“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” — Dr. Seuss

It’s funny the poignancy of things written “for children.” How many of us cried our way through “Up” or bits of “Wall-E” when we realized what they were really about? We all still have a lot to learn from “kid’s movies”.

The mentor in this case is a well crafted one sure to be entertaining for all ages. Illumination Entertainment (the studio behind “Despicable Me”) does an incredible job bringing the fantastical world of Dr. Seuss’ book to life with beautiful animation set to rival anything put out by Pixar or Dreamworks, and in general the whole movie was Seussified eye candy; but what good is candy if it’s not tasty and filling?

Fortunately, this movie is packed full of tasty bits including two whole stories. Fans of the book, be not afraid: the story’s all there, though with some changes made. The book as we know it becomes a story within the story of a young boy named Ted (as voiced, charmingly well, by Zac Efron). When Ted’s crush tells him that she’s sure she would marry whoever could bring her a real tree, he sets off to find her one and soon finds himself needing to hear The Once-ler’s tale.

In a tasteful deviation from the book, we actually see the young, now humanized, The Once-ler (Ed Helms from “The Office”) as he sets up shop in the Lorax’s home. Danny DeVito, who I initially thought to be a weird choice, voices the Lorax with an incredible amount of heart; he’s not the crass character I was used to with DeVito. But the real champions of the forest are the woodland creatures. Fans of the minions from “Despicable Me” will rejoice to find similar characters living here. Whereas I found the minions cute but useless in that film, Seuss’s creatures function as a sort of Greek chorus that creates a surprisingly strong relationship between the audience and the forest The Once-ler is destroying. One of the best parts of the entire movie is when the Lorax and the forest creatures mourn the first fallen tree in a truly touching scene

The film story outside the book is well informed by the original story, although not quite as strong. Dr. Seuss’s original faceless widespread blame is weakened by a very clear villain in Ted’s world, making the lesson of accountability a little less clear if that story was examined alone, but paired with the original tale it stands strong.

There are some quality voice contributions by the always fun Betty White as Ted’s Grammy and Rob Riggle (of “The Daily Show”) as the big business villain.

Overall, “The Lorax” is a gorgeous, colorful movie (that I’d recommend in 2D to take advantage of those colors) that markets to kids but will appeal to everybody. Dr. Seuss’s medicine is wrapped in a package that goes down easily but is still incredibly honest and touching. This movie stays true, more than to the book itself, but to the impact this story can have on all of us and the beautifully presented, beautiful lesson it has to offer. I think the good Doctor would approve.