Man and Environment Relationship in 'Tarzan' and 'The Lorax'

Tarzan, the 37th feature film by the Walt Disney Animation Studios released only four years later in 1999, delivers what can be visually similar to the most beautiful animated feature film of the decade concerned, as the animation is breathtaking. The story is touching thanks to a beautiful adaptation of the classic novel Tarzan of the Apes published in 1912 by Edgar Rice Burroughs's. Rescued by another species, Tarzan knows maternal love but rejection by the rest of the group. He spends his life trying to be accepted by his adoptive family while attempting to understand who and what he is himself. When he meets his fellows, he is torn between the discovery of everything he has always wanted to know but also the fidelity he owes to his family gorilla. The movie includes multiple themes like strength, the superiority of man, and community. A real man is the one who beats the dominant and who becomes dominant instead. In fact, gorillas have to fight to keep their dominating positions. We see men well dominant over the woman and even in the territory of the monkeys, men are doing better than them as they are more powerful opponents. As for the community, it shows that when we are part of a group, we help and tolerate each other. The story shows the importance of integration and membership into another community. The movie also criticizes invasive tourism and exploration by making fun of people who are unsuited to the context, who go to the heart of the jungle to see gorillas for their own intentions instead of for the protection of this species. It is important for children to learn about about wild animal defense. The film treats the subject of deforestation, and the danger to ecosystems. It criticizes companies which only think about profit, as they hide their real motives and want to make money at any cost. The scientists coming to Africa are thoroughly researching gorillas but they are also hunters and poachers. Their motivation is only money, profit and gain such as the call for hunting parties. Just like Pocahontas, we can situate Tarzan in the historical context of the colonial domination at the end of the 19th century which makes it possible to revisit part of the dark history of Africa, a pity that the story is weighed down by scenes describing the origins of Tarzan, his discovery by the gorillas, his learning of life in the jungle, his meeting with the explorers…

The Lorax, an endearing, colorful and visually flawless animated feature film released in 2012 made by Chris Renaud was adapted from a story by Dr Seuss published in 1971, American author of children's books. The Lorax approaches the notion of overconsumption and environmental protection in a fun way. This account of Dr.Seuss tells the story of Ted. To conquer the heart of his pretty neighbor, Audrey, Ted will escape from Thneedville, a totally artificial world where all vegetation has definitely disappeared, to go in search of a living tree. Without knowing it, the boy, through his heroic conquest, will transform the destiny of Thneedville. In his journey, he will discover the reality of a sad and gray world where there remains only an old resentful hermit reclusive in the middle of nowhere. The story of the Lorax is a true metaphor of our consumer society. Indeed, the book and movie educate on and inculcate the respect of the nature and the need to preserve it to protect the human race, without using negative messages or frightening the youngest on the consequences of not preserving our Earth. On the contrary, the Lorax has positive values with funny and captivating characters. Beyond the figures of the forest or the quirky mustachioed character of Lorax, imagined by Dr. Seuss, The Lorax is a film that plays a lot on irony. An irony that is felt from the first scenes: the city celebrates its plastic world and its overconsumption of sold bottled air, its artificial trees which ''do not make dirt'' and changes colors according to seasons thanks to a remote, and its technical progress. A beautiful life in a cloistered universe that has exhausted natural resources outside this city, and great irony, survives through the commercialization of a natural element. An irony that brings to light, albeit in a very simplistic way, the illusion of these people who think of living healthily in a city over-industrialized, with these remote controlled trees. After reading the book or watching the film, we end up with a very rich discussion about the environment, overconsumption and pollution. Children can understand very well the major issue of our consumer behavior. The ecological fable that cements the narrative, supported didacticism, is not very original (it was more innovative to its publication in 1970), especially for a young audience aware of environmental concerns today. A veritable ecological tale, with 'global' concerns, it tells the story of a boy's quest to replant trees in a fake-like society where nature, after having been destroyed, is now for absent. Shimmering graphics, with its bright and playful color palette, the movie exalts invigorating optimism. By recounting Ted's adventures, the movie, which perfectly handles the difficult art of irony, manages to deliver a message less simplistic than it seems, on the need to save and to preserve the planet.

In conclusion, the relationship of man towards the environment in which he lives and on which he depends, which he creates and develops, is an important theme to explore in children's literature. These movies show the necessity of protecting nature which has been intensified the past decade beyond doubt. Nowadays, with the increase of negative consequences on nature due to global warming, the depletion of soil and natural resources, the destruction of our planet's ozone layer, pollution and the resulting diseases, it is humanity as a whole that faces a crisis. But it is not too late to act, to preserve the diversity of the forms of existence on the ground, to develop another relation, more respectful and undoubtedly more frugal, to all that surrounds us, and to cultivate a 'garden of resistance' in order to live better in and with the environment.