document_title: Dennis the Menace (1959 TV series)

question_text: who plays mrs wilson in dennis the menace

text: Dennis the Menace (1959 TV series)

text: Plot summary[edit]

text: The show follows the lives of the Mitchell family – Henry, Alice, and their only child, Dennis, an energetic, trouble-prone, mischievous, but well-meaning boy, who often tangles first with his peace-and-quiet-loving neighbor, George Wilson, a retired salesman, and later with George's brother John, a writer.

text: While the series was based on the Dennis the Menace comic strip, differences between the two are seen. On the sitcom and in the comics, Dennis is basically a good, well-intentioned boy who always tries to help people, but winds up making situations worse - often at Mr. Wilson's expense. In early episodes of the first season, far more disasters happened as a result of his actions than in later episodes. The character of Dennis was slightly toned down by the sixth or seventh episode. Instead of Dennis's dog Ruff, a smaller Cairn Terrier (per the episode "Miss Cathcart's Friend") named Fremont belonged to George and Martha Wilson. He did not appear during the fourth season, when John and Eloise Wilson moved in to 625 Elm Street.

text: First season[edit]

text: With CBS seeking to replace the hit show it had lost when it allowed Leave It to Beaver to migrate to ABC, a pilot episode titled "Dennis Goes To The Movies" was filmed late in 1958. In the pilot, Dennis was younger and his speech, the tone of his voice, and character had not been as developed as in episodes later in the 1959–1960 season. In the episode, Dennis indeed causes a lot of destruction such as burying a hose (installing an automatic sprinkler system), trying to repair a leg on the kitchen table and causing the whole table to collapse, and almost knocking Mr. Wilson off the ladder, but causing him to ruin his shoes as he steps in a can of paint, among other things. Dennis's father and mother then announce that they are going to the movies to see a Western (that Dennis wanted to see "all my life") and that Dennis would stay home with a babysitter.

text: Because none of the babysitters in the neighborhood would help out because of Dennis's mischief, the Mitchells find an older lady, Mrs. Porter (Madge Blake), who had never met Dennis. Dennis then switches places with Joey and sneaks out to the same movie his parents are seeing. Joey stays home, while Mrs. Porter thinks he is Dennis. Meanwhile, Dennis causes havoc at the theater, even demanding that the projectionist repeat a scene. His parents suspect that Dennis is there causing these problems and call Mrs. Porter at the house. Mrs. Porter assures them that Dennis has been well behaved. Dennis beats his parents home and is in bed by the time they return, but he makes noises trying to borrow Mr. Wilson's ladder to climb back into his upstairs bedroom window. This causes Mr. Wilson to go outside to see what is wrong. Mr. Wilson is arrested for armed robbery when he is found with Dennis's toy gun (which in those days much more closely resembled a real gun). The final scene where Joey jumps into bed with Dennis was filmed in the summer of 1959, after half a dozen episodes had been filmed (Dennis was obviously at least a few months older, has a different hairstyle, and is wearing different clothes) to make the episode fit the half-hour time segment.

text: In early 1959, several other episodes were filmed, including "The Fishing Trip", "Dennis Gets a Duck", "Dennis Runs Away", "The Cowboy", "Open House" (where Margaret made her debut, this episode was made prior to "The Sign Post", but aired after), and "Dennis Becomes a Babysitter" (in which Margaret also appears). At that point, CBS consented to air the program at 7:30 pm ET on Sunday evenings after Lassie. After viewing these episodes, CBS determined that Dennis's antics had to be toned down because of fear that his actions would encourage children watching the show to imitate Dennis.

