All tropes below pertain to the 2012 animated film:
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Citizens of Thneedville
In General
The kooky citizens of Thneedville who, while aware of their home's environmental problems, still love it.
- Crowd Song: Two of them, songs sung by the whole town "Thneedville" at the beginning and "Let It Grow" at the end.
- Heel–Face Turn: Everyone decides to let the seed grow despite previously supporting O'Hare.
- Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: They don't know about their environmental problems at first.
- No Full Name Given: We don't know the surnames of Dan, Rose, Wesley, or Marie.
- No Name Given: Most of them are unnamed.
Ted Wiggins
Voiced by: Zac Efron
Theodore "Ted" Wiggins is one of the main protagonists of The Lorax. He is an idealistic 12-year old boy who wants to get a real tree for Audrey in order to impress her.
- Ambiguously Related: He looks quite a bit like the Once-ler did when he was young, but it's unknown if they're related or not due to the vagueness on Norma's connection with the Once-ler.
- Ascended Extra: Compared to the book and the animated special, Ted is more prominent in the story as he tries to figure out both about the city's history and the Lorax.
- Badass Biker: Can do some neat tricks on his bike.
- Brainy Brunette: One of the most sane and resourceful characters in the story.
- Child-Like Voice: Inverted. Even though he's a 12-year-old, he's voiced by Zac Efron using his natural voice, which makes him sound like a man in his late teens/early twenties as a result.
- Determinator: Girl you like wants to see a tree? Venture out into the wastelands. Town won't listen to you? Knock down the walls.
- Hero of Another Story: Ted is the one who helps bring back the trees.
- Likes Older Women: At least in the case of Audrey (he's twelve but she's a high schooler), the age difference is slight but noticeable. Notably, he thinks of her as a woman because of the age gap.
- Named by the Adaptation: His name was never revealed in the book or the 1972 adaptation.
- Nice Guy: Summed up by his willingness to find Audrey a real tree, even if it meant going into unknown, possibly dangerous territory.
- Precocious Crush: Has a crush on Audrey, who is in high school.
- Red Is Heroic: He's the hero of the story with a red and orange striped shirt, red bike, and red bike helmet.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: The Tiny Guy to Audrey's Huge Girl — she has about a foot and a half on him. Justified given their (slight) age difference.
- Tuckerization: Ted is the actual name of Dr. Seuss.
- Vocal Dissonance: His voice actor is twice his age. Averted in the 1972 adaptation.
Audrey
Voiced by: Taylor Swift
Audrey is a kind hearted, good and nature loving girl who dreamed of one day being able to see a real tree. Thought we are not sure how she knew about it, it might have been a source like Grammy Norma who told her. The redhead seems to be a good friend of Ted, and she seems to like him being around her.
- Author Avatar: To producer (and widow of Dr. Seuss) Audrey Geisel.
- Canon Foreigner: She never made an appearance in the original short or the book.
- Fiery Redhead: Downplayed — She's passionate but more laid-back than other examples of this trope.
- Flat Character: She solely exists to be Ted's love interest and is merely a plot device to move his motivation along.
- Granola Girl: A Downplayed example. She'd rather have the trees back than have to constantly buy air from O'Hare, but then again, it makes perfect sense to want to be able to get a resource from a free natural source than from an expensive corporation. Also, given the Crapsaccharine nature of the world, wanting nature to come back isn't an unreasonable request.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's very beautiful and pretty.
- Nature Lover: Loves the idea of trees. Shown symbolically through her green eyes.
- Nice Girl: Audrey is a sweet, laid back teenager.
- No Full Name Given: We don't know her last name.
- Redhead In Green: In Ted's fantasy where he presents her with a tree as a gift, she dons a green dress.
- Ship Tease: Ted has a crush on her, and at one point, she kisses him on the cheek.
- Satellite Love Interest: Quick, name one of her character traits other than "hero's love interest"...
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: She's Ted love interest and is ginger with green eyes.
