Since it’s Friday and storming outside, I treated myself to a cartoon indulgence this afternoon: Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax.” For those of you who haven’t read the 1971 book or seen the TV special, the environmental fable recounts the greedy Once-ler; his insatiable drive to chop down silky, puff-topped Truffula trees; and the small Lorax’s strenuous opposition.

Lately, much has been made of the prescient relevance of book’s grim scenes — forests cut down, animals displaced, sherbet-colored scenery mucked up by plops of brown ooze. Because of that, Hollywood thinks it’s time for a fresh audience: “The Lorax” will be hitting the big screen in 2012, complete with CG animation and three dimensions, according to Variety.

To be honest, I’m glad this movie will be CG. The live-action versions of other Seuss tales — 2000′s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and 2003′s “The Cat in the Hat” — were more creepy than anything else. But I’m curious to see how the adaptation will work. In the book and TV versions, you only see the Once-ler’s sickly green arm, never his face. Also, it’s not exactly a story with a happy ending. The Once-ler’s insatiable drive to produce more thneeds, multipurpose thing-a-ma-jigs, ends up not only destroying the environment but driving his business into the ground. The saving grace is a surviving Truffula seed, left in the care of a child. Will that be too blue for a movie that’s 90-or-so-minutes long?

Incidentally, I wonder how the Hardwood Forest Foundation and the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association might respond to this film version. A while back, the groups put out “The Truax,” their own pro-logging version of the Seuss original.

If you’d also like a 24-minute break, I present “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss:

Find out more:
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How do trees affect the weather?
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