The Lorax

Just in time for an election year comes The Lorax, which should help bring kids up to speed on hot-button political issues such as corporate greed and environmentalism.

Honestly, there’s probably not an ounce of political intent in either the high-spirited film or the acclaimed children’s book by Dr. Seuss upon which it’s based. In fact, the story offers worthwhile lessons for youngsters about ecology and the role of humans in nature.

All of that wouldn’t be worth much, however, if this 3D computer-animated fable didn’t offer consistently breezy fun for children and adults alike.

The story opens in the town of Thneedville, an idyllic community that is home to 12-year-old Ted (voiced by Zac Efron), who wants to impress a girl (Taylor Swift) by giving her a live tree.

But such things don’t exist in a town cut off from nature, sending Ted on a perilous journey to see the Once-ler (Ed Helms), a guilt-ridden hermit who tells him a story about the Lorax (Danny DeVito), a mysterious orange creature who “speaks for the trees.” Those are the same trees the Once-ler chopped down to make a silly invention years ago, causing environmental ruin without much hope for redemption.

The film is the brainchild of the same animation studio behind Despicable Me, and it shares the same attention to crisp and colorful details within the animation, especially within a few dazzling production numbers, the first of which is both an audio and visual delight.

The voice cast is solid, especially DeVito in the title role and Helms as a character whose transformation plays an important role. The always-endearing Betty White pops in with a voice cameo as Ted’s mischievous grandmother.

The story might be more than 40 years old but it holds plenty of contemporary relevance. More importantly, directors Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda are able to retain the spirit of the book, updating it for a new generation without stripping away all of the subtlety.

The Lorax ranks as the best of the four big-screen Seuss adaptations from the past decade or so, following the dreadful big-budget live-action versions of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and The Cat in the Hat (2003) as well as the animated Horton Hears a Who! (2008).

Perhaps the best-case scenario would lead impressionable children back to the Seuss oeuvre to discover favorites of their own.

Rated PG, 94 minutes.