Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose (film)

Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose (also known as Dr. Seuss' Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose) is a 2017 American computer-animated comedy family film produced by Walt Disney Wonder Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Christopher K. Gee and Don Gillies in their directorial debuts and based on the book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, it stars James Arnold Taylor as the voice of the titular character alongside Crispin Glover, Bethany Joy Lenz, Brittany Snow, Liam Neeson, Omar Sy, and Andrew Garfield.

Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Christopher K. Gee Don Gillies
Produced by	Kendra Halland Gary Marsh Gary Krisel
Written by	Cinco Paul Ken Daurio Gary Marsh Gary Krisel Bob Iger Derek Stephen Prince
Based on	Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose by Dr. Seuss
Starring	James Arnold Taylor Crispin Glover Bethany Joy Lenz Brittany Snow Liam Neeson Omar Sy Andrew Garfield
Narrated by	James Earl Jones
Music by	Hans Zimmer John Powell
Cinematography	Isidore Mankofsky Jerrica Cleland
Edited by	John Royer
Production company	Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Wonder Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	October 29, 2017
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$70 million
Box office	$313 million

While working on Disney In The House: Introduction and Critter Country, Seuss' widow Audrey Geisel commissioned Walt Disney Wonder Studios to make an animated Dr. Seuss film. After failing to adapt The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, they instead chose to adapt Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose. Like other Dr. Seuss adaptations, the film adds new subplots and characters significantly different from the original story. Hans Zimmer, who worked on Walt Disney Wonder Studios' prior three films, returned to compose its fourth, this time with John Powell.

The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 29, 2017, and earned $313 million worldwide on a $70 million budget. It was highly acclaimed by critics, who praised the character development, animation, voice acting, James Earl Jones' narration, and its faithfulness to the source material. The film received nominations for Critics' Choice Award and Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, losing to Coco.

Plot

Thidwick is a moose with a big heart and a jackrabbit as a best friend. He lives in a herd consisting of approximately sixty who subsist on moose-moss and live on the northern shore of Lake Winna-Bango. One day, Jackrabbit informs Grandmoose that it is hunting season. Thidwick and the Jackrabbit meets Sarah and Laura Lenz, two Forest Rescue Center researchers whose parents died in the forest years ago. Rancis Woodrows, a hunter, who despises forest animals, chases them away.

Thidwick and the Jackrabbit take Laura and Sarah to the herd as guests, and they build a giant hawk. Meanwhile, Rancis learns from his talking dog Chew that Laura and Sarah are in the moose herd and worries the girls will rebel against him. During a celebration, Chew comes to the herd looking for Laura and Sarah, and orders them to go back to their strict routine, thus revealing their secret. Angered by Thidwick's deception, the moose exile him and attempt to find moose-moss, only for Rancis to capture Grandmoose.

Thidwick, the Jackrabbit, Laura, and Sarah set to end Rancis' tyranny. Thidwick sees a wolf bullying baby turtles and fights him off, gaining the mother's respect. They spot a dangerous hot spring field. Despite Sarah's protests, Thidwick, the Jackrabbit, Laura, and Sarah narrowly evade the hot springs and make it to the other side. In the aftermath of the escape, Sarah snaps at Thidwick for being a bad moose and Laura for not listening and furiously disowns her.

Thidwick, Laura, and the jackrabbit go to the hunters' shack, where Thidwick confronts Rancis. Sarah informs them of Grandmoose's capture and reconciles with Laura. Despite the emotional speech Thidwick gives, Rancis is not fooled, revealing that after their parents died, he put the Lenz sisters under a strict routine to prevent all forest animals from causing a pandemic by getting their heads for the wall of the Harvard Club in New York City. As he chases Thidwick, the Jackrabbit traps Chew and frees Grandmoose. Rancis is about to shoot Thidwick, but he remembers that it is time to shed his antlers and uses this to his advantage to defeat him. The ensuing final battle ends when they scare Rancis and the hunters off a cliff with the hawk.

When they get back to the herd a new cabin is built on the northern shore of Lake Winna-Bango, and Laura and Sarah live in the forest to protect it from smugglers. Thidwick rejoins the herd and becomes Grandmoose's successor with the Jackrabbit as his advisor and court composer.

Cast

• James Arnold Taylor as Thidwick, a big-hearted moose.
• Crispin Glover as the Jackrabbit, a rabbit with antlers and Thidwick's best friend.
• Bethany Joy Lenz as Laura Lenz, a researcher at the Forest Rescue Center and Sarah's younger sister.
• Brittany Snow as Sarah Lenz, a researcher at the Forest Rescue Center and Laura's older sister.
• Liam Neeson as Rancis Woodrows, a hunter who wants Thidwick's head put on the wall of Harvard Club of New York.
• Omar Sy as Chew, Rancis' pet bulldog.
• Andrew Garfield as Grandmoose, the leader of the moose in Lake Winna-Bang.
• Andy Dick as Howling Harry, a wolf and a big bad bully.
• Shirley Douglas as Turtle mom
• E.G. Daily as baby turtles
• Jim Cummings, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jack Angel, and Corey Burton as Moose Elders
• Gary Marsh, Gary Krisel, Bob Iger, and Derek Stephen Prince as hunters
• James Earl Jones as Narrator

Box office

The film grossed $123 million in the United States and Canada, and $190 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $313 million. During the theatrical run, it grossed $80 million in its opening weekend; it is one of the successful most Dr. Seuss adaptations, according to a budget of about $70 million.

Critical response

Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose has a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 150 reviews. It was the highest-rated Dr. Seuss film until Warner Animation Group's The Cat In The Hat 2 overtook it in 2025, and is the second Dr. Seuss film since Blue Sky's Horton Hears A Who! to earn a "certified fresh" certification. The site's consensus reads, "Better than other Dr. Seuss films and with the same faithfulness as Horton Hears A Who!, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose stays true to the source material the way some of Disney's classics did". Metacritic signed the film to a score of 90 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "universal acclaim", which made it the highest-rated Dr. Seuss film on that site. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale.

Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post gave the film five stars, saying, "Like Horton Hears A Who!, Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose faithfully lives up to its potential". Liam Lacey of The Globe And Mail praised the performance of James Arnold Taylor as Thidwick, saying, "James Arnold Taylor has the most wit in his grove". Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film "Two Thumbs Up". Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor compared the film favorably to other Dr. Seuss films, writing, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas was average, The Cat In The Hat was worse, Horton Hears A Who! was good, and The Lorax was average. Now Disney has made good Dr. Seuss' memorabilia with the even better Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose. It's more than better enough to justify its appeal toward younger audiences."