Is The Lorax pushing green doctrine or SUVs and pancakes?

The big screen adaptation of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax opens Friday amid controversy over the film's environmentalist message, and its corporate tie-ins to a chain of pancake restaurants and a new SUV model.

The Lorax is the second of Dr. Seuss' books to be make into an animated feature, after Horton Hears a Who! in 2008. (After Mike Myers starred in the disastrous The Cat in the Hat, Seuss' widow Audrey Geisel put an end to live-action adaptations.)



The movie, its message and its advertising have elicited strong reaction from both sides of the environmental issue.

Fox Business Network commentator Lou Dobbs lamented the film's environmentalist message saying it was "trying to indoctrinate our children." The network previously criticized The Muppets for casting an oil executive as the villain.



Dan Gainor, head of the U.S. Media Research Center, told the L.A. Times that what the movie is "teaching our kids is that the biggest threat to Mother Earth is mankind, and it's a ludicrous premise."

On the other hand, the movie also has corporate sponsorship tie-ins with Mazda, for its new CX-5 SUV, and IHOP, the American chain of breakfast restaurants.





Environmentalists are questioning the use of the Lorax, the creature who "speaks for the trees," to sell a car. On Twitter, they're using the hashtag #SaveLorax to protest the ad tie-in, and petitions against the campaign have appeared.

The comments on the YouTube versions of the ads haven't been kind either. "This commercial stands for everything Dr. Seuss and The Lorax is AGAINST. This is horrible. The Lorax is one of my favourite childhood books ever, and you've made a complete mockery of everything it stands for," one commenter wrote.

Producers of The Lorax have also partnered with the United States Forest Service and the Environmental Protection Agency to produce public service announcements.



What's your reaction to Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, its environmental message and its corporate tie-ins? Is it pushing a political point of view on children? Is it appropriate to use the Lorax in car and restaurant ads? Let us know what you think.



(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)