The Lorax 2



Dr. Seuss' The Lorax 2 is a American 3D computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is the sequel and a reboot design to the 2012 film Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, which was loosely based on Dr. Seuss' book of the same name, and set to release in theaters and on Peacock November 23rd, 2024.

Plot
After all of the trees have finally grow with real living trees and the forest, The Lorax discovers something new, a new forest awakens with new friends and old friends. Ted and Audrey became a couple as they grew closer, they befriend the Lorax and became friends. Lorax, Ted, and Audrey must find a way to save the forest and the trees, and the animals from the evil villain, Mr. Big.

Cast

 * Danny DeVito as The Lorax, a mystical orange furry creature with a yellow moustache, who both protects the truffula forest and acts as a voice of reason.
 * Ed Helms as the Once-ler, a reclusive old man and former inventor
 * Keegan-Michael Key as Harry, a brown bear who is Berry's brother
 * Jordan Peele as Berry, a brown bear who is Harry's brother
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Bears, Fishes, Birds, the animals of the forest
 * Idris Elba as Mr. Big, a african-american viilian who is attempt to destroy the forest and the trees, and The Lorax.
 * Justin Timberlake as Eddie, a teenager boy who is Ted's friend and befriend The Lorax
 * Alexandra Daddario as Sam, a teenager girl who is Eddie's girlfriend and befriend Ted.
 * Zac Efron as Ted Wiggins, an idealistic 15-year-old boy, and Audrey's boyfriend who loved her and befriend The Lorax.
 * Taylor Swift as Audrey, who is Ted's girlfriend and loved him.
 * Shawn Menders as Connor Castaway, the most famous singer in the forest and Ted and Lorax's idol.
 * Kim Kardashian West as a female bear who lived in the forest.
 * Post Malone as Moe, a rottweiler dog that lived in animal farm, who is the singer and the Idol.
 * Jenny Slate as Mrs. Wiggins, Ted's neurotic mother and Grammy Norma's daughter.
 * The Weekend as Jeff, a singing bird that lived in New York, who is also the singer in New York.
 * Metro Boomin as Darwin, a singing bird who is also the most famous singer in New York and Moe and Jeff's Idol.
 * TBA as Grammy Norma, Ted's wise-cracking grandmother and Mrs. Wiggins's mother.

Production
In 2012, The original film was released in March 2nd, 2012 after Hop. The film is the fifth feature film based on a book by Dr. Seuss, the second fully computer-animated adaptation (the first one being Horton Hears a Who! and The Grinch), and the first to be released in 3D. The Lorax was also Illumination's first film presented in IMAX 3D (known as "IMAX Tree-D" in publicity for the film). The next idea for the film was initiated by Audrey Geisel, Dr. Seuss's wife, who had an established partnership with Chris Meledandri, the producer of the film, from a collaboration on ''Horton Hears a Who! and The Grinch''. Geisel approached Meledandri when he launched Illumination Entertainment, saying "This is the one I want to do next". The next film of the sequel was officially announced in July 2019, with Meledandri attached as the producer and Geisel as the executive producer. Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda were announced as the director and co-director of the film, while Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the duo who wrote the script for ''Horton Hears a Who! and The Grinch'', were set to write the screenplay. In 2022, Danny DeVito was cast as the voice of the Lorax character.

The film was fully produced at the French studio Illumination Mac Guff, which was the animation department of Mac Guff, acquired by Illumination Entertainment in the summer of 2023. DeVito reprised his role in five different languages, including the original English audio, and also for the Russian, German, Italian, Catalan/Valencian, Castillan Spanish and Latin Spanish dub editions, learning his lines phonetically. Universal added an environmental message to the film's website after a fourth-grade class in Brookline, Massachusetts, launched a successful petition through Change.org.

Development
In February 2021, Illumination was developing another 3D animated feature film based on the Dr. Seuss book, with the working title The Lorax, later shortened to The Lorax 2. Peter Candeland and Yarrow Cheney were set to direct, though in 2022 producer Scott Mosier took over from Candeland. Candeland still stayed on the project for additional story direction, and this the first film to use the 2.39:1 cinemascope aspect ratio version after Despicable Me 3, The Grinch, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Lightdog, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Marshmallow, Migration, and Despicable Me 4.

