The Lorax (original)

Dr Seuss' Original Lorax animated TV special from 1972. Follows the actual story line of the book.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[MUSIC CHANGES]

At the far end of town where
the Grickle-grass grows

and the winds
smells slow-and-sour

when it blows and no birds
ever sing excepting old crows

is the Street of
the Lifted Lorax.

Grickle-grass, Grickle-grass--
Street of the Lifted Lorax.

Grickle-grass, Grickle-grass--
somebody lifted the Lorax away.

What was the Lorax?

And why was it there?

And why was it lifted
and taken somewhere

from the far end of town
where the Grickle-grass grows?

The old Once-ler
still lives here.

Ask him.

He knows.

You won't see the Once-ler.

Don't knock at his door.

He lurks in his Lerkim
on top of his store.

And on gripply
midnights in August,

he peeks out of the
shutters and sometimes he

speaks and tells how the
Lorax was lifted away.

It all started way back
such a long, long time

back-- way back in the days
when the grass was still green

and the pond was still wet and
the clouds were still clean,

and the song of the
Swomee-Swans rang out in space.

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

One morning, I came to
this glorious place.

Then I saw the trees!

The Truffula Trees!

The bright-colored tufts
of the Truffula Trees!

Mile after mile in the
fresh morning breeze.

And under the trees, I
saw Brown Bar-ba-loots

frisking about in their
Bar-ba-loot suits.

(SINGING) Under the trees,
happy-dappy Bar-ba-loots

under the trees.

(SINGING) In our
Bar-ba-loot suits.

(SINGING) Under the trees,
eating Truffula Fruits.

(SINGING) Oh, these succulent,
melifous, deliciously,

delifous, sweetly
succulentous Truffula Fruits.

(SINGING) Summertime's
a-comin' comin'.

(SINGING) Under the trees.

(SINGING) Common fish
are hummin', hummin'.

(SINGING) Under the trees.

(SINGING) Mmm mmm
under the trees.

(SINGING) Oh, these glorious,
glimbimbulous, grandorious,

splendidulous, mandy-flandy
flimbulous Truffula Trees.

Those trees!

Those trees!

Those Truffula Trees!

All my life I'd been searching
for trees such as these.

The touch of their tufts
was much softer than silk.

And they had the sweet smell
of fresh butterfly milk.

I felt a great leaping
of love in my heart.

I knew just what I'd do!

I unloaded my cart.

[CRASHES AND CLANKS]

[SAWING AND HAMMERING]

In no time at all, I
had built a small shop.

Then I chopped down a
Truffula Tree with one chop.

What you doing in my
tree stump, buddy?

Your tree stump?

Your tree stump?

Mister, I am the Lorax.

I speak for the--

Forget it.

I don't really need the stump.

You can have it, little fellow.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Ah hah!

Just enough to finish the cuffs.

A thing of beauty
is a joy forever.

Now who'd you say you
were, little fellow?

Mister, I am the Lorax.

I speak for the trees.

I speak for the trees, for
the trees have no tongues.

And I'm asking you,
sir, at the top

of my lungs-- that that thing,
that horrible thing that I

see, what's that thing you've
made out of my Truffula Tree?

Look, Lorax.

Calm down.

There's no cause for alarm.

I chopped down just one tree.

I'm doing no harm.

This thing is most useful.

This thing is a
Thneed-- a Thneed,

a Fine Something
That All People Need!

It's a shirt.

It's a sock.

It's a glove.

It's a hat.

But it has other uses.

Yes, far beyond that.

You can use it for carpets.

For pillows!

For sheets!

Or curtains!

Or covers for bicycle seats!

Sir!

You're crazy!

You're crazy with greed.

Why, there's no one on earth
who would buy that fool Thneed!

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The birth of an industry,
you poor, stupid guy.

You telling me what
the public will buy?

[CA-CHING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Please!

I object in the
name of the trees!

All complaints will be filed
in this box, if you please.

Now I'd reached a stage where
the potential was known.

This business was too big
for one Once-ler alone.

So promptly I built
me a radio-phone.

I called my brothers
and uncles and aunts.

And I said, listen here!

Here's a wonderful chance
for the whole Once-ler Family

to get mighty rich!

Get over here fast!

Take the road to North Nitch.

Turn left at Weehawken.

Sharp right at South Stitch.

(SINGING) Don't
stand around talkin'.

Turn left at Weehawken.

To the Once-ler's house we go.

Don't waste your time talkin'.

Turn left at Weehawken.

To the house of the
glorious Once-ler we go.

(SINGING) Opportunity's knockin'
there'll be no more squawkin'.

(SINGING) We're gonna get rich.

(SINGING) Filthy rich.

(SINGING) No more
holes in our stockin'.

Turn left at Weehawken.

To the house of the
glorious Once-ler we go.

Gentlemen!

I wish to speak for the trees!

Here are some facts to
cogitate and luminate!

It takes 10 months for a
Truffula seed to germinate!

It takes 10 long years before
the seed grows into a sapling!