text: Several weeks before the series was to debut, the episode "The Sign Post" was made in which Tommy made his debut. Margaret, who appeared in two episodes that were made before, but aired after, also appeared along with Joey. After the pilot aired as the first episode, "The Sign Post" aired and after that "Fishing Trip", the second episode, aired. After that, newly made episodes aired mixed in with the initial batch made earlier in 1959, which explains why "Dennis Runs Away", which was the fourth or fifth episode was run later in the first run, and shows an obviously younger Dennis as in the earlier episodes. Also, the episode "Dennis and The Rare Coin" was aired before "Dennis Runs Away", but aired after. On both episodes, Dennis is at the police station. On "Dennis and The Rare Coin" where Dennis is given milk, he states, "last time I came here I got ice cream", referring to the episode "Dennis Runs Away" where he got an ice cream cone at the police station, which was made before, but aired after. Joey was gradually phased out in season one. Dennis's friend Stewart appeared in only a few episodes in the first season and was played by Ron Howard (who soon after became Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show).

text: Later seasons[edit]

text: Dennis and Mr. Wilson had a love-hate relationship, with Dennis always aggravating Mr. Wilson, but usually without realizing it. He would call Mr. Wilson his "best friend", and often referred to him as "Good 'Ol Mr. Wilson", while on many occasions, Mr. Wilson would tell Dennis, "You have far better friends than me." Mrs. Wilson, however, loved Dennis in a grandmotherly way and tried to make the situation better between the two. Other neighbors and townspeople aired on a recurring basis included Mrs. Lucy Elkins (a widowed neighbor and the town gossip), Mrs. Dorothy Holland (another widow who aired on a recurring basis in season one only), Miss Esther Cathcart (a lonely spinster), Mr. Otis Quigley (the grocer), Opie Swanson (the TV/appliance store owner), Mr. Lawrence Finch (the druggist), Sgt. Harold Mooney (the policeman), Mr. Krinkie (the newspaper editor), and Buzz (the local handyman), among others. Dennis also had a nemesis named Johnny Brady, whose father and Henry Mitchell also were sometimes at odds.

text: Second- and third-season episodes began to focus on Dennis at school learning to read, going to camp, playing baseball, being in scouting, and trying to help Mr. Wilson. Dennis was gradually maturing, and at times, Mr. Wilson is revealed to like Dennis deep down. In the fourth season, Dennis is no longer seen in his trademark overalls, and is instead wearing regular pants. Also, the famous striped shirt goes from a crew-neck to a "polo"-type shirt with a collar and buttons.

text: Death of Joseph Kearns[edit]

text: On February 17, 1962, after filming the show's 100th episode, Joseph Kearns died of a cerebral hemorrhage. In a 2010 interview, actress Gloria Henry revealed Kearns followed a strict six-week Metrecal diet that may have contributed to his death.[2] The following two episodes were filmed without the character of Mr. Wilson. Gale Gordon joined the cast for the last six episodes of the season as Mr. Wilson's brother, John. Gordon bore a closer resemblance to the comic strip's Mr. Wilson than Kearns did. It was explained that John was staying as a guest while George was settling an estate back east. Sylvia Field, who played Martha Wilson, was let go at the end of the season. In the fourth and final season, John Wilson purchased the house from his brother, although where George and Martha had moved was never explained. He was joined by his wife, Eloise, played by Sara Seegar. Final references to George and Martha Wilson were made early in the fourth season, although they were not mentioned by name after the first episode. George Wilson was referred to as "the other Mr. Wilson" in the second episode, and John Wilson says in the seventh episode he bought the house from his brother. After that, the original Wilsons were never mentioned again.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Main characters[edit]

text:
Dennis Mitchell (Jay North) is the series protagonist (146 episodes, 1959–1963).
Henry Mitchell (Herbert Anderson) is Dennis' father and Alice's husband (144 episodes, 1959–1963).
Alice Mitchell (Gloria Henry) is Henry Mitchell's wife and Dennis's mother (145 episodes, (1959–1963)
Mr. George Wilson (Joseph Kearns) is the Mitchells' neighbor; he is often exasperated with Dennis's antics, though is proud that Dennis considers him his best friend. George has a dog named Fremont. Kearns appeared in 101 episodes from 1959 to 1962; his last work was aired posthumously in the episode "The Man Next Door" on May 6, 1962.
Mrs. Martha Wilson (Sylvia Field) is George Wilson's wife, a loving, grandmotherly type neighbor who enjoys Dennis's company. The Wilsons had no children. Martha Wilson was written out of the series after Joseph Kearns' death (90 episodes, 1959–62).
Tommy Anderson (Billy Booth) is Dennis's closest friend (111 episodes, 1959–1963).
Mr. John Wilson (Gale Gordon) is George Wilson's brother. Gordon's first episode is entitled "John Wilson's Cushion", which aired on May 27, 1962. Gordon appeared in 43 episodes from 1962 to 1963.
Eloise Wilson (Sara Seegar) is John Wilson's wife (36 episodes, 1962–1963).

