History DarthWiki / TheLoraxReimagined

''The Lorax: Reimagined'' is a ([[WorkingTitle currently unnamed]]) concept for a [[PseudocanonicalFic Pseudocanonical]] FixFic for ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'' by Tropers/AoeAbility. The idea was originally conceived in late 2018, when Aoe visited [[Website/TvTropes This Very Wiki’s]] page for ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'', and found out about the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen deleted content]], including “Biggering”. It caused him to reevaluate the movie as a whole, and especially the elements the adaptation introduced, resulting in the idea to take [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot all the interesting takes on the original story the adaptation introduced and did nothing with]], and make them the story’s primary focus.

''The Lorax: Reimagined'' is a ([[WorkingTitle currently unnamed]]) concept for a [[PseudocanonicalFic Pseudocanonical]] FixFic for ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'' by Tropers/AoeAbility. The idea was originally conceived in late 2018, when Aoe visited [[Wiki/TvTropes This Very Wiki’s]] page for ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'', and found out about the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen deleted content]], including “Biggering”. It caused him to reevaluate the movie as a whole, and especially the elements the adaptation introduced, resulting in the idea to take [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot all the interesting takes on the original story the adaptation introduced and did nothing with]], and make them the story’s primary focus.

!!Cue the music! Let us begin…

* AdaptationalHeroism: Unlike the book, The Once-ler’s initial motivation is not money, but his desire to become known and change the world. He even attempts to help The Lorax on numerous occasions, [[EvilPaysBetter until he realizes how much he’s missing by doing so]].
* AdaptationalExplanation: One of the fic’s primary plot points is the origin of Thneedville. Quite obviously, it was created by The Once-ler himself, [[BreadAndCircuses in order to distract the people from their increasingly harsh environment]].
* AdaptationalVillainy: After The Once-ler strikes it rich, his actions become much more unambiguously amoral, and unlike the movie, where he’s [[ObliviouslyEvil blissfully unaware of the consequences]], he instead couldn’t care less.
* AdaptationExpansion: The story’s main plot picks up where “How Bad Can I Be” begins, and focuses on the events that happened in that time span.
* AdaptedOut:
** Despite the increased importance of Thneedville to the main story, Aloysius O’Hare is only [[TheGhost vaguely referenced]] at best.
** The Once-ler’s family is completely removed from the plot, having The Once-ler himself be the reason for his FaceHeelTurn.
* AffablyEvil: The Once-ler doesn’t even start out evil, and is a genuinely jovial, helpful person, if a bit arrogant, at least at the beginning.
* ArcWelding: The FramingDevice is much more tightly connected to the main plot, as it is much more directly stated to result from the latter’s events.
* ArcWords: “The primary principle…”. Used at the beginning of every MotiveRant delivered by The Once-ler towards The Lorax.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: The penultimate time The Once-ler encounters The Lorax, he shrugs off his desperate pleas for action with:
-->'''The Once-ler:''' You know, everything I’ve ever gained in my life, I have earned through work. ''[[GoodIsImpotent And what have you ever done to advance your cause]]?''
* DemotedToExtra: The forest critters, while still present, are not given nearly as much prominence as they had in both the book and the movie.
* ForegoneConclusion: It should be obvious from the beginning how the story is going to end. The Once-ler himself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades this]] right before he proceeds to tell about the first time he met The Lorax.
-->'''Ted:''' You can’t tell me that’s it.
-->'''The Once-ler:''' If you think this story has a happy ending, hate to break it to you, but it doesn’t. You already know how all this ends. Why do you want to know everything so badly?
-->'''Ted:''' Omitting things will not make them “not happen”, and besides, do you have anything better to do?
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: The moment The Once-ler [[HeelRealization finally realizes about everything horrible he has done]], he apologizes to The Lorax, who only replies with “It’s too late now.” That’s when he sees the last tree about to fall. He desperately rushes to save it, but in vain.
* LastNoteNightmare: Thneedville presentation starts out as a fun, upbeat CrowdSong in the style of ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'', and it remains so until The Lorax shows up for the final time. Then, as The Once-ler gives him one final MotiveRant, The music becomes much more intense, bordering on PsychoStrings near the end.
* MythologyGag: The entire project makes tons of references the original book, the 1972 short, and the 2012 movie:
** The first posters advertising Thneeds read “$ 3.98, one-time offer!”
** One of the slogans of Thneeds, Inc. is “Everybody Needs A Thneed!”
** The Once-ler’s second outfit is a recolored version of the tuxedo Ted wears in his imagining of Audrey’s birthday
** The montage of The Once-ler’s rise in wealth and fame ends with him making a joking aside of “Come on, how bad can it ''possibly'' be?”.
** The Once-ler’s words towards ted near the end are bit more dramatic case of this trope, referencing the very beginning of the movie:
-->'''The Once-ler:''' Take this seed, plant it, and protect it with your own life. Maybe then there will be a brand new dawn in Thneedville.
* RayOfHopeEnding: Like the book, the story ends with The Once-ler giving Ted the seed in hope of fixing what he destroyed. Though Ted accepts his task, he offers The Once-ler a choice to help him do so.
* {{Tradesnark}}: Many of The Once-ler’s side products (which includes Thneedville itself) have a tiny blurb below their name saying:
-->''Property of Thneeds, Inc., LLC, under the ownership of the president, CEO, and The Once-ler-in-chief, all rights reserved.''
* UnPerson: By the time Ted and The Once-ler return to Thneedville, The Once-ler realizes that nobody remembers him at all. Even when a random person walks up to him and asks for directions, and [[LudicrousPrecision The Once-ler responds with direct coordinates of the location on the city map]], that person just walks away confused.
-->'''Ted:''' They really don’t recognize you, huh?
-->'''The Once-ler:''' That just proves the city [[BreadAndCircuses fulfilled its primary purpose]].
* VillainousBreakdown: At the final time The Lorax confronts The Once-ler, near the end of Thneedville presentation, The Once-ler ''absolutely loses it'', beyond any outburst he had before, and is almost about to injure, if not ''kill'' him in rage.
-->'''The Once-ler:''' I’m going to continue biggering, ''and biggering, AND BIGGERING, and'' '''NOTHING''' ''is ever going to stop'' '''ME''', '''ESPECIALLY NOT YOU!'''
* VillainProtagonist: Like its source material, The Once-ler is the viewpoint character for the story, while being its BigBad.

Intended to be an animated movie, much like the original 2012 adaptation, ''The Lorax: Reimagined'' is updated upon sporadically, and [[DevelopmentHell is still in the planning stages, and probably will remain so for years]]. It is also intended to be a [[TheMusical musical]] with heavy Music/PinkFloyd influences, though, only time will tell whether this will be the final idea or not.