History YMMV / TheLorax

** ''Sustainable'' logging, rather than no logging whatsoever. Had The Once-Ler planted one new Truffula tree for every tree he cut down (i.e. deforestation plus mass ''re''forestation instead of only deforestation), the environmental impact would have been greatly reduced. If nothing else, the Once-Ler's company wouldn't have run out of trees to cut down. Then again, since the Lorax mentions that it takes ten years for a Truffula seed to grow into a sapling, and ''at least'' ten more years to fully grow (his speech about how long it takes a tree to grow gets cut off as he falls into a coughing fit due to the Once-ler's family's car exhaust), it might not have mattered anyway.

!!Book and TV special

** The fate of the town in the TV Special - once the Truffula trees were gone, they picked up and moved to brighter pastures, as any GhostTown in the Western US[[note]]Established during the Gold Rush in the 1800s[[/note]] or mining town in the Eastern US can attest to being TruthInTelevision.

* JerkassWoobie: The animated special made the Once-Ler into one, as he's shown to be more well meaning and often conflicted with his own conscience about whether or not his business practices are right, whereas in the original book he was a purely antagonistic character who was only shown in a sympathetic light well after the damage of his actions was already done.
* NightmareFuel: "Good Ol' Onceler", a song in praise of everything the Once-Ler has created which the man himself ends up applauding as "very heartwarming", is... disturbing in its naked dedication to a self-aggrandizing corporate empire.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Several of the songs are based on of pre-existing songs. For example, "Exit Exit Swomee Swan" has the same tune as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", and "For He's A Jolly Good Once-Ler" has the tune of "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow".

!!Movie
* AccidentalAesop: Trying to please your parents isn't worth the effort if they're shallow, materialistic people who only see you and your work as a commodity for them, as the Once-ler learns the hard way when his folks turn their backs on him the moment his Thneed-whacking business goes pear-shaped.
* {{Adorkable}}:
** The Once-ler. His facial expressions alone really sealed the deal for a lot of people.
** Ted whenever it comes to his crush, Audrey.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: When the Once-Ler's Mother disowns him and tells him how disappointed she is of him, did she feel disappointed because the Once-ler couldn't keep selling Thneeds, because he chose to take poor and unsustainable decisions and didn't think on replanting the trees or both? Also, when she early on told him that she belittled him just to motivate him, did she really mistreat him to toughen him up or was she just lying to make it look she was always on his side?
* AlternateSelfShipping: The most popular ship in the fandom is shipping the Once-ler with his post-FaceHeelTurn self, "the Greed-ler," who is distinguished by wearing the bright green outfit seen in his VillainSong. Also doubles as a form of AngelDevilShipping. During the height of the film's fandom, there existed a vast array of AlternateUniverse incarnations of the Once-ler who were also often shipped together.
* {{Anvilicious}}: Just like the book was, particularly the musical numbers. In fact, many actually consider it to be even worse because it neglects the subtlety and StrawmanHasAPoint moments from the original book and special. By painting a clear right and wrong picture, they overlook the more realistic negative impacts that well-meaning-but-ignorant people can have on the environment.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSzT3h9DgNM In Thneedville, it's a brand new daaaaawn...]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0frZxH_asqM How ba-ah-ah-ad can I be?]]
** John Powell's orchestral work on the score is spectacular as usual.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpgUQYARIsw At first I didn't realize I needed all this stuff...]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slpz0D35oRI You don't know me, but my name's Cy...]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpLqTo9Orz4 Plant a seed inside the Earth...]]
* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** The Once-ler. It '''cannot''' be overstated how popular he was [[DracoInLeatherPants with]] [[EstrogenBrigade fangirls]] for some time, for being a [[AdaptationalHeroism sympathetic]] [[AdaptationalAttractiveness pretty boy]] rather than the [[AmbiguouslyHuman unseen limbs]] he was in the book, but there are a sizable number of Seuss purists who utterly despise this version of him and his [[MisaimedFandom accompanying fandom]] for [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks the exact same attributes.]] A [[TakeAThirdOption third camp]] of fans feel that he's an enjoyable and entertaining character on his own, but freely admit that he has [[InNameOnly almost nothing]] to do with his original counterpart.