text: Recurring characters[edit]

text:
Margaret Wade (Jeannie Russell) is a snooty, but good girl with a crush on Dennis (38 episodes, 1959–1963).
Seymour Williams (Robert John Pittman) is Dennis's friend (31 episodes, 1961–1963).
Stewart (Ron Howard) is another of Dennis's friends (six episodes, 1959–1960). Howard left to join the cast of The Andy Griffith Show.
The Bradys – Johnny was Dennis's nemesis, the neighborhood braggart with a better-than-you attitude – shown to everyone but his father Charles – who annoys adults with the same arrogance. Johnny was played by Gregory Irvin; Laurence Haddon was cast as Charles Brady.
Sergeant Harold Mooney (George Cisar) is a policeman (31 episodes, 1960–1963). Mooney's first name also was Ralph in various episodes.
Mrs. Lucy Elkins (Irene Tedrow) is a Mitchell neighbor (26 episodes).
Mr. Otis Quigley (Willard Waterman) is the grocer (14 episodes).
Miss Esther Cathcart (Mary Wickes) is a spinster (10 episodes, 1959–1962).
Mr. Krinkie (Charles Seel) is the newspaper editor (nine episodes, 1960–1963).
Grandma Mitchell (Kathleen Mulqueen) is Henry's mother, who joined the cast for eight episodes in 1961 while Gloria Henry was on maternity leave.
Joey McDonald (Gil Smith) is Dennis' friend (eight episodes, 1959–1960).
Mrs. Schooner (Lillian Culver) is a local socialite, volunteer, and outdoor enthusiast (seven episodes, 1960–63).
Mr. Lawrence Finch (Charles Lane) is thr drugstore owner (six episodes, 1960–1962).
Mrs. Dorothy Holland (Helen Kleeb) is a Mitchell neighbor and Mrs. Elkins' friend. Kleeb appeared in five episodes from 1959–1962, three as Mrs. Holland.
Mr. Merrivale (Will Wright) is a florist (four episodes, 1959–61).
Uncle Ned Matthews (Edward Everett Horton) is George and John Wilson's uncle (three episodes, 1962–63).
Opie Swanson (Dub Taylor) is an electrician (three episodes, 1960).
Mr. Dorfman (Robert B Williams) is a postman (1959–60).
Mr. Hall (J. Edward McKinley) is Mr. Mitchell's boss.
Foster A. Steward (Ned Wever) is the chief of police.
Buzz (Chubby Johnson) is the salvage man (three episodes, 1961–1962).[3]

text: Guest stars[edit]

text:
Mel Blanc, a Hollywood voice acting specialist, was cast as Leo Trinkle, the town dogcatcher, in the 1961 episode "Miss Cathcart's Friend".[4]
Spring Byington appeared as herself in the 1961 episode "Dennis's Birthday", with Vaughn Taylor also appearing in this segment.[5]
Elinor Donahue portrayed Georgiana Ballinger in the 1960 episode "Dennis and the Wedding". In the story line, Georgiana is the niece of George and Martha Wilson, and Dennis is selected as the ringbearer at her wedding. The cranky Mr. Wilson worries that Dennis could disrupt the whole ceremony. (Note: Despite two of Mr. Wilson's sisters appearing in first-season episodes, as well as references to Mrs. Wilson's mother and two sisters and the later existence of John Wilson, George says he and Martha "are the only family she (Georgiana) has left.") Georgiana was referenced later in the second season as being pregnant with her first child, but her character was not seen nor ever mentioned again for the rest of the series.[6]
Bob Dornan was cast as Lieutenant Alden in the 1962 episode "Dennis at Boot Camp". Roy Roberts played Captain Stone in the same segment.[7]
Bob Hastings appeared five times on the series, most notably as Coach Gilmore in the 1963 episode, "The Big Basketball Game".[8]
Cheryl Holdridge, a member of the Mickey Mouse Club, was cast as Helen Franklin in "Dennis's Lovesick Friend", the second episode without Joseph Kearns as Mr. Wilson. Instead, this segment features Edward Everett Horton as Uncle Ned Wilson.[9]
Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, appeared as himself in the episode "Dennis and the Dodger", the first episode without Joseph Kearns.[10]
John A. "Shorty" Powers, a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force known as the "Voice of the Astronauts", portrayed himself in the 1963 episode "Junior Astronaut".[11]