- Smooch of Victory: Gives a kiss to Ted for helping plant a real tree.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: The Huge Girl to Ted's Tiny Guy (he's significantly shorter than her). Justified given their (slight) age difference.
- Tuckerization: Audrey is the name of Dr. Seuss's wife.
Aloysius O'Hare
Voiced by: Rob Riggle
Aloysius O'Hare is the main antagonist. He is the mayor of Thneedville and the founder of O'Hare Air, a company for bottled air. He had the city walled off to hide the fact that air is available elsewhere for free.
- Aerith and Bob: Compare Aloysius to the other named citizens of Thneedville such as Ted, Audrey, and Norma.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: A short Corrupt Corporate Executive the likes of Disney's Gilbert Huph and Dreamworks's Lord Faarquad.
- Bad Boss: He constantly insults his two goons, and he tells Cy that he’s fired if he doesn’t get the town back on his side.
- Canon Foreigner: Never appeared in the original book or the ‘72 short.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: The only reason he doesn't want real trees to grow back is that it'll likely put him out of business. He wants the atmosphere of the entire town of Thneedville to remain smoggy for this very reason.
- Determinator: Say what you will about the guy, but when the chips are down, he is shown to have balls of steel when pushed to the wall. He also managed to work himself from a menial position to becoming a successful businessman and politician.
- Ecocidal Antagonist: A very greedy example who tries to prevent real trees from growing back, all so people can keep Paying for Air, selfishly prioritizing his business over the environment.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: His entire life is built on greed, so he's not only caught off-guard, but doesn't seem to understand what's happening when one of his employees chooses to risk his job (indeed, his entire industry) so all of Thneedville will have a chance to live in a better world.
- Faux Affably Evil: He speaks to Ted in a smarmy, chummy tone that barely masks his paranoia and greed.
- Flat Character: Aside from being a Determinator with Villainous Valor, he doesn't have much of a character beyond the usual evil corporate manager and basically exists to give Ted's story some dramatic tension.
- Foil: To the Once-ler. The Once-ler caused environmental degradation out of pure greed but was shown to have a human side and regretted his actions to the point where he gave Ted the means to repair the damage he inflicted. O'Hare, meanwhile, profited from the damage the Once-ler inflicted, shows absolutely no remorse about any of his crooked schemes, and tries to stop Ted from fixing the environment.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: In the Once-ler's flashback, he's seen as a janitor. When his coworker wonders what "the next big thing" will be, before coughing on the smog, that's when his vision began.
- Gonk: His face is hard to look at.
- Greed: All he cares about is money. Even though he’s already the richest person in Thneedville, he wants to pollute the environment even more so he can charge even more money for air and become even richer.
- Hate Sink: Surprisingly downplayed. He is the corrupt and greedy dirt-bag mayor of Thneedville and founder of O'Hare Air, a company that sells bottled air. He walled up the city to hide the fact that breathable air is free elsewhere, ensuring that the people will remain dependent on the air his company sells. When he discovers Ted wandering outside the city walls, he has no problems threatening him, and when he discovers he has a truffula tree seed, he does everything he can to prevent it from being planted, from trying to seize the seed, to manipulating the citizens into trying to destroy it. Even after the citizens see the world outside and agree the seed must be planted, he is the only one who does not change his mind, still trying to convince the city to let the seed die, turning the citizens and his men against him. However, he clearly has the force of will and audacity to pose a considerable threat, which could give him a degree of admirability.
- Heel–Face Turn: Invoked, then immediately defied. He openly toys with the prospect of redemption in the final musical number, then laughs, does a 180, and makes one last effort to turn the villagers against the Truffula seed.
- Hidden Depths: The fact that he worked his way up from a menial position implies a certain degree of grit and determinaton.
- Ignored Epiphany: In the "Let It Grow" sequence, O'Hare looks like he's with the others before he tries (and fails) to convince them to kill the seed.
- Laughably Evil: O'Hare is a dick, but he has funny moments on occasion.
- Mister Big: Owns a big company.
- The Napoleon: The shortest and meanest character in the film.