** O'Hare. Some fans enjoy the character for his funny moments and his LoveToHate qualities, whilst others, specifically fans of the original book, [[TheScrappy unironically hate him]] for being an unnecessary addition to the story who only exists to make the Onceler look better, which many viewers feel defeats the whole message of the original book.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The disco scene.
* CargoShip:
** Ted/Cereal Box
** The Onceler's gloves. They even have the ship name of "Glovecest".
* CrackPairing: [[AlternateSelfShipping The Once-ler/himself]]. And no, that's not just a few people shipping it, it borders on OneTruePairing and even has a ship name (Oncest). The reason given is usually that a lot of people found the Once-ler [[EstrogenBrigade an appealing character]], but since there wasn't anyone in the movie-verse itself who could be shipped with him without resorting to using an OriginalCharacter, the fandom decided to ship his post-FaceHeelTurn self, often called [[FanNickname "Greed-ler"]], with his innocent self at the start of the story.
* CriticalDissonance: Critics are split down the middle, and fans of the original book aren't crazy about it, but general audiences mostly seem to like it fine.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: O'Hare trying to persuade the citizens of Thneedville to kill Earth's last hope of seeing plant life again... by clapping his hands and singing his own version of "Let It Grow", which goes "Let it die, let it die, let it shrivel up and die!"
* CrossoverShip: The Once-ler seems to have become the patron saint of this trope. Go to any movie's YMMV page that lists crossover ships, and it will likely list the Once-ler paired with whoever's in the movie.
* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: It's difficult not to want to be in the Once-ler's shoes during "How Bad Can I Be". Though he's brought back to earth ''hard'' in the following scene.
* DracoInLeatherPants: The Onceler. Despite cutting down all the trees to make his thneed, The Onceler is one of the film's most popular characters, thanks in part to his depiction in the film.
* EnsembleDarkHorse:
** Cy the Delivery Guy has started to get to get more popular after the movie’s MemeticMutation, thanks to his [[BigBeautifulMan pleasantly plump design]], [[TheDogBitesBack standing up to O'Hare in a major way]] in the climax, and Fletcher Sheridan's distinct male soprano voice that provides [[HiddenDepths some of the prettiest vocals in the film]], especially his iconic line "you greedy dirtbag!". Even people who hate the movie love him.
** There's also a handful of people who like Grammy Norma. Mainly because she's a CoolOldLady and voiced by the great Creator/BettyWhite herself.
* EstrogenBrigade: Younger Once-ler attracts A LOT of this. To the point that he has become a fandom of his own.
* FanNickname: Post FaceHeelTurn Once-ler is often referred to as "Greed-ler", though mostly when he's shipped with someone.
* FandomRivalry: For a while, the Once-Ler fandom would declare this for pretty much any character who seemed to pose a threat to the Once-Ler's dominance, particularly ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians''' protagonist [[MrFanservice Jack]] [[AnIcePerson Frost]], [[https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/once-ler-jack-frost-fandom/ as evidenced by this article.]]
* {{Fanon}}:
** In the case of Ted's mom, some have christened her as "Helen", named after Dr. Seuss' first wife, as in a similar fashion how Ted and Audrey's names were based off of.
** The Once-ler's mother's name being Isabella. But the funny thing is, ''nobody'' knows how that name came to be or where it even came from but [[SureLetsGoWithThat many decided to use it]] when referring to her in fanfics or in general.
** How Ted's grandmother came to know the Once-ler in the first place (well, enough to know he's probably on the outskirts of town). Some fashion that they had a romantic relationship throughout his journey into becoming the CorruptCorporateExecutive he turns into in the end.
*** Adding onto that, many believe the Once-ler to be Ted's actual grandfather, given their visual similarity and how compatible both theories are. The idea of the grandson having to make up for his grandfather's mistakes also gives the movie a lot more depth.