text: Others appearing on the series include:

text:
Morris Ankrum
John Astin
Eleanor Audley
Parley Baer
Madge Blake
Willis Bouchey
Edgar Buchanan
Frank Cady
James T. Callahan
Olive Carey
Joe Conley
Ellen Corby
Lloyd Corrigan
Cyril Delevanti
Barry Gordon
Harold Gould
Don C. Harvey
Jimmy Hawkins
Jonathan Hole
Hal Hopper
Brad Johnson

Harvey Korman
Forrest Lewis
Tyler McVey
Arthur Malet
James Millhollin
Stuart Nisbet
Alice Pearce
Maudie Prickett
Stafford Repp
Addison Richards
Hal J. Smith
Arthur Space
Jean Stapleton
Hope Summers
Ray Teal
Ernest Truex
Lurene Tuttle
Gregory Walcott
Doodles Weaver
Estelle Winwood

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally aired

First aired
Last aired

1
32
October 4, 1959 (1959-10-04)
June 6, 1960 (1960-06-06)

2
38
October 2, 1960 (1960-10-02)
June 25, 1961 (1961-06-25)

3
38
October 1, 1961 (1961-10-01)
July 1, 1962 (1962-07-01)

4
38
September 30, 1962 (1962-09-30)
July 7, 1963 (1963-07-07)

text: Production notes[edit]

text: The fictional "Blondie Street" located at Columbia Ranch in Burbank, California (now the Warner Ranch) was the backdrop for the series.

text: The Mitchells' house was constructed between 1934 and 1935 for the movie Party Wire. It was later moved and became well known as the home of the Stone family on The Donna Reed Show in 1958, before becoming the home of the Mitchell family in 1959.

text: The Wilsons' house was constructed between 1936 and 1937 for the Blondie film series. This structure, after some transformation, became well known as the home of the Andersons in Father Knows Best before becoming the home of the Wilsons, and later, the home of Major Nelson and Jeannie in I Dream of Jeannie. The house can also be seen in episodes of Bewitched and The Partridge Family.

text: The Partridge Family house, located on the same street, was used as the home of Mrs. Elkins (a Mitchell neighbor). It can be seen in the episode "The Man Next Door" (season three, episode 30) in which Mr. Wilson and Dennis believe a jewel thief is living next door and climb into a basement window of the home. It was also used as Miss Cathcart's house in the episode "Miss Cathcart's Sunsuit" (season one, episode 32). The corner church, together with The Partridge Family house, burned down in a fire in August 1970. Both were rebuilt to specification, albeit the church was moved further back and in a different configuration and smaller. Prior to The Partridge Family, the house facade was used by the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Kravitz on Bewitched. Now, all of these houses still exist at the Warner Ranch and are used primarily as storage space and production offices across from the suburban park it faces.

text: The garage of the well-known address, 1164 Morning Glory Circle, used as the Bewitched house, can also be seen in several episodes.

