Customer Reviews

Dr. Seuss: The Lorax, Also Includes Pontoffel Pock & His Magic Piano [VHS]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The environmentally conscious Lorax appears here in an expanded version of the Dr. Seuss book, where we see more about how the profit-minded Once-Ler destroyed the truffula trees. My kindergartener loved the book, and I happened across this tape at Wal-Mart in a bargain bin. Having seen it as a kid myself, it was a natural purchase. She's watched it eight times in three days, so it must have stood the test of time! The music is a bit dated, sure, but she won't care about that for a few years yet, and it's pure nostalgia for my wife and me. The story even strikes the correct balance between commercial interests and environmentalism: Just take care of nature while you're creating jobs, and all will be well. But if you don't.....yikes.

The forgotten story included here is about Pontoffel Pock, a loser of a young man who can't get his simple two-step job right and gets fired. He is given a magic piano so he can "get away from it all," and of course he fouls that up too, but eventually figures out how to rescue a damsel in distress. My little girl doesn't quite get the romance aspect of this story, but we both enjoy the fantasy. Not in the league of "The Lorax," but cute.

As fabulous as Dr. Seuss has always been, the story of the Lorax is the ultimate as far as I'm concerned in teaching our children the value of the environment and the threat that capitalist consumerism is to the beauty of the Earth that we love. When we look at some of the damage that grows exponentially through exploitation for profit all around us, the Lorax teaches us to be brave enough to take a stand, even if it is a frustrating, lonely one. I admire the Lorax. He speaks for the trees!

I watched this video for the first time when I was about 10. I know I wasn't the target audience for the movie, but I loved it! For one thing, all the songs and rhymes are really catchy, and the acting is great. On a deeper level though, it is really a haunting story, especially when you have to watch all the animals leaving because they were forced out of their home. Read the book, then be sure to watch the movie!

I am purchasing this video to use in my classroom to help introduce pollution and care for the earth and its creatures. While I concentrate this study to coordinate with Earth Day activities, it could be used at any level when an awareness of the environment is needed.

I bought this video for my daughter when she was 4. She loved it for the music, rhymes, and colors and I loved it for these things as well as its message. An an urban planner, I am involved with the impacts of development on a daily basis and astonished by the number of people who disregard the importance of our natural resources. I was thrilled to see this video instill the message of conservation in children and, hopefully, in their parents as well.

As a child, I watched this film in school, and as an adult, I yearn to impact my childreen with it. Dr. Seus's book is impecably animated. The songs and moving charactors bring a new life to this only to thought provoking tale. All childreen should head the Loraxs' warning. He speaks for not only the trees, but for all of us who do not want to watch the world around us be distroyed. If you can get your hands on this film I recomend it. Show everyone you know. "Unless"

As a child I loved the Lorax for the simple rhymes and laughed at the comical little Lorax standing up to the might of the Once-ler. I think from the standpoint that it is fun and interesting ryhme ranks it right up around the four stars mark because it got young children to read.

As an adult, I find the stance that the Lorax make for accountability to be a valuable lesson that adults can relate to children in explaining this story.

What I really like and thought it was well conveyed (despite the very dated background music and the liberal rewording to extend the poem) is that final stanza where Dr. Suess, through the Once-ler, lets us know that even with all the problems there is still a chance to better the world we live in but it will require great care and effort...

I was at a choir party the other day, and we were writing evaluations. The daughter of the director pulled out books that we could write on. The Lorax turned up! We asked the super-capitalist if he'd ever read it. Nope. We joked that we figured as much. He asked what the book was about. We replied:
"It's a book about the pitfalls of capitalism, the greed of the wealthy, the ridiculousness of marketing, the importance of the environment, the disregard of big companies, standing up for yourself, and being the one to make a difference."
"All that in a Dr. Seuss book?!"
"Absolutely"
I've sworn that my kids will be raised on this book. I think it made an imprint on me while I was young, and has affected me greatly ever since.
Cheers!

I remember seeing "Pontoffel Pock and His Magic Piano" when I was very young (I was born in 1982), but haven't seen it in ages and the name of it slipped me for a long time (I always mixed it up with "Oh The Places You Will Go!"). I remember being young and liking the magic piano with the colorful buttons--it was like a player piano--to escape, he would push a colorful button and would fly away on his piano as it played a fanciful tune. Wow.

I am really well-versed when it comes to obscure Dr. Seuss cartoons--and I love them all. I had a boss several years ago who was a fan of the Lorax, but I haven't seen this one in years.

Finally I figured out the title!!!! And I can remember liking this one. I would love to see it again!!!

Let me start by saying that I absolutely love Dr. Seuss, and that the book version of The Lorax is my favorite of his works and quite possibly my favorite children's book ever. My daughters' room has a 360 degree mural of scenes from the book, including the quote, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

But with that said, I just don't think that the video version lives up to the original book version. Sure, it brings to life the same bright-color scenes and characters as in the book. And sure, the video was produced by Dr. Seuss using much of the original text. But the changes, in my opinion, make it worse rather than better.

Many reviewers have described the video as an "expanded" version of the book, which it is to the extent that much extra material has been added - several songs, and extra scenes and dialogues that aren't found in the book. I will admit that the songs are, for the most part, quite good and very catchy (almost too catchy - I get that "Don't sit around talkin', just get to Weehawken" song stuck in my head all the time). But the extra material introduces significant changes to the narrative and not always for the best. There's a scene, for instance, in which the Once-ler debates with himself - one side of him realizing that his business practices are not healthy. There is nothing in the book to indicate that the Once-ler ever regretted any of his actions until the day that the last Truffula Tree fell and his business ended.

There's also a new scene with a receptionist (Miss Funce-ler) and a secretary (Miss O'Schmunce-ler) in which he dictates a letter to his cousin Yani Yunce-ler. This scene introduces a sexist element which doesn't exist in the book. Yes, I realize it's a product of Dr. Seuss's time, and I realize that it's used as a way to portray typical corporate culture (which also isn't in the book), but I just don't think it adds any value to the video. In fact, I think the whole corporate culture addition was over the top, and certainly goes over the heads of the children who are the main viewers of this video.

But not only has material been added to the video, but material from the book has also been taken out. For instance, we lose the whole scene about how the boy has to pay the Once-ler "fifteen cents and a nail and the shell of a great-great-grandfather snail" and how the Once-ler puts that money into the "Snuvv" of his "gruvvulous glove" and how he then speaks by Whisper-Ma-Phone. This omission affects the characterization of the Once-ler's voice. In the video he sounds just like you might expect some corporate tycoon to sound. But according to the book, his "whispers are not very clear, since they have to come down through a long snergelly hose, and he sounds as if he had smallish bees up his nose."

In general, I think that the changes and substitutions in the video dialogue lose much of the poetic fluidity and humor of the text in the book version.

And with all that said, I realize I'm analyzing this way too deeply for a children's video - my disappointment is just the wistfulness of a Seuss purist. My daughter likes the video just fine (in fact, she's had it on endless repeat in the car for the past several weeks), although she too misses the early scenes I mentioned. This video is a good compliment to the book, but I wouldn't substitute it for the book.