It takes 10 more
years-- [COUGHS]

And in no time at all,
in the factory I built,

the whole Once-ler Family
was working full tilt.

We were all knitting
Thneeds just as

busy as bees, to the sound of
the chopping of Truffula Trees.

Then-- Oh!

Baby!

Oh!

How my business did grow!

Now, chopping trees one
at a time was too slow.

So I promptly invented
my Super-Axe-Hacker

which whacked off four
Truffula Trees in one smacker.

We were making Thneeds four
times as fast as before!

And my profits, incidentally,
were soaring galore.

[HORNS HONKING]

Hmm.

Inadequate roadways.

I want a four-lane
highway over there!

The Instant Roadway Company
at your service, sir.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I speak for the trees.

Let them grow.

Let them grow.

But nobody listens too
much, don't you know?

I speak for the trees.

And I'll yell, and I'll shout
for the fine things on earth

that are on their way out.

They say I'm old-fashioned
and live in the past.

But sometimes I think
progress progresses too fast.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

They say I'm a fool to
oppose things like these,

but I'm going to continue
to speak for the trees.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I'm going to continue
to speak for the trees.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) It's always
fair weather when

good Once-lers get together.

I'm going to continue
to speak for the trees!

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) Up the
old assembly line

comes another Thneed, answering
humanity's each and every need.

Everybody
do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do need

a Thneed.

(SPEAKING) It isn't
just a penny vest.

(SPEAKING) Use it for a
hammock when you need rest.

(SPEAKING) It's a toothbrush
holder for your weekend guest.

(SPEAKING) Your
canary will love it.

It's a lovely nest.

(SPEAKING) Try it in soup.

It adds great zest.

(SPEAKING) It'll cure those
backache pains in your chest.

(SINGING) Everybody
do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do need

a Thneed.

You'll be amazed.

You'll be non-plastic.

Tastes like bread
without the crust.

(SPEAKING) Grooms your
hair when it gets mussed.

(SPEAKING) Rids your
home of dismal dust.

(SPEAKING) It's a natural.

It's a must.

(SPEAKING) Eliminates
carburetor rust.

(SINGING) Everybody do do do
do do do do do need a Thneed.

It's super-duper hooper,
hyper-facial-- perfect

windshield wiper.

Foolproof, captive--
catch a viper.

We don't protect from
any griper. [INAUDIBLE].

(SPEAKING) Baby says--

(SPEAKING) Boy, what a diaper.

(SINGING) Everybody do do
do do do do do do Everybody

do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do--
Everybody

do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do
need a Thneed.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) Today we're here
to celebrate, perpetuate,

and demonstrate our love for
the good old Once-ler, founding

father of the Thneed.

Three cheers for the
good old Once-ler,

Georgie Washington
of the Thneed.

Very heartwarming.

Very heartwarming.

(SINGING) Oh, place your
hand upon your heart

and recollect his humble start.

He came here in a horse-drawn
cart, upon his sacred mission.

Today the Once-ler's
fame has grown.

Today the name of
Thneed is known.

It's carved in everlasting
stone-- everlasting stone--

and seen on television.

(SINGING) For he's a
jolly good Once-ler.

Aren't we all?

For he's a jolly good Once-ler.

Aren't we all?

999,995-- 96, 97,
98, 99, 1 million!

Hooray!

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]

Stop it!

Stop it!

There's something
I've got to tell you!

Huh?

Oh, it's Nature Boy,
the garden club member.

Now listen all of you.

I am the Lorax.

I speak for the trees.

Whoops!

That was the Lorax.

He spoke for the trees.

[CHUCKLES]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Miss Fensler.

Miss Fensler!

Yes, Mr. Once-ler?

Miss Fensler, send
in Miss Oshmunsler.

Miss Oshmunsler
for Mr. Once-ler.

Take a letter, Mr. Once-ler?

(SINGING) Take a letter, Miss
Oshmunsler to my cousin Yunni

Yunsler-- General Manager
of Thneeds Incorporated,

Stockholm, Sweden.

Dear Yunni, (SPEAKING)
I'm overjoyed to hear how

our business in the Scandinavian
market is, by leaps and bounds,

feedin'.

The entire international picture
is most exuberantly rosy and--

[BELL CLANGING]

Oh, Mr. Once-ler, he's back.

That Lorax nut is back again.

Yes, I am the Lorax who
speaks for the trees-- which

you seem to be chopping
as fast as you please.

But I'm also in charge
of the Brown Bar-ba-loots

who played in the shade
in their Bar-ba-loot suits

and happily lived,
eating Truffula Fruits.

Now-- thanks to your hacking
my trees to the ground,

there's not enough Truffula
Fruit to go 'round.

I see your point.

Yes, I do see your point.

They loved living here.

But I can't let them stay.

They'll have to find food.

And I hope that they may.

Good luck, boys!

Good luck!

(SINGING) Bar-ba-loot suits.

Bar-ba-loot suits.

Hiking off to somewhere
in our Bar-ba-loot suits.

