Some of you may remember how grumpy I was about the new Lorax movie coming out next spring. The book is so haunting and beautiful. The movie, judging by previews (which seems perfectly fair to me) has all the subtlety of a branch falling on your head. Which is to say, deadening.
Dr. Seuss’ story didn’t need the addition of an adolescent love story; nor did it deserve to have the awful reality of a polluted, desecrated landscape cheerfully colored and covered up. After all, where’s the power of the moral if everything looks lollipop pretty?
“Unless…Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Well, typical: I groused. But the children actually did something. A 4th grade class from Brookline, Massachusetts, went to the movie’s website to learn about how Hollywood was handling one of their beloved books. They didn’t like what they saw.
So they decided to do something about it. They ran a petition at Change.org. and within days, got 57,000 people to sign up and demand that Universal Pictures add some messaging about pollution and global warming to their website. Their suggestions were fabulously clever.
And they won! These 4th-graders made a huge difference. So moms, once again, time to learn from our children.
Your voices matter. Let’s keep up the good fight; let Congress know that we want an end to toxic air pollution. Hey! Homework can be fun!