Universal Pictures / AP

"Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" took in $39 million this weekend.

Hollywood is hoping Taylor Kitsch will become the next big movie star, but the 30-year-old fell short when "John Carter" debuted in second place in its opening weekend.

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The fantasy flick, which stars Kitsch as a 19th century soldier turned Martian hero, earned $30.6 million. "The Lorax" held strong in first place with $39.1 million, bringing its two-week total to $125.4 million. The animated Dr. Seuss film features the voice talents of Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Danny DeVito, Ed Helms and Betty White.

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"Act of Valor" came in third place with $7.3 million, while Elizabeth Olsen's "Silent House" debuted in fourth place with $7 million.

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Rounding out the top 10: Eddie Murphy's "A Thousand Words" (No. 6, $6.4 million), Ryan Reynolds' "Safe House" (No. 7, $5 million), Channing Tatum's "The Vow" (No. 8, $4 million), Josh Hutcherson's "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" (No. 9, $3.8 million) and Reese Witherspoon's "This Means War" (No. 10, $3.6 million).

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REVIEW: The Lorax isn't really in that much of "The Lorax." The little orange critter (voice of Danny DeVito) who "speaks for the trees" pops up occasionally, but it's Ed Helms' Once-ler who steals the show.

The famed Dr. Seuss tale takes place in and around Thneedville, a spanking-clean town where trees are inflatable and everyone breathes bottled air sold to them by a creepy little villain (Rob Riggle). Pretty Audrey (Taylor Swift) longs for a real tree, and 12-year-old Ted (Zac Efron) is determined to find her one. With the help of Grammy (Betty White, as awesome as ever), he seeks out the Once-ler, and the old hermit tells the tale of how he broke a promise to The Lorax and cut down all the trees so he could sell the populace the briefly trendy Thneeds.

Get it? It's not exactly subtle. Lust for a fleeting consumer product ruined the trees, and for want of the trees we all must pay for bottled air, and the beauty that once covered the landscape (the trees look like pastel swirls of cotton candy) has been replaced by shattered tree trunks.

You can see why Lou Dobbs threw a fit, and why Helms came to the film's defense. Dobbs hadn't even watched the movie when he complained -- imagine if he'd heard the song that features the lyrics "the people with the money make this ever-loving world go round" and "the customers are buying, the PR people are lying, who cares if a few trees are dying?" There's even a "Too Big to Fail" mention.

But kids are smart enough to understand that the message of "The Lorax" isn't that no one can have a business, but that it's smart to be judicious with natural resources. They might be less understanding with the overlong, jumpy plot that drags in spots. Ted and Audrey aren't that interesting, and the filmmakers saw fit to add in endless scenes of Ted's eternal commutes in and out of town. But White's Grammy is delightful, the songs are catchy, and the dazzling colors and shapes of the Seussian universe, shown in 3-D of course, spill out on the screen like a basket of jelly beans. 

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Here we go again.

Apparently, "The Secret World of Arrietty" and "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" represent liberal Hollywood’s attempt to indoctrinate children.

The accusations from media personalities on the right were probably inevitable, given similar charges leveled at "Cars 2," "Happy Feet 2" and Muppets, where similar political themes are explored to one extent or another.

This time, the proclamation of left-wing propaganda comes from Lou Dobbs, who hosts Lou Dobbs Tonight on the Fox Business Network.

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During his Tuesday night show, Dobbs dubbed Disney’s "Arrietty" and Universal’s "Lorax" “insidious nonsense from Hollywood,” then he announced: “Hollywood is once again trying to indoctrinate our children.”

"Arrietty," about four-inch people who “borrow” what they need from normal-sized humans, encourages class envy and redistribution of wealth, according to Dobbs, while "Lorax" is just another example of environmental radicalism.

“So, where have we all heard this before?” Dobbs asks after showing a clip from each of the two films.

Then he answers himself: “Occupy Wall Street forever trying to pit the makers against the takers and President Obama repeating that everyone should pay their fair share.”

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Dobbs also played clips of Obama repeating the mantra.

“Wow. Fair share,” says Dobbs. “The president's liberal friends in Hollywood targeting a younger demographic using animated movies to sell their agenda to children.”

Dobbs hosted three talk-radio guests to discuss the matter. Steve Cochran said he didn’t share Dobbs’ concern, “Because I know the people in Hollywood and, frankly, they’re not that bright.”

“I just don’t think Hollywood has got that kind of power in the big picture and I refuse to allow parents off the hook to say they do,” Cochran said.

Dom Giordano disagreed.

“Parents need a break, also. We need a safe harbor,” he said.

“What we’re doing is creating occu-toddlers,” said Matt Patrick, who joked that the anti-consumerism, pro-environmental messages should be countered by moviegoers who purchase lots of popcorn and candy then leave the trash on theater floors.

"Lorax" opens March 2 and "Arrietty" opened Friday and has taken in $9 million domestically thus far.

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