TRIVIA: Dr. Seuss Rewrote The Lorax 20 Years After Publication - Why? VIDEO
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.22.08
Do you know which line Seuss removed from his book The Lorax? Hint: It's about Lake Erie and was spoken by one of the Humming-Fish as they marched out of the river at the foot of the Once-ler's factory. And in which version of The Lorax does it still exist?
The line Seuss removed was spoken by one of the Humming-Fish marching out of the river polluted by the Once-ler's factory:
I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie.
Seuss deleted those words more than fourteen years after the story was first published when two research associates from the Ohio Sea Grant Program wrote to Seuss about the clean-up of Lake Erie. The line however remains in the DVD release of the 1972 television special made from the book:
Click through to play video on Susty.tv
The animated musical television special was directed by Hawley Pratt, produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and stars the voice talents of Eddie Albert and Bob Holt. It was first aired by CBS on February 14, 1972.
Also, you've got to read about the fascinating love life of the real-life humming fish:
Cocktail Party Effect: Fish & Human Brains Use ‘Auditory Scene Analysis’ When Looking for Love in All the Loud Places
and
Midshipman Fish (Porichthys notatus) aka Humming Fish SPECIES SPOTLIGHT
MORE Lorax, Dr. Suess and Children's Books
:: The Lorax by Dr. Suess
:: For the Pint-Sized : 2007 TreeHugger Gift Guide
:: The Lorax Animated Television Special VIDEO WATCH >>
:: Play Dr. Seuss Lorax’s Save the Trees Game Online
:: BOOKS» All The Way to the Ocean by Joel Harper
:: CHILDREN’S BOOKS» Planet Earth Gets Well
:: Maya Angelou 2008 Olympic Poem “Amazement Awaits”
::
:: Google Search | Wikipedia ::
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It should stay in. There was the same problem with cutting one of Abraham Lincoln's lines in the original Star Trek, and editing the guns out of ET.
While it may not be true, it was true at the time it was produced. Would you re-write "Uncle Tom's Cabin" substituting segregation for slavery? Maybe rewrite the Bible to change the Romans into Imperial Stormtroopers? History has a right to free speech, too.
George,
Any links on the continuing progress of the clean up of Lake Erie? That's the crux of this story...
I can sort of understand the removal of this line if Lake Erie changed, but to me, it seems like it would mess up the rhyming of the book.
Oh well, what's done is done. I wonder how clean Lake Erie is to date....