50 Fun Facts About The Lorax

In what year was The Lorax first published?

It arrived the year after the first Earth Day, at the peak of the early environmental movement.

Which publisher released The Lorax?

Random House published nearly all of Seuss's books, and Beginner Books was its imprint.

Which of his own books did Dr. Seuss name as his personal favorite?

He said the book came out of him being angry, and that he was out to attack what he thought were evil things.

What does the Once-ler chop down to make his product?

Their tufts are softer than silk and smell of butterfly milk, which is exactly why they get harvested.

What is the name of the 'highly versatile garment' the Once-ler knits from the tree tufts?

It is a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need: a shirt, a sock, a glove or a hat.

What word is carved on the pile of rocks the Lorax leaves behind?

The Once-ler spends years puzzling over it before he understands it is a message about who has to care.

What does the Once-ler give the boy at the end of the book?

He tells the boy to plant it, water it and protect it so the Lorax and his friends may come back.

What is the Once-ler's occupation, in the book's own terms?

He starts with one small shop and one Thneed, then 'biggers' his factory until the last tree falls.

Which real body of water was named in a line Seuss later removed from the book?

Two research associates wrote to Seuss to say the lake had recovered, and he agreed to cut the line.

Which organization's researchers wrote to Seuss asking him to remove the polluted-lake line?

They pointed out that pollution cleanup had made the lake far cleaner than in 1971.

What was the title of the logging industry's rebuttal book, written from a lumberjack's point of view?

Published by a hardwood flooring association, it puts a friendly logger opposite an activist called Guardbark.

A 2018 study suggested the Lorax's appearance was inspired by which African animal?

Seuss wrote the book while staying in Kenya, where the monkey feeds on whistling thorn acacias that resemble Truffula Trees.

What kind of tree near Seuss's La Jolla home is said to have inspired the story's tufted trees?

The lone, wind-shaped tree finally toppled in June 2019.

In 1988, residents of a logging town in which state complained the book was unfair to their industry?

The school district kept it on its second-grade reading list anyway.

Complete the Lorax's famous line: 'I speak for the trees, for the trees have no ...'

He is the self-appointed lawyer for everything in the valley that cannot argue back.

How does the Once-ler expand his knitting business?

His whole family arrives to knit Thneeds and build the Super-Axe-Hacker.

Why do the Brown Bar-ba-loots have to leave the valley?

With no Truffula Fruits left, the Lorax sends them off in search of food.

How does the Lorax describe himself?

He adds that he speaks with a voice that is sharpish and bossy.

What does the boy pay the Once-ler to hear the story?

The shell has to be from a great-great-great-grandfather snail.

Which studio produced the 1972 animated TV special of The Lorax?

The same studio made the Pink Panther cartoons and several other Seuss specials.

Who directed the 1972 TV special?

Pratt was Freleng's longtime layout artist before moving into the director's chair.

On which network did The Lorax TV special first air, on February 14, 1972?

It aired on Valentine's Day, roughly a year after the book came out.

Which actor voiced both the Lorax and the Once-ler in the 1972 special?

Holt was a prolific voice actor who also played the Grinch in Halloween Is Grinch Night.

Who narrated the 1972 TV special?

The Green Acres star was also a lifelong environmental activist.

How long is the 1972 TV special?

It fit a standard half-hour slot with commercials.

Who directed the 2012 animated feature film?

Renaud had co-directed Despicable Me; Kyle Balda served as co-director.

Which animation studio made the 2012 film?

It was the studio's second film after Despicable Me and its first not built around Gru.

What was the 2012 film's production budget?

That is a fraction of what Pixar was spending per film at the time.

Roughly how much did the 2012 film gross worldwide?

About $214 million of that came from North America alone.

Which actor re-recorded the Lorax's voice himself for the Spanish, Italian, German and Russian dubs?

He voiced the character in five languages in total, an unusual feat for a Hollywood lead.

Zac Efron voices which character in the 2012 film?

Ted's full name is Theodore, a nod to Theodor Geisel himself.

Which pop star voices Audrey, the girl Ted wants to impress?

Audrey's dream of seeing a real tree is what sends Ted out of Thneedville.

Who voices the Once-ler in the 2012 film?

Unlike the book, the film shows the character's face and gives him a musical villain turn.

Rob Riggle voices which character?

O'Hare, the film's added villain, is short enough to hide behind his own bodyguards.

Which television legend voices Grammy Norma?

She was 90 when the film came out and remains the only character who has actually seen a real tree.

What is the name of the walled city where Ted lives?

Every plant in town is plastic, and the trees light up and play music.

What does the film's villain sell to the townspeople?

His O'Hare Air business only works as long as nobody plants anything real.

What approval rating does the 2012 film hold on Rotten Tomatoes?

Critics liked the look and the message but found the added plot padded.

Which car brand drew criticism for using the film's setting and characters to advertise an SUV?

The CX-5 tie-in was one of more than 70 product deals attached to a movie about the evils of consumerism.

Roughly how many product-integration deals were tied to the 2012 film?

Critics called it a marketing blitz at odds with the book's message.

How much did the film earn in its opening weekend in North America?

It was the biggest opening of 2012 up to that point.

Who composed the score for the 2012 film?

Powell also scored How to Train Your Dragon and the Bourne films.

How long is the 2012 film's running time?

It stretches a book you can read in ten minutes into a feature by adding Ted, Audrey and O'Hare.

Which actress voices the boy hero's mother, Mrs. Wiggins?

Slate later voiced Marcel the Shell and Missy in Big Mouth.

Which prize did the 1972 special win at the International Animated Cartoon Festival in Zagreb?

It also took a Silver Medal at the International Film and Television Festival in New York the same year.

For how much does the Once-ler sell his very first Thneed?

The sale convinces him to ignore the Lorax and call in his relatives to grow the business into an industrial complex.

Which tree genus has become colloquially known as 'Dr Seuss trees' for resembling Truffulas?

A Monterey cypress in La Jolla, thought to have inspired the Truffula, fell in June 2019.

Who narrates the US audiobook of The Lorax released by Listening Library?

Rik Mayall reads the UK edition, which still includes the Lake Erie line that Seuss removed from the American book.

Which former Noah and the Whale frontman wrote the music for the Old Vic's 2015 Lorax musical?

The show later ran at San Diego's Old Globe in 2018, where the child entrusted with the last seed became a girl.

Which Broadway show originally included a Lorax segment that was cut before opening?

The 2012 film's release date of March 2 was chosen to coincide with what would have been Seuss's 108th birthday.