- Older Than They Look: The ending of the Once-ler's story shows that he doesn't look a day older than he did when the Once-ler was a young man, apart from ditching his braces.
- Properly Paranoid: Knows full well that the return of trees would sink his business, so he does everything he can to keep people from even being aware of their existence.
- Rags to Riches: He started out as a poor janitor, before he realized he could profit from the contaminated environment.
- Tuckerization: O'Hare was named after Illumination's story artist Mark O'Hare.
- Tyrannical Town Tycoon: Rules Thneedville both as its mayor and a businessman, keeping things polluted to ensure that his business isn't threatened.
- Villainous Valor: When he fails to dissuade Ted from revealing the truth to the town the first time, he stops pulling his punches and does everything in his power to prevent the kid from doing so, even taking quite a bit of physical punishment and showing complete fearlessness even in the face of failure.O'Hare: NOBODY BEATS ALOYSIUS O'HARE!
- Would Hurt a Child: He doesn't have a problem threatening a boy.
Ted's family
Voiced by: Jenny Slate (Ted's mother), Betty White (Grammy Norma)
Ted's family consists of his mother (Mrs. Wiggins) and grandmother (Grammy Norma).
- Action Mom: Both Ted's mom and grandma know how to get rough when it gets serious.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Ted's mother is apparently this to her son, considering he was humiliated when she was turning own disco music, and trying to dance to it. This line says it all:Ted: Oh, it hurts, Mom! Please stop.
- Canon Foreigner: They weren't from the original story or the 1972 adaptation.
- Cool Old Lady: Ted's grandma. Convinces Ted to go find the Once-ler, evades O'Hare to protect the seed when he comes looking for it, and snowboards like a pro! Lampshaded in the latter scene.Audrey: (To Ted) Seriously? How cool is your grandma?!
- Disappeared Dad: Ted's father was never seen or mentioned, leaving it unknown whether Mrs. Wiggins is a widower or divorcee.
- Full-Name Ultimatum: A downplayed instance; when O'Hare comes to visit and Ted is reluctant to speak to him, Ted's mom refers to Ted as Theodore Wiggins when she tells him to come meet O'Hare immediately.
- Good Parents: Mrs. Wiggins, while a nag, wants to spend quality time with her son.
- Jewish Mother: Mrs. Wiggins is quite nagging.
- Mama Bear: Mrs. Wiggins acted very nervous when O'Hare came to visit Ted. But the moment O'Hare and his goons mess with Ted, she drops all formalities and orders them to leave.
- Never Mess with Granny: Ted's grandmother has no problems hitting people and riding snowboards and tractors.
- No Full Name Given: We don't know Mrs. Wiggins's first name, nor Norma's last name.
- Riddle for the Ages: It's never stated how Norma knew about the Once-ler. Did she used to work with him, were they in a relationship or just word of mouth?
Cy the O'Hare Delivery Guy
You don't know me.. but my name's Cy
Voiced by: Fletcher Sheridan
The delivery guy of Thneedville who delivers air to customers.
- Acrofatic: Has a large belly, yet is fit enough to survive falling into a manhole, then keep on dancing and even pull off the splits while doing a high note.
- Affably Evil: Not exactly evil, but he is working for the Big Bad of the film, and appears to have a little bit of personal greed, considering how he sniffs the money given to him by a client as if smelling the air. Besides that, he is a genuinely pleasant and cool guy who is friendly towards everyone.
- Heel–Face Turn: He is the first person to turn against O'Hare and encourages everyone else to do the same.
- Hypocritical Humor: Calls O'Hare a 'greedy dirtbag' for wanting to kill the seed, yet earlier in the movie can be seen smelling a $100 bill as if it were fresh air. Granted, liking money is a much less serious offense than actively stopping people finding out about the state of the world so they remain dependent on paying you to survive.
- No Full Name Given: His surname is unstated.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a short but amazing one to O'Hare after he fails to convince everyone to turn on Ted and the others.[singing]
You greedy dirtbag! - Singing Voice Dissonance: Can pull off high notes and upbeat lyrics like a young fella despite being middle-aged.