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
Ratings

Season
Rank (Rating)

1) 1959–60
# 16 (26.0)

2) 1960–61
# 11 (26.1)

3) 1961–62
# 17 (23.8)

4) 1962–63
Not In The Top 30

text: Cancellation[edit]

text: By the show's fourth season, Jay North was 11 years old and was outgrowing the antics associated with his character. CBS cancelled Dennis the Menace in the spring of 1963.

text: Syndication[edit]

text: In 1963, NBC began airing reruns of the series on Saturday mornings for two seasons - the show entered syndication in 1965. It has run consistently on local stations over subsequent years. On July 1, 1985,[12] the Nickelodeon cable network began airing the series, and continued until October 21, 1994.[13] It also aired on TV Land from 2002 to 2003. On January 3, 2011, Dennis the Menace began airing on Antenna TV.

text: The show was exported to the United Kingdom and shown on the ITV network, with 103 episodes airing in the London region between 1960 and 1966. To avoid confusion with the British comic character, the series was known in the UK as Just Dennis.

text: Dennis The Menace is currently available in its entirety on the Hulu streaming service.

text: DVD releases[edit]

text: Shout! Factory (under license from Sony Pictures) has released all four seasons on DVD in Region 1. On August 7, 2012, Shout! Factory released a 20-episode best-of set entitled Dennis the Menace- 20 Timeless Episodes.

text:
DVD Name
Episodes
Release Date

Season one
32
March 29, 2011

Season two
38
July 26, 2011

Season three
38
October 25, 2011

Season four
38
January 10, 2012


document_title: The Lorax (film)

question_text: who does taylor swift play in the lorax

question_tokens: who does taylor swift play in the lorax

root

text: The Lorax (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: Ted Wiggins is a 12-year-old boy, who lives in Thneedville, a walled city that, aside from the human citizens, is completely artificial; everything is made of plastic, metal, or synthetics with no living plants. Ted has a crush on local environmentalist Audrey, who wants to see a "real tree" more than anything in the world, so he decides to find one in order to impress her. His energetic Granny Norma secretly tells Ted the legend of the Once-ler, who will tell anyone about trees if they bring him fifteen cents, a nail, and a shell of a great-great-great grandfather snail. When Ted leaves Thneedville in search of the Once-ler, he discovers that the outside world is a contaminated, empty, barren wasteland. Once the boy finds him, the Once-ler agrees to tell Ted about the trees on the condition that he listens to the story over multiple visits. Ted agrees, but on his next trip, he encounters the greedy mayor of Thneedville, Aloysius O'Hare, who is also the proprietor of a company that sells bottled oxygen ("fresh air") to Thneedville residents. O'Hare explains to Ted that trees produce oxygen free of charge, and therefore, he considers them and/or people talking about them to be a threat to his business. After revealing that he has "security camera eyes" all over the city, O'Hare pressures Ted to stay in town. However, Ted continues to sneak out of O'Hare's sight with his grandmother's encouragement and learns more of the trees' history.

tag: p

text: Over Ted's various visits, the Once-ler recounts the story that when he was a young man, he departed his family to find good material for his Thneed invention and make a business. The Once-ler meets the guardian of the forest, the Lorax, after cutting down a Truffula tree in a lush Truffula tree forest valley. The Lorax urges the Once-ler to leave the forest, but the Once-ler refuses. Eventually, the Once-ler promises not to chop another tree down, and the two seem to begin a friendship of sorts. Then, the young businessman's Thneed invention becomes a major success and the Once-ler's family arrives to participate in the business. At first keeping his promise, the Once-ler continues Thneed production by harvesting the Truffula tree tufts in a slow, but sustainable manner. However, his greedy and lazy relatives soon convince him to resume chopping down the trees. Over time, the Once-ler's deforestation spirals into a mass overproduction. Flushed with wealth, the Once-ler rationalizes his short-sighted needs into arrogant self-righteousness, and the Lorax's helpless protests do not stop him. The Once-ler pollutes the sky, river, and landscape, until the very last Truffula tree falls. With no further chance of business, he is left broken and his money-broke mother disowns him. With the region uninhabitable because of the pollution and deforestation from the Once-ler's business, the Lorax sends the animals off to find a new place to live before the Once-ler sees him depart into the sky, leaving only a stone-cut word: "Unless". Distraught and ruined, the Once-ler becomes a recluse.

