NBC Uses 'The Lorax' to Push Environmentalism, Mocks Idea of Movie Having Agenda
While interviewing actor Ed Helms about his role in 'Dr. Seuss' The
Lorax' On Monday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer seemed puzzled that
anyone would question the environmentalist message of the book or movie
:
"...believe it or not, Dr. Seuss has sparked controversy with this movie because Lou Dobbs weighed in on this..."
Lauer quoted criticism from Dobbs: "The Lorax is an example of the
President's liberal friends in Hollywood targeting a younger demographic
using animated movies to sell their agenda to children." Helms
sarcastically joked: "I am so excited that Barack Obama, who is
my best friend, got us going on this. Because we're going to
indoctrinate a lot of people. If this goes well, I hope." He then exclaimed: "Lou, come on! What are you talking about?"
Helms
declared: "It's about a good guy who gets greedy. These are
unimpeachable values, you know, like be responsible to your world."
At the beginning of the segment, Lauer outlined the plot of the
children's story: "The Lorax is the guardian of the forest, so
naturally, all heck breaks loose when a young entrepreneur, voiced by Ed
Helms, starts cutting down trees to make a product he calls a thneed."
Helms described his character in a similar fashion: "So, the Wuncler is
kind of the – he's kind of the villain but he's not a bad guy. He just –
he's an entrepreneur who gets carried away and goes down the black hole
of greed and avarice."
A story about a greedy businessman who chops down trees, what could possibly be liberal about that?
On Wednesday, Lauer talked to the voice of the Lorax himself, actor
Danny Devito, who proclaimed: "Dr. Seuss wrote to everybody. He was
prophetic. He talked about what was going on and how we have to take
care of everything in the – you know, on our planet, to make it – to
make it sustainable for all of us to live happy, long lives together as a
species." The headline on screen touted Devito as a "Tree Hugger."
Here is a transcript of Lauer's February 27 exchange with Helms:
8:44AM ET
MATT LAUER: We're back now at 8:43 with one of the stars of the new
animated 3d movie, "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax." The Lorax is the guardian of
the forest so naturally, all heck breaks loose when a young
entrepreneur, voiced by Ed Helms, starts cutting down trees to make a
product he calls a thneed....For people who aren't familiar – it would
be surprising if people don't know "The Lorax" because it's such a great
book – but if they don't know the story, the Wuncler is?
ED HELMS: So, the Wuncler is kind of the – he's kind of the villain but
he's not a bad guy. He just – he's an entrepreneur who gets carried
away and goes down the black hole of greed and avarice.
LAUER: He sounds like a bad guy but you say he's not.
HELMS: But he's redemptive, he's like a-
LAUER: I know, he's naive, more than a villain.
HELMS: He's also just, like all of us, he's vulnerable to these things, but it doesn't make him an evil guy.
LAUER: Alright, so you know now, this movie, believe it or not, Dr.
Seuss has sparked controversy with this movie because Lou Dobbs weighed
in on this, the television host, and said that, "This is about a
woodland creature who speaks for the trees and fights rampant
industrialism," and then went on to say, "The Lorax is an example of the
President's liberal friends in Hollywood targeting a younger
demographic using animated movies to sell their agenda to children." Go!
HELMS: I am so excited that Barack Obama, who is my best friend, got us
going on this. Because we're going to indoctrinate a lot of people. If
this goes well, I hope. It's about – Lou, come on! What are you talking
about? This is – I – he couldn't have seen the movie yet either. Right?
LAUER: Or maybe read the book, I'm not sure.
HELMS: Or maybe read the book. It's – it's about a good guy who gets
greedy. These are unimpeachable values, you know, like be responsible to
your world.
LAUER: Here's what Dr. Seuss said about it. By the way, the guy sold
about a billion books worldwide. He said, "The Lorax doesn't say
lumbering is immoral. I live in a house made of wood and write books
printed on paper. It's a book about going easy on what we've got, it's
anti-pollution, anti-greed."
HELMS: Boom! There you go. Theodor Geisel, the original-
LAUER: I think he said that after that, "Boom! There you go."
HELMS: Dr. Seuss said, "Boom!"
(...)
-- Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter.