* FanPreferredCutContent: Many viewers tend to prefer the scrapped "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpyuolKoeAY Biggering]]" as the Onceler's VillainSong over "How Bad Can I Be?", due to finding it to be a much more powerful song with its dark tone and harsher lyrics, as well as making the Onceler a villain who is motivated by pride and greed (which is more faithful to his portrayal in the original book), instead of a pretty boy who was pressured into insane environmental destruction by his greedy family.
* FanworkOnlyFans: One of the more notable examples; the movie's portrayal of the Once-ler resonated a lot with younger female viewers at the time, who found him cute and relatable, leading to a sizable fandom that really didn't care at all about anything else in the film but the Once-ler character. This was to such an extent that this fandom frequently shipped the Once-ler with ''himself'' (his pre and post "villain transformation" selves being treated as two distinct characters) in a ship called "Oncest", as there wasn't anyone else in the movie that was a good candidate or which they cared about enough to pair him with.
* HarsherInHindsight: Thneedville's pollution levels being so high that the citizens need to buy contained air to breathe [[http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2015/12/22/chinas-airpocalypse-forces-people-buy-air-can/ is now a reality in China]].
* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: The now-elderly Once-ler chopping down the boards across his windows when he hears the singing of the people of Thneedville, and softly says "Thank you, Ted" with tears in his eyes.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Those MisaimedMarketing deals down below that make the Lorax into a product mascot? The film mirrors this in one scene where the paparazzi takes a photo of the Lorax accidentally holding a Thneed, then posting on an ad now claiming Thneeds are "Lorax approved".
** Does "Let It Grow" [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 remind you of anything?]]
** Aloysius O'Hare made his fortune by literally selling bottled fresh air to the polluted Thneedville. [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/12051354/Chinese-buy-up-bottles-of-fresh-air-from-Canada.html Well...]]
** In the Japanese dub, Ted is voiced by Creator/MamoruMiyano. So Miyano got to voice Zac Efron's role after Zac [[Film/DeathNote2017 failed to get]] [[Manga/DeathNote one of Miyano's biggest roles?]][[note]] Allegedly, though, Zac turned down the part saying something along the lines of "cast Asian actors for Asian characters," not wanting to partake in a RaceLift...[[ShaggyDogStory which ultimately happened regardless]].[[/note]]
** The Once-ler's mention of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' is even funnier after Illumination was announced to be producing [[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie an animated]] ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie Mario]]'' [[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie movie]], which even includes DK among other characters.
* JustHereForGodzilla: The Once-ler, whose fans basically turned into a fandom of their own separate from the general film.
* LoveToHate: The Once-ler's family, ''especially'' [[FatBitch Aunt Grizelda]].
* MemeticMolester: The [[FanNickname Greedler]] tends to be this one on [[ScrewYourself Oncie/Onceler]] in most fanfictions, [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23095849 like this one]]
* MisaimedMarketing:
** Mazda using the Lorax, with all its {{green aesop}}s, to shill their ''not'' eco-friendly [=SUVs=] in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9VthuI30JI this commercial]].
** Also promoting the movie is the typical host of theater paraphernalia... including putting the film's logo on disposable paper popcorn holders. Again, it does not take a genius to ascertain why [[BrokenAesop this runs somewhat counter to the film's message]].
* {{Misblamed}}: A number of viewers and critics accused the Lorax of trying to kill Once-ler by sending him afloat the river on his bed... despite the fact that it was a freak accident from a sleeping Once-ler that put his life in jeopardy (his leg accidentally steers the bed down the wrong stream, toward a waterfall), and the Lorax outright ''says'' after he saves Once-ler that he ''didn't'' want him dead, just to "harmlessly drift away downstream". If he had really wanted Once-Ler dead, he probably wouldn't have used a pair of bar-ba-loots as a MagicalDefibrillator.
* {{Narm}}: The Lorax lifting himself into the sky after the last Truffula tree is cut down is set up as one of the few quiet, serious moments of the film... but he flies away by [[https://youtu.be/gV6Y3OwR2n0?t=51 lifting himself up by the skin of his rear]], which looks ridiculous and funny.