- The Singing Mute: Subverted. He's not mute, but he only speaks through singing, even when chewing out O'Hare for his greedy nature.
- Unstoppable Mailman: Gives off this impression. He's a cool upbeat delivery guy who likes to sing, and isn't even fazed from falling down a manhole or doing the splits despite being overweight.
- Vocal Dissonance: He has a fairly youthful and rhythmic voice despite being a middle-aged man.
The Once-ler's family
In General
Voiced by: Nasim Pedrad (Once-ler's mother), Stephen Tobolowsky (Uncle Ubb), Elmarie Wendel (Aunt Grizelda), Danny Cooksey (Brett and Chet)
The Once-ler's abusive family.
- Adapted Out: In the book, there's more than one uncle and more than one aunt, but in the movie, there is only one uncle and aunt. There are also cousins in the book, but not in the movie.
- Adaptational Jerkass: While they were just as greedy in the book, in the movie, they're also abusive.
- Ambiguously Related: We don't know if Aunt Grizelda and Uncle Ubb are both the mother's siblings, a married couple with one on the mother's side, a married couple with one on the unseen father's side, or the father's siblings.
- Ascended Extra: In the book, they were only green hands like the Once-ler himself, did not have names, and did nothing relevant to the story besides helping knit the thneeds. In the movie, they are given names, appearances and personalities, have important roles (especially his mom), and, unlike the book and special, the flashback starts with the Once-ler leaving his family instead of arriving at the Truffula forest.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Don't let this trick or fool you in any way or by any mean, they're only PRETENDING to care for him. They never cared for him. They were just there for the profiting.
- The Corrupter: Their greed and abuse brings out the worst in the Once-ler.
- Evil Is Hammy: They all seem to be very hammy.
- Fair-Weather Friend: They're the picture of sweetness once the Once-ler's business starts to take off, only to abandon him when things go bad.
- Gold Digger: They only start being nice to Once-ler after his idea became a success.
- Hate Sink: Their screentime is so the audience could hate them and feel sorry for the Once-ler.
- Jerkass: Not one of them is a likable person, nor even close enough to a loving family.
- Karma Houdini: As far as we know, they never suffered the consequences of their actions; did they even survive the smog?
- Kick the Dog: Repeatedly act mean to the Once-ler.
- Named by the Adaptation: Except for the mother (and possibly the Once-ler himself), everyone in the family gets an official name.
- Never My Fault: They don't think they did anything wrong when it comes to how they treat Once-ler. Nor cutting down all the trees.
- Villain Song: They all share a part of the Once-ler's song, "How Bad Can I Be?"
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Once the Once-ler can no longer lavish them with material wealth, they abandon him on the spot.
The Once-ler
Click here to see him as the president of the Thneed business.
Click here to see him as an old man.
Voiced by: Ed Helms
The Once-ler is an old man who recounts to Ted Wiggins how his discovery of the Truffula Forest as a young adult led to its depletion. Therefore, he could be considered a (former) secondary antagonist as well as the story's main protagonist.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: The Once-ler's face was never revealed in the book, and it's unknown if he is even human (given his spindly green arms and yellow eyes, plus the fact that most of Dr. Seuss's characters are weird creatures), although he does say he "speaks for men" and talks about "human opportunities". In the movie, he's fully seen and his younger self is a handsome human.
- Adaptational Intelligence: The literary Once-ler cut down the trees just for the tufts. After getting yelled at by the Lorax, this Once-ler harvests the tufts themselves and leaves the trees alive, at least until his family gets involved and encourages him to get greedy.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In the original story, the Once-ler's motivation was nothing but pure greed from the start until he cuts down the last Truffula tree. In the movie, he starts out as a fairly decent guy who just wants to impress his family, and even agrees not to cut down any more Truffula trees— until his family shows up.
- Affectionate Nickname: The Lorax endearingly refers to him as "beanpole" a few times.