text: After he finishes telling his story, the Once-ler finally understands the meaning behind the Lorax's last message, and gives Ted the last Truffula seed in hopes that he can use it to regrow the forest and make others care about real trees once more. Ted's desire to impress Audrey therefore becomes a personal mission to remind his town of the importance of nature. O'Hare, still determined not to have trees undercut his business, takes heavy-handed steps such as covering Audrey's nature paintings, closing off the door that Ted uses to see the Once-ler, and forcibly searching Ted's room for the seed, which has begun to grow after coming into contact with some water from Ted's falling bottle. Ted enlists his family and Audrey to help plant the seed. O'Hare and his two henchmen pursue the dissidents until they manage to elude him and reach the town center. When Ted finally attempts to plant the seed, he is interrupted by O'Hare, who rallies the population to stop them by telling the people that trees are extremely dangerous and filthy. To convince them otherwise, Ted takes an earthmover and rams down a section of the city wall to reveal the environmental destruction outside, thereby showing them what happened to the trees and what O'Hare is encouraging. Horrified at the sight and inspired by Ted's conviction (as though a part of the Lorax is within him), the crowd turns against O'Hare when they discover his true nature, with his own henchmen expelling him from the town with his jet pack-like helmet, and the seed is finally planted. Time passes and the land starts to recover; new trees sprout, the animals begin to return, and the redeemed, now-mustached Once-ler happily reunites with the Lorax.

text: Voice cast[edit]

text:
Danny DeVito as The Lorax[5]
Ed Helms as The Once-ler.[5] Neither the book nor the TV special reveal the Once-ler's face, but instead throughout the book, the Once-ler is pictured by what appears to be green arms and yellow eyes. The filmmakers used that as the basis for the Once-ler's character design. They interpreted the Once-ler as a human, and also featured his green gloves and showed his face for the first time in this film.
Zac Efron as Ted Wiggins, an idealistic 12-year-old boy.[6] He is named after the author of the book, Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel).[7]
Taylor Swift as Audrey, Ted's love interest.[1] She is named after Audrey Geisel, Dr. Seuss' wife.[7]
Betty White as Grammy Norma, Ted's wise-cracking grandmother.[1]
Rob Riggle as Aloysius O'Hare, the greedy mayor of Thneedville and head of the "O'Hare Air" company that supplies fresh air to Thneedville residents.[5]
Jenny Slate as Mrs. Wiggins, Ted's neurotic mother.[8]
Nasim Pedrad as The Once-ler's Mother.
Stephen Tobolowsky as Uncle Ubb, the Once-ler's uncle.
Elmarie Wendel as Aunt Grizelda, the Once-ler's aunt.
Danny Cooksey as Brett and Chet, the Once-ler's twin brothers.
Fletcher Sheridan (uncredited) as Cy, the O'Hare Air delivery guy
Chris Renaud as Assorted forest animals

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: The film is the fourth feature film based on a book by Dr. Seuss, the second fully computer-animated adaptation (the first one being Horton Hears a Who!), and the first to be released in 3-D. The Lorax was also Illumination's first film presented in IMAX 3D (known as "IMAX Tree-D" in publicity for the film).[9] The idea for the film was initiated by Audrey Geisel, Dr. Seuss' wife, who had an established partnership with Chris Meledandri, the producer of the film, from a collaboration on Horton Hears a Who!. Geisel approached Meledandri when he launched Illumination Entertainment, saying "This is the one I want to do next".[10] The film was officially announced in July 2009, with Meledandri attached as the producer and Geisel as the executive producer. Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda were announced as the director and co-director of the film, while Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the duo who wrote the script for Horton Hears a Who!, were set to write the screenplay.[11] In 2010, it was announced that Danny DeVito would be voicing the titular character.[12]

text: The film was fully produced at the French studio "Illumination Mac Guff", which was the animation department of Mac Guff which was acquired by Illumination Entertainment in the summer of 2011.[13] DeVito reprised his role in five different languages, including the original English audio, and also for the Spanish, Italian, German, and Russian language dub editions.[14] Universal added an environmental message to the film's website after a fourth-grade class in Brookline, Massachusetts launched a successful petition through Change.org.[15]

text: Release[edit]

text: The film was released on March 2, 2012 in the United States and Canada and was released on July 27, 2012 in the United Kingdom.

