fl ick picks Follow Go! Magazine @ twitter.com/GoWenatcheeDr. Suess The LoraxPG 1/2Zac EfronTaylor SwiftA boy sets off in search of a Trufula tree and discovers the story of the Lorax, a grumpy creature bent on protecting his world from over-consumption.Gateway: Daily 12:40, 2:40, 4:40, 6:40 (8:40 Fri.-Sat.)Gateway in 3D: Daily 1:10, 3:10, 5:10, 7:10 (9:10 Fri.-Sat.) Omak: Fri. 6:30, 9; Sat. 4, 6:30, 9; Sun. 4:30, 7; Mon.-Thurs. 7Junction: Fri. 3, 6, 9; Sat. 12, 3, 6, 9; Sun. 12, 3, 6; Mon.-Thurs. 4, 7

Project XR Thomas MannOliver CooperThree high school seniors throw an epic party to improve their social status, but the situation spirals out of control.Liberty: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 5:30, 7:35 (9:40 Fri.); Sat.-Sun. 1:20, 3:25, 5:30, 7:35 (9:40 Sat.)Mirage: Fri. 6:30, 9; Sat. 4, 6:30, 9; Sun. 4, 6:30; Mon.-Thurs. 7

The WayPG-13, rating not availableMartin SheenEmilio EstevezAn American doctor travels overseas to collect the remains of his estranged adult son, who died in a storm on the El Camino de Santiago from France to Spain.Mirage: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 6:30, Sat.-Sun. 1, 6:30

Tyler Perrys Good DeedsPG-13 1/2Gabrielle UnionThandie NewtonA successful businessman is jolted out of his routine by a single mother who works in his offi ce.Liberty: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 5:25, 7:35 (9:45 Fri.); Sat.-Sun. 1, 3:10, 5:25, 7:35 (9:45 Sat.)

GonePG-13 1/2Amanda SeyfriedDaniel SunjataWhen her sister disappears, a woman is convinced that a serial killer who kidnapped her two years ago has returned.Liberty: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 5:30, 7:30 (9:30 Fri.); Sat.-Sun. 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 (9:30 Sat.)

Act of ValorR 1/2Alex VeadovRoselyn SanchezInspired by true events, an elite team of Navy SEALs recovers a kidnapped CIA agent and discovers a terrorist plot against the U.S.Gateway: Daily 2:30, 4:45, 7:05 (9:25 Fri.-Sat.)Gateway VIP: Daily 6:45 (9 Fri.-Sat.)

Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of VengeancePG-13 1/2Nicholas CageViolante PlacidoWhen the devil tries to take human form in a young boy, its up to cursed motorcycle rider Johnny Blaze to stop him.Gateway: Daily 3, 7:15 (9:20 Fri.-Sat.)Gateway 3D: Daily 5 (9 Fri.-Sat.)

CarnageR 1/2Jodie FosterKate WinsletTwo sets of parents lose their cool after their two 11-year-old sons get in a fi ght.Liberty: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 7:20 (9:05 Fri.); Sat.-Sun. 3:30, 7:20 (9:05 Sat.)

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3DPG-13, rating not availableEwan McGregorLiam NeesonTwo Jedi knights discover a conspiracy within the evil Trade Federation and meet a promising boy named Anakin Skywalker.Liberty in 3D: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 6:35 (9:20 Fri.); Sat.-Sun. 1, 3:50, 6:35 (9:20 Sat.)

The Secret World of ArriettyG Bridgit MendlerAmy PoehlerA family of 4-inch people, the Clocks, are discovered when their daughter Arrietty is caught stealing from the humans they live with.Gateway: Daily 1, 3, 5, 7

WanderlustR Jennifer AnistonPaul RuddAn unemployed couple from Manhat-tan tries living in a rural commune.Gateway: Daily 1:15, 5:30, 7:35 (9:40 Fri.-Sat.)Gateway VIP: Fri.-Sat. 9:20

The VowPG-13 1/2Rachel McAdamsChanning TatumA husband tries to win his wifes heart after she suffers severe memory loss in a car accident.Gateway: Daily 12:45, 3, 5:15, 7:25 (9:35 Fri.-Sat.)Mirage: Fri. 9; Sat.-Sun. 3:45, 9; Mon.-Thurs. 9

Safe HouseR Denzel WashingtonRyan ReynoldsA rookie must look after a fugitive CIA renegade in a safe house, which is attacked.Liberty: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 4:30, 7 (9:25 Fri); Sat.-Sun. 2, 4:30, 7 (9:25 Sat.)

The ArtistPG-13 Jean DujardinBrnice BejoA silent movie star faces new fi lm tech-nology and sparks with a young dancer on the rise to fame.Gateway: Daily 3, 7Gateway VIP: Daily 4:35Mirage: Fri. 6:30, 9; Sat. 3:45, 6:30, 9; Sun. 4, 7; Mon.-Thurs. 7Ruby: Fri.-Mon. 7

ChroniclePG-13 Michael B. JordanDane DeHaanThree teens acquire supernatural pow-ers and begin to lose control.Liberty: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 5:15, 7:15 (9:15 Fri.); Sat.-Sun. 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15 (9:15 Sat.)

The Woman in BlackPG-13 Daniel RadcliffeJanet McTeerA widowed young lawyer discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman inside an old, creepy house.Liberty: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 7:45 (9:45 Fri.); Sat.-Sun. 3:20, 7:45 (9:45 Sat.)