- All for Nothing: His whole motivation for harvesting Thneeds at the expensive of local wildlife and his promise to the Lorax was trying to earn the love of his shallow, materialistic family. Unfortunately for him, while he does earn their attention with his Thneed business, it just becomes a way for them to exploit him— deep down, his parents don't truly care about him at all. The moment his business goes pear-shaped, his parents leave him high and dry and his relationship with the Lorax and the forest animals is damaged beyond repair as a result of his actions. Naturally, this turns him into a bitter, miserable recluse for a long time afterward.
- All of the Other Reindeer: He was the constant target of his family's emotional abuse.
- Ambiguously Human: In the book, as his face isn't seen and his limbs are green, but it isn't clear whether it is clothing or his body (in the movie, it is the former).
- Ambiguously Related: He resembles quite a bit like Ted, but it's unknown if they're related or not due to Norma's vague connection with the Once-ler.
- Ambition Is Evil: His ambition to create a successful business and earn the approval of his family, especially his mother, is what leads to him becoming a villain.
- Anti-Villain: He never had any malicious intent towards the forest.
- The Atoner: He spent all of his life saving/developing a seed that would help re-create the forests.
- Better with Non-Human Company: He ironically seems to be more comfortable around the animals than other people.
- Big Bad: A protagonist example, as the story is about his descent into villainy. By the time of the present, he's learnt his lesson and tries to offer the listener an ear against his environmentally damaging ways. In the film, he strangely becomes the Big Good in the present, giving Ted the last Truffula seed and pushing him to help the environment that he destroyed.
- Big Eater: Implied. In one particular scene, he cheerfully whips up a ninth serving of pancakes and offers them to the animals, many of whom are moaning and clutching their stomachs, and/or behaving tiredly. It's assumed that he's eaten roughly the same amount they have, and yet he suffers no ill effects from it. He can also easily put away a bag of marshmallows.
- Byronic Hero: A bizarre example, considering he's a character from an adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book. Nonetheless, he qualifies— he's handsome, morally conflicted, desperate to prove himself, and makes a huge mistake that leads to him becoming bitter until he's finally able to do something to fix it.
- Classic Villain: Vice: Greed. His Villain Song is about greed. What do you think "biggering" means?
- Conspicuous Gloves: Wears elbow-length green gloves from his Villain Song onward. He also puts on green work gloves when he cuts down the first tree.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has a sharp tongue, more so in his old age, such as when he jokes about there being a musical number about "the kid who kept interrupting the story and was never heard from again".
- Deuteragonist: He's the secondary protagonist. His story gets more focus than Ted's and he is responsible for the current state of affairs in the present, but he ultimately only gives Ted the tools and wisdom to save the day and it's Ted who fixes things in the end.
- Drunk with Power: His successful company led him to make very bad choices.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After decades with nothing to live for other than stewing on his regrets, he is able to make amends for his failures and reunites with the Lorax, who forgives him.
- Ecocidal Antagonist: Used to be this, and was responsible for deforesting the Lorax's lands, but becomes regretful of his actions and gives a seed to Ted to make things right.
- Establishing Character Moment: The scene where he is digging through his cart and throwing his things willy-nilly. He comes within a hair's-breadth of harming several forest creatures by accident. It helps to establish his character as a well-meaning instigator of environmental doom.
- Evil Costume Switch: The green suit. Even after his Heel–Face Turn, he continues to wear it.
- Ex-Big Bad: He is basically the main villain of the flashback story, but the main story takes place long after his fall from grace and he's been reduced to telling his story in the hopes that the next generation won't repeat his mistake.
- Face–Heel Turn: Breaks his promise with the Lorax in favor of his business and family, and heads down the slippery slope from there.
- Fatal Flaw: Comorbid greed and need for his family's approval lead him to mindlessly chop down all of the Truffula Trees and destroy Thneedville's environment for decades.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: His success with Thneeds along with his abusive family's influence turned him into a massive Corrupt Corporate Executive who ruined the entire land.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He invents the Thneed, the Super-Axe-Hacker, and the various mobile contraptions around his house.