* NightmareFuel:
** Old Man Once-ler when he's first seen peering through the window and ''reaching out'' at Ted, but he gets less scary from there.
** Also, "How Bad Can I Be" is pretty fun and upbeat for a VillainSong...until the very end, which has a giant Once-ler looming over the entire forest which he is destroying, giving a SlasherSmile after shouting the last lyrics "HOW BAD COULD THIS POSSIBLY BEEEEEE?"
--->'''Once-ler:''' '''WHO CARES IF A FEW TREES ARE DYING?'''
*** At the start of the song, it's phrased like a legitimate question, but by the end, it almost seems like a ''challenge''.
*** If you think that's scary, listen to its DarkReprise, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpgUQYARIsw Biggering]] (complete with storyboard to tickle your imagination). There was a reason it was cut from the film.
---> '''Once-ler:''' ''Who cares if some things are DYING? '''I DON'T WANNA HEAR YOUR CRYING!'''''
** Ted nearly [[OffWithHisHead having his head cut off]] after running into that abandoned super-axe-hacker.
** O'Hare was able to ''[[BigBrotherIsWatching spy on everyone]]'', and ''no one'' seemed to notice.
* RomanticPlotTumor: Some find the Ted and Audrey subplot as this, since the only thing it really contributes to the plot is Ted venturing out to find a tree and subsequently meet the Once-ler.
* SoOkayItsAverage: Reception for the film is largely along the lines of this. As an adaptation, it drops the subtlety of the book and went overboard with the AdaptationExpansion, which is why a lot of Seuss fans are quite split about the quality and message. On its own, the film is definitely wonky here and there but nothing outright bad.
* SweetnessAversion: Its more "lighthearted" moments which are subjected to overly cheerful song and dance numbers are this, mostly in the very beginning and very end, especially when little 3-year old Marie suddenly starts singing. Its bright, colorful visuals don't help either, which clash harder with the original message far stronger than the original book and TV special did.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
** Characters, plural. The Once-Ler's family actually made far more interesting villains than O'Hare being naturally un-supportive, greedy, and manipulative. Wouldn't it have been better for more of the conflict to show ''them'' how destroying nature is a bad thing and along the way, maybe reconcile with his family?
** As WebVideo/MusicalHell pointed out, Audrey could've been a more engaging protagonist than Ted, considering how she actually cares about the trees, unlike Ted, who only cares about [[PrecociousCrush getting into Audrey's pants]]. Not to mention that the movie doesn't explain how she got to know about trees in the first place.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Tying in with the above, some people feel it would have made much more sense if the Once-ler's family were the rulers of Thneedville rather than O'Hare, which would tie the Once-ler's backstory more tightly to the main plot and make Ted's ultimate victory that much more meaningful.
* TheWoobie: The Once-ler. His family and the townspeople mock him at first, his greed and years of success are glanced over and he ends up spending the majority of his life as a forgotten, guilt-ridden hermit. Had they shown more of his bad side, his punishment wouldn't seem so unjustifiably extreme.
* WTHCastingAgency: Many find Zac Efron's role as Ted to be this, as he is an adult man voicing a teenaged boy. Music/TaylorSwift's role also sometimes gets this, but to a lesser degree.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: When the Once-Ler's Mother disowns him and tells him how disappointed she is of him, did she felt disappointed because the Once-ler couldn't keep selling Thneeds, because he chose to take poor and unsustainable decisions and didn't think on replanting the trees or both? Also, when she early on told him that she belittled him just to motivate him, did she really mistreat him to toughen him up or was she just lying to make it look she was always on his side?

** Cy the Delivery Guy has started to get to get more popular after the movie’s MemeticMutation, thanks to his [[BigBeautifulMan pleasantly plump design]] and Fletcher Sheridan's distinct male soprano voice, especially his iconic line "you greedy dirtbag!". Even people who hate the movie love him.