text: Marketing controversy[edit]

text: Mazda used the likeness of The Lorax's setting and characters in an advertisement for their CX-5 SUV.[16] This was seen by some as the complete opposite of the work's original meaning.[17] In response, Stephanie Sperber, president of Universal partnerships and licensing, said Universal chose to partner with the Mazda CX-5 because it is "a really good choice for consumers to make who may not have the luxury or the money to buy electric or buy hybrid. It's a way to take the better environmental choice to everyone."[18]

text: The film has also been used to sell Seventh Generation disposable diapers.[19] In total, Illumination Entertainment struck more than 70 different product integration deals for the film.[20]

text: Home media[edit]

text: The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on August 7, 2012.

text: Mini-movies[edit]

text: Three mini-movies were released on the Lorax Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack on August 7, 2012: Serenade, Wagon Ho!, and Forces of Nature.[21]

text: Lou wants to impress a girl Barbaloot, but he has some competition.

text: The Once-ler arrives with his wagon and Melvin. Then Pipsqueak and Lou arrive. The Once-ler tells them not to have joyrides. When the Once-ler goes inside his house, Pipsqueak and Lou start cranking up the wagon, but Melvin refuses to pull it because he is angry that they whipped the reins. So Pipsqueak hangs a Truffula fruit in front of Melvin as an incentive. However, Melvin gets exhausted going up a steep hill. Then the wagon gets unhooked from Melvin, and it rolls downhill backwards while Pipsqueak and Lou scream in terror. Melvin chases the runaway wagon. Lou tries to stop the wagon by stabbing a stick in one of its wheels, but he gets stuck on the wheel instead. Finally, he lands back on the seat next to Pipsqueak, who hugs him happily. The wagon hits a rock and is propelled downhill even faster. When it approaches a cliff, Pipsqueak panics and grabs the wagon canopy, which flies off—only to be held in place by Lou. The wagon flies off the cliff, but the canopy acts as a parachute and they make their descent calmly, landing in the same place they left. Melvin appears shortly after. The Once-ler comes out of the house and is surprised to see them. He expresses surprise that they listened to instructions, but just when it seems like they fooled him, Lou sneezes and the wagon falls apart. Melvin hides beneath his hooves and Lou and Pipsqueak curl up into a ball. The Once-ler looks annoyed and makes a small, disgruntled "Grr" sound, causing Lou and Pipsqueak to run away into the trees.

text: The Lorax makes Pipsqueak an Honorary Lorax and team up to scare the Once-ler by using two sticks that looks like a monster's hand to freak him out. The Once-ler finds out it is fake and sprays water on the Lorax, which makes his fur puff up. When the Lorax tells Pipsqueak that he is going to turn out like him, Pipsqueak gets scared and runs away. The short ends with the Lorax telling Pipsqueak that he has lost his Honorary Lorax title.

text: Video game[edit]

text: Blockdot created a mobile puzzle game based on the film, titled Truffula Shuffula. The game was released on February 1, 2012, for iOS and Android platforms.[22]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The film earned a rating of 54% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 151 reviews and an average rating of 5.9/10, with the critical consensus saying, "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is cute and funny enough, but the moral simplicity of the book gets lost with the zany Hollywood production values."[23] It also has a score of 46 on Metacritic based on 30 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[24]

text: New York magazine film critic David Edelstein on NPR's All Things Considered strongly objected to the movie, arguing that the Hollywood animation and writing formulas washed out the spirit of the book.[25] "This kind of studio 3-D feature animation is all wrong for the material," he wrote. Demonstrating how the book's text was used in the movie in this excerpt from the review, Edelstein discusses Audrey describing the truffula trees to Ted:

text: The touch of their tufts was much softer than silk and they had the sweet smell of fresh butterfly milk – and [in the movie] Ted says, "Wow, what does that even mean?" and Audrey says, "I know, right?" So one of the only lines that is from the book, that does have Dr. Seuss' sublime whimsy, is basically made fun of, or at least, dragged down to Earth.