- Green and Mean: He signifies his Face–Heel Turn by changing into a garish green suit, displaying his obsession with money.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: He is largely hidden behind a boarded-up window while telling his story to Ted. In the book, his face isn't seen at all, showing only his arms and legs.
- Heel–Face Turn: After witnessing the animals and the Lorax leave, the Once-ler spends his entire life regretting it.
- The Hermit: Becomes this after the trees are gone and his business goes under, the animals leave in order to survive, and his family outright abandons him.
- High Hopes, Zero Talent: His excessive ambition to earn his family's approval is constantly thwarted by his rascalism and naivety. At first.
- Hipster: Trendiness is a large part of his character, and defines the Thneed as a fad item that no one actually needs. This becomes significant when he ultimately ends up alone, forgotten, and out of touch with society.
- Honest Corporate Executive: He tries, and indicates that he takes care of his workers and donates to charity, but in the end, it's not enough and his neglect of the environment ruins him and everything around him.
- I Gave My Word: Subverted. His promise to the Lorax to not cut down trees does not last. And no amount of peer pressure is enough to make the Lorax forget it.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: He just wanted to become successful in order to finally win the love and respect of his family, especially his mother's.
- In Touch with His Feminine Side: He likes to knit (though he denies that knitting is feminine), sing, and cook, and likes pink. He seems pretty into fashion, and his dance moves consist of a lot of hip/butt shaking. All possible reasons why his family treat him the way they did.
- Jerk Justifications: His Face–Heel Turn consists almost entirely of these, both Types 1 and 3, and several more besides.
- Kick the Dog: Despite being an Anti-Villain, some of his actions during "How Bad Can I Be" are undeniably cruel.
- Knight Templar: He goes so far as to tell the Lorax "My conscience is clear."
- Large Ham: Can be quite dramatic.
- Lean and Mean: His thin and wiry build causes the Lorax to nickname him "Beanpole", and his story is how he became a selfish, greedy, and corrupt villain.
- Look on My Works, Ye Mighty, and Despair: Basically the whole premise of his character.
- Meaningful Name: Though he has a somewhat different motivation than the original, he still ends up using resources "once".
- Mr. Fanservice: His ass got a lot of screen time, and he seemed to like to show it off. He also strips down at one point, and later crawls across a table toward the audience.
- My God, What Have I Done?: His reaction when he sees the landscape after the last tree goes down is to feel deeply guilty.
- Noodle People: The second type. The Lorax doesn't call him "Beanpole" for nothing.
- Only One Name: He's known only as the Once-ler.
- Peer Pressure Makes You Evil: Although that still doesn't say much for his integrity.
- Pet the Dog: His rescue of Pipsqueak.
- Photo Op with the Dog: During "How Bad Can I Be?", he pets a puppy and claims a portion of his profits go to charity as a PR stunt.
- Predecessor Villain: He is this to O'Hare. He was the one who destroyed the environment of Thneedville and paved the way for O'Hare's rise to power, but he's long since fallen from grace and has become a tired old loner with nothing but his regrets.
- Pretty Boy: Young, slender, and not exactly the most masculine man with big blue eyes and a baby face.
- Real Men Wear Pink: "There's nothing unmanly about knitting."
- Selective Obliviousness: He ends up ignoring what is blindingly obvious to the audience, because he has achieved his goal of success.
- Slasher Smile: Has one at the end of his Villain Song, driving the point home that this is no longer the nice, innocent young salesman who began the song.
- The Social Darwinist: Invokes this during "How Bad Can I Be" (and also in Biggering) in terms of business vs. nature.
- Spell My Name with a "The": The Once-ler.
- Sweet Tooth: Loves eating marshmallows and pancakes.
- Tempting Fate: He rants to the Lorax "I have my rights, and I intend to keep on biggering and biggering and turning more Truffula trees into thneeds! And NOTHING IS GOING TO STOP ME!" Cue a zoom to an Ax-Hacker approaching the last tree...