Casting
Danny DeVito was cast as the titular character in April 2022 Illumination originally wanted DeVito back to voice the Lorax in his natural accent, but DeVito felt that since the rest of the cast is American, The Lorax himself have an American accent. By September 2023, Zac Efron and Taylor Swift had been set to voice of Ted and Audrey the couple and heroes of Thneedville. Shawn Menders, Justin Timberlake, Alexandra Daddario, Idris Elba, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Post Malone, The Weekend, Metro Boomin, and Kim Kardashian West also joined the cast, while Pharrell Williams who had previously worked on Illumination's Despicable Me films, Danny DeVito was revealed to be narrating the film.

Animation
The animation was created by Illumination Mac Guff in Paris, France. Several software programs were used in creating the film's CGI characters including Maya, ZBrush, and Nuke as well as in-house software. A 3D CGI model of the town of Thneedville through which a virtual camera could travel was crafted using Maya, ZBrush, Foundry's Mari, and Allegorithmic's Substance Painter, the animation of the Lorax sequel will be a official as a reboot film but the lorax will be used like Minions and More 1 and 2 since Weenie.

Release
The film was released on November 23rd, 2024, in the United States and Canada. It was later released on July 27 in the United Kingdom. It was also the second film to feature the current Universal Pictures logo, with a rearranged version of the fanfare, originally composed by Jerry Goldsmith and composed and arranged by Brian Tyler, as part of the studio's 114th anniversary. The film was originally scheduled to be released on March 16th, 2023, but on June 7, 2021, it was pushed back to November 23rd, 2024, In 3D, REAL D 3D, and IMAX Tree-D

Music
Main articles: The Lorax 2 (soundtrack) and Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss' The Lorax 2

Danny Elfman composed the film's score. Tyler, the Creator, Post Malone, and The Weekend wrote a new song for the film titled "I Speak For My Friends". Tyler, Post, and Danny Elfman, who composed the film's score, collaborated on a new version of the song "Let It Grow" for the film, after the first film of The Lorax, which was featured in the final trailer, and early on in the film itself. The score and soundtrack albums were released (both digitally and on CD) and the film.

Marketing Controversy
Despite the original Lorax being made as a critique of capitalism and pollution, Mazda and Kia used the likeness of The Lorax 's setting and characters in an advertisement for their CX-5 SUV. This was seen by some as the complete opposite of the work's original meaning. In response, Stephanie Sperber, president of Universal partnerships and licensing, said Universal chose to partner with the Mazda CX-5 because it is "a really good choice for consumers to make who may not have the luxury or the money to buy electric or buy hybrid. It's a way to take the better environmental choice to everyone." after in 2012.

The Teaser Trailer for the film was released on June 20th, 2023, alongside Illumination's previous film Marshmallow, and was attached to screenings of the aforementioned film in the United States. In December 2023, a second teaser trailer of the sequel of the Lorax was releaseed in 12/18/2023, alongside Illumination's previous film Migration, and was attached to screenings of the aforementioned film in the United States.

Beginning in September, various billboards appeared for the film, each featuring an image of the Lorax, accompanied by a nice or ironic message. Universal and Illumination partnered with several companies to promote the film, including McDonald's, Wonderful Pistachios, Ebates, IHOP, Oreo, Ruffles, Mattel, AMC Theaters, and 23andme for about $80 million worth of advertising The film has also been used to sell Seventh Generation disposable diapers. In total, Illumination Entertainment struck more than 70 different product integration deals for the film, including IHOP, Whole Foods and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

To promote the film's release, McDonald's launched its promotional campaign by including one of thirteen toys free with the purchase of a Happy Meal.

Rating
When Illumination originally submitted the film to the Motion Picture Association of America, the film itself gave it an Rated PG due to Migration and The Super Mario Bros Movie MPAA rating. the film received its rated PG for: some mild language, brief rude humor, and frontier violence, some mild action/peril, romantic content, brief nudity/mischief, wilderness violence, and some thematic elements.

Rated PG: some mild language, brief rude humor, and frontier violence, some mild action/peril, romantic content, brief nudity/mischief, wilderness violence, fighting scenes, and some thematic elements.

Video Game:
Illumination created a video game based on the film titled The Lorax: Forest Adventures. The Game was released in March 2025 for Playstation 4 and 5, XBOX, and Nintendo Switch.

Trivia

 * Mr. Big is also the name of the rodent from Zootopia.