Dr. Seuss Book 'The Lorax' to Become a 3D Animated Movie

Just in case that "Horton Hears a Who!" movie wasn't enough, Universal has teamed up with Illumination Entertainment to adapt another Dr. Seuss book, this time "The Lorax," into a 3D CGI animated feature. First published back in 1971, "The Lorax" is narrated by a greedy entrepreneur who, despite warnings from the tree-loving Lorax, strips a forest of its stock of Truffula trees to manufacture clothing. The results are catastrophic as all the animals leave and nothing's left.

How can the short novel be drawn out into a full length film? That's mostly going to be the job of Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, the duo that also wrote 2008's "Horton Hears a Who!" and the upcoming "Despicable Me." Paul & Daurio will also co-direct "The Lorax" with Chris Renaud, who co-directed "Despicable Me" with Pierre Coffin. The Lorax will be the first in a four-picture writing/directing deal Paul & Daurio have signed with Illumination.

"Ted Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) was prescient in an uncanny way when he wrote the book and explored themes of greed and how that can lead to the destruction of environment," Illumination's Chris Meledandri told Variety.

It seems Seuss' tales keep getting made into films and will all most likely continue to be animated after some problems with the live-action adaptations. Jim Carrey as the The Grinch in Ron Howard's "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" suffered from some Carrey showboating, and" Horton Hears A Who!" was a little removed from it's Seussian roots and supplemented with family-friendly fare from comedians like Steve Carrell. And we will not mention Mike Myers' "Cat In The Hat" except to say that "Grinch" and "Horton" were passable and didn't make me retroactively dislike Seuss' characters.

"The Lorax" movie is scheduled for release on March 2, 2012, which is the 108th birthday of Dr. Seuss, who died in 1991.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Latino Review, First Showing