- Time-Passage Beard: The elderly Once-ler has grown a thick moustache in the present day, resembling the Lorax's (a coincidence is unlikely). The Lorax comments on it when he returns.
- Token Good Teammate: The only one in his family with something resembling a working conscience.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: The Once-ler undergoes a jarring change in temperament (As part of a Face–Heel Turn in a Descent into Darkness Song) when his Thneed business becomes a success, turning from a mostly good-natured guy into a greedy, arrogant Corrupt Corporate Executive, carelessly abusing and exploiting the forest creatures he'd previously befriended.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After the Lorax abandons him, he spends the rest of his life trying to fix his mistakes and rebuild the forest.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Marshmallows and pancakes, but mostly marshmallows to begin with.
- The Unfavorite: He only became the favorite when his mother realized he could make a fortune.
- Villain Protagonist: His story focuses on how he was consumed by greed and destroyed Thneedville.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: He only wanted his family's affection (initially, anyway), especially his mother's.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He basically unleashes his personal issues on the world and gets high on his own power and success, realizing the harm he's done after the fact and regretting it.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Invoked. At one point, the Lorax is about to fight the Once-ler's Aunt Grizelda, and the Once-ler exclaims, "You wouldn't hit a woman, would you?"
The Mother
- Abusive Mom: Of the emotional variety — she often talks to his face about hating him.
- Deep South: The mother has a deep Southern accent.
- Fur and Loathing: Much to the Lorax's horror.
- Greater-Scope Villain: If she hadn't ordered the Once-ler to chop the trees down, the air never would have been polluted and O'Hare never would have gone into business.
- No Name Given: We never find out what her real actual name is and it is never mentioned in the film.
- Parental Favoritism: Once-ler's mother dubs her most successful child as her "favorite child", meaning the title can change people.
- The Woman Behind the Man: Although she is technically only the Vice-President of the Thneed Corporation, she is the Once-ler’s superior and the one behind the destruction of the environment.
- Unnamed Parent: We don't know her name.
Aunt Grizelda
Voiced by: Elmarie Wendel
- Evil Aunt: Yeah, no kidding!
- Evil Redhead: Aunt Grizelda is the only one with red hair and is also a Fat Bitch.
- Fat Bitch: Aunt Grizelda is a big, mean woman.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: She's not afraid to get her hands dirty when the Lorax prepares to fight her (before finding out she's a she).
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: The Lorax was surprised to learn that she's a lady.
- No Full Name Given: Her surname is unstated.
Brett and Chet
Voiced by: Stephen Tobolowsky
The Once-ler's older twin brothers.
- Aerith and Bob: Inverted. They have the only common names in a family that includes the Once-ler, Ubb, and Griselda.
- Big Brother Bully: They both abuse and tease their younger brother.
- The Dividual: Both of them are dim-witted hicks with little qualities to differentiate them.
- Even Evil Has Standards: After the Once-ler's business fails, they are shown to have looks of regret when their mother disowns their younger brother.
- No Full Name Given: Their last name is unknown.
- Rhyme Theme Naming: Brett and Chet.
- Single-Minded Twins: They have near-identical personalities.
- Theme Twin Naming: They appear to be identical twins, and their names rhyme.
Uncle Ubb
The Once-ler's uncle.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Never shows signs of being as mean as he is in the movie in Dr Seusss ABC.
- Adaptational Personality Change: His name comes from a character in Dr Seusss ABC, who was a Cloudcuckoolander who would wear his union suit in public. This guy is relatively serious, albeit animated.
- No Full Name Given: We don't know his last name.
Forest Critters
In General
The animals that reside in the forests and are friends of the Lorax, and later, the Once-ler.
- All Animals Are Domesticated: They only attack when they feel threatened. Otherwise, they're quite cuddly.
- All There in the Manual: Apart from one blink-and-you-miss-it momentnote , the movie never tells us what any of the animal species are called. That and the
Cut Song version of "This is the Place
", which names all three. - Balloon Belly: One of the Humming Fishes eats so many pancakes, he becomes large and fat.
