Media and Music: Looking Back at the Soundtrack to “The Lorax,” Ten Years Wiser

In the decade after its initial release, “The Lorax” and its soundtrack have experienced widespread commercial success, spawning endless memes in the process. However, the soundtrack was initially panned by several critics, who cited a shallow lyricism and absurd production. Despite the original reaction, the soundtrack for “The Lorax” stands as a powerful and much enjoyable piece of children’s media.

In Media and Music, our writers take a deep dive into how movies use scores and songs to engage viewers, give new meaning and tone to some of our favorite scenes, and establish themes. It almost goes without saying, but there are spoilers abound.

Written by Trisha Dasgupta

Image courtesy of Universal Studios

In 2012, Chris Renaud breathed new  life into Dr. Suess’s “The Lorax,” creating a whimsical animated film with an equally playful soundtrack, produced by the likes of John Powell and Cinco Paul, who are known for their work on the Despicable Me soundtracks. For critics, “The Lorax” was a polarizing film, made controversial by its press run and hypocritical sponsorships — not the least of which being the decision to make Dr. Suess’ foot-tall orange environmentalist the face of Mazda in a series of ill-received car ads. Despite being commercially successful, the studio, film, and accompanying album all received mixed reviews, clouded by the contention around its release. Several reviewers panned the film’s soundtrack, criticizing its allegedly shallow lyricism and eccentric production.

However, these criticisms seem to ignore the context and intent of the Dr. Suess adaptation. Ten years after the original release, Chris Renaud’s “The Lorax” — specifically, Powell and Paul’s accompanying soundtrack — stands as a unique and striking piece of children’s media. 

The album opener — Ester Dean’s rendition of “Let it Grow” — is a beautiful and optimistic ballad, serving as the thesis for the movie and the soundtrack. Dean’s clear-toned voice sings out to the audience, painting a picture of an evergreen earth. “The Lorax” is political, but, more importantly, accessible. The soundtrack serves as a call to action for environmentalism; however, it also sends a larger message — standing up against corruption takes strength, and everyone has that strength. From the very start, the soundtrack amplifies this theme with lyrics such as, “It's your turn now, to show your worth now / Open up your heart and let it grow.”

The whimsical nature of the songs matches the silly style of the original children’s book, adding a fun and light-hearted feel to the adaptation. After the opening track comes “This Is The Place,” sung by The Onceler, played by Ed Helms. Helm’s extensive background in comedy and voice acting makes for a great character-driven song chock full of imagery and personality. “The Lorax” subverts expectations, opting for pop-rock tunes scattered sporadically throughout the movie, instead of classic Broadway ballads that are typical of children’s musicals. However, the sparing use of songs makes the tunes that do appear even more potent. This is most glaringly evident in how the evolution of the Onceler is told through music, with songs such as “This is the Place” turning into “How Bad Can I Be?” which show the staggering rate at which the Onceler falls from grace.

“How Bad Can I Be” stands as a clear highlight of the album, with great production and well-written lyrics that tell a succinct and clear-eyed story of corruption and greed. The song speaks of the Onceler’s growing Thneed empire, as the businessman starts justifying his hedonistic and harmful business practices, singing out “There's a principle in business / That everybody knows is sound / It says the people with the money / Make this everloving world go round.” 

Indeed, the way the Onceler’s story is told is one of the most brilliant parts of the film. There are two villains in the film; the Onceler and O’Hare, the CEO of O’Hare Air. In a world where air quality is now permanently destroyed by the Onceler’s deforestation practices, O’Hare Air emerges as a corporation that sells oxygen to consumers. The movie shows how the Onceler’s careless actions paved the way for O’Hare to cause even more harm and damage. The tale of the Onceler is a cautionary one and “How Bad Can I Be” highlights the rhetoric and messaging that corporations use to explain away their practices, with the main takeaway coming down to one simple lyric: “How bad can I be / I'm just building an economy.”

The soundtrack tells the story of the cyclical nature of corruption and how it all feeds into each other — and yet all it takes is one boy, or maybe one seed, to stop it. Sure, “Let It Grow” or “How Bad Can I Be?” are no Bob Dylan tunes, but they don’t have to be to make the point they’re trying to make. Bob Dylan is for sixteen-year-olds in AP Government for the first time; “The Lorax” is for ten-years-olds sorting the recycling for their city’s Green Team. It is incredibly important for younger audiences to have art that is political that they can understand — it is an entryway to learn about bigger themes, issues, and aspects of the world around them. It’s important to remember that “The Lorax” is a children’s movie — an important distinction that critics seemed to ignore in 2012. Now, of course, media for children should not be exempt from criticism or from the obligation to make solid, sound art; however, it seems as though the reception of the soundtrack became muddied by unrealistic and unfair expectations.

Society has often turned to musicians and artists to make sense of catastrophes — think of Queen’s Live Aid concert or the ever-iconic “We Are the World” performance. People look for comfort, guidance, and support in music, because good music transcends its immediate audience and affects culture as a whole. Turning back the clock ten years, “The Lorax’s” primary audience was Gen Z, a generation whose greatest and longest crisis is, and will inevitably be, the climate crisis. This soundtrack was written for the 5- to 11-year-olds who are now part of a generation whose activists have been younger and younger than any previous generations before them. With well-written songs that honor the source material while relaying crucial themes to younger audiences, the movie’s soundtrack stands as a testament to the power music can have in educating audiences of all ages.