text: Lou Dobbs, the host of Lou Dobbs Tonight on the Fox Business Network, has criticized the film as being "insidious nonsense from Hollywood", and accused Hollywood of "trying to indoctrinate children".[26] The film also garnered some positive reviews from critics such as Richard Roeper, who called it a "solid piece of family entertainment".[27] Roger Moore of the Pittsburgh Tribune called the film "a feast of bright, Seuss colors, and wonderful Seuss design", and supported its environmentalist message.[28]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film has grossed $214 million in North America, and $134.8 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $348.8 million.[3]

text: The film topped the North American box office with $17.5 million on its opening day (Friday, March 2, 2012).[29] During the weekend, it grossed $70.2 million, easily beating the other new nationwide release, Project X ($21 million), and all other films.[30] This was the biggest opening for an Illumination Entertainment film,[31] and for a feature film adaptation of a book by Dr. Seuss,[32] as well as the second-largest for an environmentalist film.[33] It also scored the third-best debut for a film opening in March,[34] and the eighth-best of all time for an animated film.[35] The Lorax stayed at #1 the following weekend, dropping 45% to $38.8 million and beating all new nationwide releases, including Disney's John Carter (second place).[36] On April 11, 2012, it became the first animated film in nearly a year to gross more than $200 million in North America, since Walt Disney Animation Studios' Tangled.[37][38]

text: Music[edit]

text:
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax: Original Motion Picture ScoreFilm score by John PowellReleased
March 6, 2012Genre
ScoreLength
45:51Label
Varèse Sarabande

tag: table

text: All tracks composed by John Powell[39]

text: No.TitleLength1."Ted, Audrey and the Trees"2:362."Granny to the Edge"2:333."Wasteland"2:174."Truffula Valley Fantasy (featuring The Lorax Humming Fish)"5:005."Once-ler & Lorax Meet"2:356."O'Hare Warns Ted"3:217."The River Bed"4:038."Houseguests"3:129."Valley Exodus"4:5410."The Last Seed"4:5411."Thneedville Chase"5:0412."At the Park"3:1213."Funeral For a Tree"2:10Total length:45:51

text:
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax: Original Songs from the Motion PictureFilm score by John Powell and Cinco PaulReleased
February 28, 2012Genre
SoundtrackLength
34:00Label
Interscope, Geffen

text: All tracks written by John Powell and Cinco Paul[40].

text: No.TitleMusicLength1."Let It Grow (Celebrate the World)"Ester Dean3:392."Thneedville"Fletcher Sheridan, Antonio Sol, Beth Anderson, Oliver Powell, Edie Lehmann Boddicker, Missi Hale, and Rob Riggle2:443."This is the Place"Ed Helms2:244."Everybody Needs a Thneed"Ed Helms, Randy Crenshaw, Fletcher Sheridan, Edie Lehmann Boddicker, Monique Donnelly, Ty Taylor, and The 881:315."How Bad Can I Be?"Ed Helms and Kool Kojak2:526."Let It Grow"Fletcher Sheridan, Dan Navarro, Edie Lehmann Boddicker, Jenny Slate, Claira Titman, Betty White, Rob Riggle, and Ed Helms3:177."Let It Grow Gospel Ending (Original Demo)"Jenny Slate0:528."Thneedville (Original Demo)"Fletcher Sheridan3:589."The Once-ler's Traveling Madness (Original Demo)"Ed Helms1:3510."I Love Nature (Original Demo)"Randy Crenshaw2:4311."You Need a Thneed (Original Demo)"Keith Slettedahl and The 88 featuring Antonio Sol, Fletcher Sheridan, and Taylor Graves1:3212."Nobody Needs a Thneed (Original Demo)"Fletcher Sheridan and Randy Crenshaw1:5213."Biggering (Original Demo)"Gabriel Mann, Randy Crenshaw, and The 885:01Total length:34:00