- Big Eater: Lou, the fattest Bar-Ba-Loot, is a hungry eater.
- Cartoon Creature: Of Bar-Ba-Loots (bears, though they also resemble monkeys), Humming Fish (fishes), and Swomee Swans (swans).
- Cloud Cuckoolander: All of them are rather odd.
- Cute Critters Act Childlike: They all act quite childish.
- Extreme Omnivore: The Swomee cygnet eats playing cards.
- Gentle Giant: Lou is a very gentle Bar-Ba-Loot.
- Killer Rabbit: After the Once-ler barely misses killing some of the animals while unloading his wagon, one of the Bar-Ba-Loots doesn't hesitate to try to tear his throat out.
- Not Allowed to Grow Up: When we see the little Bar-Ba-Loot dubbed “Pipsqueak” alongside all the other animals when they leave their destroyed home, he looks exactly the same even though enough time has passed for the Once-ler to become a businessman producing thousands of Thneeds.
- Perpetual Smiler: The little Swomee cygnet is always smiling, even after it almost gets killed by the Once-ler's pointy tools. In "How Bad Can I Be", however, it can be seen with a sad expression when the Lorax shows the Once-ler the animals, showing that it really got serious.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Each and every one is a cutie. The smallest Bar-Ba-Loot cub “Pipsqueak” just might be the cutest with his wide eyes and fluffy body.
- Rule of Cute: Cuteness is their weapon.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: The three goofy Humming Fish disappear when it's time to be serious.
- Super Not-Drowning Skills: Inverted. The fish have no trouble breathing out of water despite being fish.
- Sweet Tooth: They all like marshmallows.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We never find out where they went, or whether they survived. Although a Swaomee Swan does appear at the end while the Once-ler is watering the trees he planted.
The Lorax
Voiced by: Danny DeVito
Lorax is the Guardian of the Forest. He speaks for the trees.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In the book, his fur was tan. But in the movie, it was orange.
- Big Eater: In the movie, when the Once-ler whips up a ninth serving of pancakes, the Lorax manages to groan "Pass 'em over" despite being as stuffed as the surrounding animals.
- Big Good: He's the Guardian of the Forest who (futilely) attempts to convince the Once-ler to change his ways.
- Deadpan Snarker: Whenever it comes to the Once-ler, he will insult him.
- Decoy Protagonist: Even though the movie's named after him, it's more about Ted and the Once-ler.
- Everyone Has Standards: He wanted to get rid of Once-ler but he doesn't want to kill him. In the river bed scene The Lorax was horrified that Once-ler was unconscious and limped after he landed on the ground with Pipsqueak and did everything he can to wake Once-ler up.
- Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: Especially his massive moustache makes him look like furry legged walrus.
- Fights Like a Normal: Though it's made clear that he is magical, when asked by the Once-ler why he doesn't use his powers to stop him destroying the forest if he cares about it so much, the Lorax simply replies "That's not how it works."
- Friend to All Living Things: He's friends with the forest animals and "speaks for the trees".
- Greater-Scope Paragon: In Ted's story. He hasn't been present in Thneedville for decades, but his influence continues to haunt the redeemed Once-ler and inspires Ted.
- Morality Chain: To the Once-ler. Played straight at first, but ultimately subverted as he cannot compete with the Once-ler's desire to succeed.
- Nature Hero: "I speak for the trees".
- Nature Spirit: He was summoned after the Once-ler cut down a tree.
- Non-Dubbed Grunts: Subverted with Danny DeVito, since he re-recorded his lines as the Lorax in Spanish (both Latin American and European), Italian, German and Russian.
- Power Floats: When he lifts himself away. And then un-lifts himself many years later.
- Secondary Character Title: The movie's named after him, but he isn't the protagonist.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: He has orange fur (except for his yellow beard) and green eyes.
- So Proud of You: Declares to the Once-ler that "you done good, beanpole" after the Once-ler redeems himself.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With the Once-ler for a while. It looks like they might become this again at the end.
