I watched The Lorax last night with a friend I haven’t seen in a while, because she wanted to see it.  I originally had no intentions of seeing this movie, despite all the ranting and raving about how it’s currently in the #1 position at the box office.  The trailer seemed mediocre at best and I definitely had very low expectations of how well the Dr. Seuss story would translate to a movie.

After having watched it, my sentiments haven’t changed a bit.  In my opinion, when movies like this one hit #1 at the box office, it’s most likely for one of three reasons: a) nothing else worth watching has opened that week, b) a majority of the people have already seen whatever is “worth watching” in theaters, or c) no one’s watching the movie that is worth the time because it doesn’t have enough mainstream buzz, and as a result hardly anyone is watching it.

I think this movie falls in that “A” category.

Sadly, I have to say that the most hilarious part of the movie wasn’t even part of the movie—it was the randomDespicable Me 2trailer, which is slated for sometime in 2013.  I must admit I enjoyed the “Minion’s” version of “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys.  (I’ve embedded the YouTube video of it for you below.)

There was a lot of flat dialogue, jokes that only elicited very few chuckles from the audience I was with, and a random kiddy romance that just got thrown in there (I guess to elongate the story).  I think one of the most disappointing things about animated films these days (at least the ones that seem to be specifically targeting kids) is that they always seem to be packed with tons of random musical numbers, but not a single one of the tunes are all that memorable.  I guess I could be getting old, but then again I still remember all the words to “A Whole New World” from Disney’s Aladdin (1992).

I also think that if it weren’t for my friend, I probably would have fallen asleep in this movie.  Even though it was only an hour and a half long, it actually felt like I was sitting in the theater for something more like two and a half hours.  Probably didn’t help that the theater I was in had a power outage.  (By the way, seriously?  I feel like I’ve ended up in a lot of malfunctioning theaters recently.  Hahaha.  I wonder what all that’s about.)

Anyway, here’s my usual ratings breakdown for this movie:

Originality: **
Picture: ****
Sound: ****
Story: ***
Casting: N/A – I don’t rate casting in animated movies
Re-watch Factor: **
Overall: *

FINAL VERDICT: C-

I guess my feelings are mixed on this one.  Personally, if my friend hadn’t actually been enjoying it, I definitely would have suggested walking out of it.  And if she hadn’t wanted to see it in the first place, I probably never would have watched it.  On the other hand, I can see people enjoying this movie for whatever reason.  I think it all depends on personal preference.  If you do want to watch it though, I recommend at least waiting for it to become available through rental.