Please think about
it, won't you?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) Every once in
awhile, I sit down with myself,

asking--

(SPEAKING) Once-ler,
why are you a Once-ler?

(SINGING) And I cringe.

I don't smile as I sit
there on trial asking--

(SPEAKING) Aren't you
ashamed, you old Once-ler?

You ought to be locked in
a hoosegow, you should.

The things that you do
are completely ungood.

(SPEAKING) Yeah?

But if I didn't do them then
someone else (SINGING) would.

(SPEAKING) That's a very good
point, (SINGING) Mr. Once-ler.

Progress is progress.

And progress must grow.

Things were going just fine,
all the way down the line.

Thneeds were selling like
hotcakes from Timbuktu

to Texas.

I was feeling quite relaxed
in my good old solar plexus

when he snuck out of a pipe.

He was back with another gripe.

[COUGHS] Once-ler, you're
making such smogulous smoke!

My poor Swomee-Swans-- why,
they can't sing a note!

No one can sing who
has smog in his throat.

And so-- [COUGHS]
please pardon my cough--

they cannot live here.

I am sending them off.

Where will they go?

Where will they go?

I don't hopefully know.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) Will there
be another dawn,

a sunrise for the Swomee-Swan?

Exit, exit Swomee-Swan.

(SINGING) Going,
going, going, gone.

Well, what do you want?

I should shut down my factory?

Fire 100,000 workers?

Is that good economics?

Is that sound for the country?

I see your point.

But I wouldn't know the answer.

Tell you what I'll do.

I'll think it over.

No!

You've run out of time
for thinking things over.

I'm sorry to yell,
but my dander is up.

Let me say a few words
about Gluppity-Glupp.

Your machinery chugs on,
day and night without stop

making Gluppity-Glupp.

And also I'm Schloppity-Schlopp.

(SINGING) [VARIOUS SOUNDS]

You're glumping the pond
where the Humming-Fish hummed!

No more can they hum, for
their gills are all gummed.

So I'm sending them off.

Oh, their future is dreary.

I hear things are just
as bad up in Lake Erie.

(SINGING) Just fish out of
water-- on hard, dry land.

People ain't fish so
they can't understand

what happens when simple
things get outta hand,

and the fish and his
family's on hard, dry land.

Well, Mr. Once-ler?

Huh.

First the poor Bar-ba-loots,
then the poor Swomee-Swans.

Now the poor Humming-Fish.

Oh, Mr. Lorax.

Mr. Lorax.

This cursed factory of mine--
now at last, I understand.

Mr. Once-ler!

Mr. Once-ler!

Huh?

Oh, yes, Miss Fensler.

Stock market's just closed,
and Thneeds Incorporated stock

is up.

Up 27 and 5/8 points.

Wow.

Wow!

Rowdy-dow!

Now you listen to me,
Pop while I blow my top.

Trees!

[SPITS]

You speak for the trees.

Well, I speak for men
and human opportunities.

For your information,
you Lorax, I'm

figgering on
biggering [CHUCKLES]

and biggering and
biggering and biggering,

turning more Truffula
Trees into Thneeds

which everyone,
everyone, everyone needs!

And at that very moment,
we heard a loud whack!

From outside in the fields came
the sickening smack of an axe

on a tree.

Then we saw the tree fall.

The very last Truffula
Tree of them all!

No more trees.

No more Thneeds.

No more work to be done.

And in no time, my uncles
and aunts, every one,

all waved me goodbye.

They jumped into their
cars and drove away

under smoke-smuggered stars.

(SINGING) For he's a
jolly good Once-ler.

Aren't we all?

For he's a jolly good Once-ler.

Aren't we all?

Now all that was left 'neath
the bad-smelling sky was

my big empty factory,
the Lorax, and I.

The Lorax said nothing.

Just gave me a glance--
just gave me a very sad,

sad backward glance
as he lifted himself

by the seat of his pants.

And I'll never forget
the grim look on his face

when he heisted himself and
took leave of this place

through a hole in the smog,
without leaving a trace.

And all that the Lorax
left here in this mess

was a small pile of
rocks, with one word.

UNLESS?

Yes.

UNLESS.

What's an UNLESS?

(SINGING) Just a far away word.

Just a far away thought.

A thought?

About what?

About something I ought?

Well, (SINGING) a thought about
something that somebody ought.

A thought about something
that somebody ought.

(SPEAKING) UNLESS someone like
you cares a whole awful lot,

nothing's going to get better.

It's not.

Hold on a minute.

Where is it now?

Don't go!

Don't go!

I've got something for you!

Ah, here it is.

It's a Truffula Seed.

It's the last one of all!

Catch!

Don't muff!

[MUSIC PLAYING]

You're in charge of the
last of the Truffula Seeds.

And Truffula Trees are
what everyone needs.

Plant a new Truffula.

Treat it with care.

Give it clean water.

And feed it fresh air.

Grow a forest.

Protect it from axes that hack.

Then the Lorax and all of
his friends may come back.

[SHUTTERS SQUEAK]

[MUSIC PLAYING]