun on Facebook via the tree counter app on the Lorax Facebook page, they will be able to see if the goal is reached and how well they are doing.

There are of course other ways you can get involved, one of which is planting your very own tree at Woodland Trust events taking place around the country! You can even get friends and family involved in planting their own trees by sharing the Lorax Facebook page.

The Lorax shares many passions with the Woodland Trust which is why it is such a perfect partnership, and hopefully it will encourage many children to get involved.

Will you be liking the Lorax Facebok page this year?

Go on! It will only take a moment, and while you are there why not share the page with your friends and family?

Disclaimer: I was sent the Lorax DVD to watch to tell you about the film and the partnership between the Woodland Trust and Universal Pictures. However all views and opinions are my own.