How to Be the Perfect Bad Guy

Matt Patches: Your next big project is The Lorax. It's not an action heavy book from what I remember so will it become a bigger action story for the 3D screen? What is your approach to this story?

Cinco Paul: I think that the 3D... it's obviously not going to become an action where I have the Lorax blow stuff up. It's a chance...A lot of images from the book like the first entry into the Truffula Valley and the nature are crying out for 3D, especially when everything is destroyed.

Ken Daurio: Get into that Dr. Seuss world.

Matt Patches: Be amongst the trees...

Cinco Paul: Feel the devestation all around you after everythings been destroyed.

Matt Patches: You guys are directing this movie also?

Cinco Paul: Yeah, were co-directing it with Chris Renaud.

Matt Patches: Is this your first big directorial movie?

Ken Daurio: Yeah

Matt Patches: Congratulations! How far off into production are you?

Ken Daurio: Thank you and the movie will come out March 2012 and they have not started the actual animation yet, but that is going to happen very soon.

Matt Patches: Horton Hears a Who focuses on the comedy, but The Lorax is pretty darn serious. Even when the book first hit shelves there was controversy, like most material that delivers an environmental message. How are you guys approaching that?

Cinco Paul: I think that is a huge issue for us as directors and storytellers is that we do not want to make a preachy message, a movie that will beat everyone over the head with an environmental message. We feel this is an important message; the key is how to get it out there and make it really entertaining along the way. That's our approach to the whole thing. That's what Dr. Suess did, he made this kids book that everyone read when they were a kid and got this message. We need to find out the updated way of doing that to and have the kids go to theater, have fun, and walk away feeling like they some responsibility to do something in this world.

Matt Patches: It's been a long time since I've read the book. I feel as "Suess-ish" and colorful as it is, it's still pretty direct in its message. What are you doing to counter act that?

Cinco Paul: We can say it's focusing on the characters and focusing on the characters story, and the relationship between the characters. I think that's always the best way to get a message across. I mean you're not preaching, you're telling the story about the guy named the Once-ler.

Matt Patches: Are we going to see the Once-ler? I don't believe we actually see the Once-ler in The Lorax book.

Ken Daurio: These are things were going to have to wait and see. We've already said to much. You probably know how tight lipped the animation community is.

Matt Patches: [laughs] I have to ask these hard-hitting questions!

Cinco Paul: Yeah, and we can only answer them in a nice way [laughs].