The Lorax statue which has sat on the Dr. Seuss estate in La Jolla, California for many years was recently stolen. The 2-foot-tall, 300-pound bronze statue was located under a century-old Italian Stone Pine, the same pine that inspired the tree which Horton sat upon in “Horton Hears A Who.”
Audrey Geisel, Dr. Seuss’ 90-year-old widow, discovered that the statue was missing while she walked through the estates garden on Monday morning.
The theft of the Lorax brings to mind a famous passage from the book of the same name:
“And deep in the Grickle-grass, some people say, if you look deep enough you can still see, today, where the Lorax once stood just as long as it could before somebody lifted the Lorax away.”
Created by Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, Audrey Geisel’s daughter and Dr. Seuss’ stepdaughter, the statue is valued at $10,000.
Speaking to the Tribune Dimond-Cates said of the work of art:
“I want very badly to get our little Lorax back home where he belongs, Wherever he is, he’s scared, lonely and hungry. He’s not just a hunk of metal to us. He was a family pet.”
The statue has the world “Unless” inscribed at its base, as in “unless” someone plants the last remaining tree seed they will vanish from the earth.
The theft come just after The Lorax movie opened to rave reviews and massive audiences, taking in more than the last Dr. Seuss animated flick Horton Hears A Who. Film producers are now busily working on an animated version of The Cat In The Hat.