The GreyR Liam NeesonDermot MulroneyA survival story about a group of oil rig workers whose plane crashes in the remote Alaskan wilderness.Liberty: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 5:20; Sat.-Sun. 12:55, 5:20

This Means WarPG-13 Reese WitherspoonChris Pine

Two spies wage war against each other over a woman.Gateway: Daily 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 (9:30 Fri.-Sat.)Gateway VIP: 7:15

Journey 2: The Mysterious IslandPG Dwayne JohnsonMichael CaineA sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth, a family embarks on an adventure to fi nd their grandfather on a mythical island.Gateway: Daily 1, 5 (9 Fri.-Sat.)Gateway in 3D: Daily 12:30, 2:45, 6:55

Iron LadyPG-13 1/2Meryl StreepJim BroadbentA portrait of Margaret Thatcher, the United Kingdoms only female prime minister.Liberty: Fri., Mon.-Thurs. 5:10; Sat.-Sun. 1:10, 5:10

The DescendantsR George ClooneyShailene WoodleyAn indifferent father of two re-examines his life.Gateway: Fri.-Sat. 3:15, 9 (12:20 Fri.), Sun.-Thurs. 12:20, 3:15Gateway VIP: Daily 4:45

Big MiraclePG John KrasinskiDrew BarrymoreDuring the Cold War, an unlikely coali-tion attempts to free a family of whales trapped under Alaskan ice.Gateway: Daily 12:30, 5:05

BY ROGER MOOREMcClatchy News Service

From the day it was published, Dr. Seuss environmental parable The Lorax has courted controversy. A screed about consum-erism, greed and its cost to the environment,

this anti-clear-cutting tale prompted protests in lumber-country school districts and just last week inspired an attention-starved Fox Business News anchor to attack its indoctrination.

Thats what you get when you write a character who says, I speak for the trees Lou Dobbs speaking up for the clear-cutters.

The gorgeous and glorious new fi lm of this fable from Universals Despicable Me team turns a somewhat gloomy, cautionary tale into a 3-D musical, with catchy tunes and gags borrowed from every fi lm from Toy Story to Babe.

But the message is as obvious and irritating to those who resent the Clean Air Act as ever.

Ted the teen (voiced by Zac Efron) lives in Thneedville, where everything is packaged, paved over and plasticized. He doesnt know things werent always this way, or notice how bad things are until he tries to impress his cute redheaded neighbor, Audrey (Taylor Swift), and she shows him her mural.

What are those?TREES.Audrey longs to see a real tree. And Ted,

asking his mom, realizes how hard thats going to be. We already have a tree the latest model!

But Granny (Betty White, of course) sends Ted off into the wastelands outside of the city, in pursuit of the Once-ler (Ed Helms).

And the Once-ler tells Ted the tale of how he deforested the Seuss-scape long ago, all in the name of profi t. The Once-ler, in fl ashbacks, remembers the warnings of the Lorax (Danny DeVito), and how hed ignored them.

Everyone here needs the trees, the Lorax declares, surrounded by forest creatures. And youre choppin em down.

The fi lm is a feast of bright, Seuss colors and wonderful Seuss design all curvy, undulating lines and shapes. The 3-D kicks in as Ted dodges axe heads and the Once-ler is sent hurtling down river rapids.

A goldfi sh trio sings and chirps a funny accompaniment, just like the mice in Babe.

And the songs are a stitch Helms warbling Everybody needs a thneed, adver-tising his new scarf-like product made from the Truff ula trees, and croons How bah-ah-ah-ad can I be? in his defense when the trees fall in their thousands and the cash piles up.

Im just building the economy, he protests, standing in front of his business, which hes labeled Too big to fail.

Lorax takes on echoes of Wall-E as it embraces its gloom the Once-lers replace-

ment entrepreneur villain is a fellow who has fi gured out how to bottle and sell clean air. But its all a set-up for the redemption song, the gospel-tinged Let it Grow.

Thats when it becomes obvious why the Seuss rhymes here are subdued, saved up for big moments when theyll have the most impact. Thats when the warning of the Lorax Unless threatens the Lou Dobbses of this world with extinction.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. Its not.

New 3D Lorax sings for the trees, too

AP photo

The Lorax, voiced by Danny Devito, center, makes a stand, surrounded by the Bar-ba-loots, Swomee-Swans and Humming-Fish in a scene from Dr. Seuss The Lorax, which premieres today at local theaters.

Dr. Suess The LoraxCast: Voices of Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Ed Helms and Danny DeVito

Director: Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda

Rating: PG for brief mild language

movie review

C3The Wenatchee WorldGo! Friday, March 2, 2012

We Are Back!Offering Acting, Singing, Musical Theatre and more!

Concert III: Piano PiecesSaturday, March 3 at 7 pm at the PAC

Tickets: $10-$25 on sale now at the PAC Box Offi ce

presents

Tweet with us! PAC_Wenatchee

Be our friend! PAC Wenatchee

MozART GroupYouve never heard Mozart like this. MozART Group is a string quartet with a respectful but very different approach to classical music. Theyve been hailed as the best musical cabaret ever. Come laugh and be moved.

Miss East Cascades Pageant presented by the

Miss East Cascade Scholarship Organization

Zorro a childrens musicalThursday, March 29 at 6:30 pm

Tickets: $13-$20

Next Step Dance Studiopresents

A Night of Broadway

WVC Foundation presents The Art of Music

Special Thanks to:Haglunds Trophies

Whitaker Piano ServicesLaw Offi ces of Steve Zimmerman