Biggering Storyboard 

_"Here's an emotionally charged song that perfectly displays the Onceler's greed and also fits perfectly with the original narrative and theme of The Lorax."_ Illumination: *We don't do that here.*

I like how in “How Bad Can I Be?” The Lorax is trying to save the trees, but in “Biggering” he’s trying to save the Onceler.

“Hey why’d you cut biggering? Do you think it would scare the kids?” “No I think it would scare the adults.”

I can't imagine how pissed the guy who sung his soul out for this song was when Illumination rejected it

This song, and a lot of the film's concepts that seem like they were heavily dialed down in terms of darkness, makes me think this film suffered from what Terry Pratchett calls "A script that had all the hallmarks of being good until the studio got to ot."

I love the scene in the elevator, it shows his descent into the dark side and when Lorax said "Pride" you see the bottom of the elevator descending showing his "Pride" pulling him down since he doesn't want to admit to De Lorax's words. His "Pride" is making him refuse to admit that his "Pride" is pulling him down. Beautiful. Edit: Spelling

Y'all gotta keep in mind, this was just one song. It would've been extremely weird for only this one song to be so dark, so it's safe to assume that the rest of the movie would've followed suit in tone had this gone through. One can only imagine just how powerful this movie's message would have been, and likely was planned to be at some point. A movie about corporate greed ended up being ruined by corporate greed. The joke practically writes itself, and yet I don't feel like laughing.

“Who cares if some things are Dying” This Oncler was built different

The Lorax needs a faithful, dark, and ambiguous rock opera adaptation with a segmented version of HBCIB, more realistic and gradual character development, and Biggering as the finale.

I like how you portrayed the Lorax as more of the Oncler’s morality. When the Lorax was talking to him about greed, we could see the Lorax shadow but not him actually. And the Lorax rejecting the Oncler at the end symbolizes his morality being all lost.

Imagine how insane Tumblr would go if this song made it into the final cut

Hear me out How Bad Can I Be still happens the same, being the Onceler telling Ted what happened It then cuts to the Onceler after Ted leaves, where he recalls what really went down, that being Biggering.

Illumination scrapping a song that would have objectively made The Lorax a better movie overall and properly conveyed the message of the real Lorax story in a dark tone, solely for more profits, is the most Illumination move ever

Dr Suess is crying that this wasn’t in the movie.

I feel like dreamworks would have done The Lorax right.

I like how this storyboard shows less of "look how fun for kids this movie is!" and more of how the Onceler's goals went from just keeping himself afloat to destroying as much as possible to make as many thneeds as possible to make as much money as possible, to keep, well, biggering. Also the line "who cares if some things are dying" hits soo much harder than the version that is replaced with trees, it just gives more emphasis on how the Onceler is actually causing so many animals to die and most likely go extinct.

"Biggering" is what really happened, "How Bad Can I Be" is what you say in court

Holy shit, that elevator scene was absolutely perfect.

idk how to explain it, but I feel like the onceler looks a lot more intimidating and scary in this storyboard than he does in the actual film

I am just glad they actually released this to the public cause man I love this song

"OH NO! This song is too close to what we are actually like! We need to cut it from the movie!!!"

The “Who cares if *some things* are dying?!” Would’ve hit so much harder to the audience. Especially since in the film we all got to know and love the adorable furry creatures the oncelor met.

I have absolutely no idea how nobody in Once-ler's company thought to harvest the seeds from the truffula trees they chopped down lmao

Don’t forget we also lost “YOURE ALL GOING TO JAIL!” So many scrapped things could’ve saved the movie

I like how the Lorax here talks that Pride is what feeds Greed. Not talked about enough. There's a reason why pride is considered the deadliest of the sins

Corporate greed is scary. The Lorax story is dark. If you don't wanna confront that reality, and try not to scare children, why make a Lorax movie then? Thats the whole point of the story.

I know this is just a storyboard but at 4:09 the way the Lorax horrifyingly looks at the Onceler, knowing he wont stop is brilliant as it is haunting

Instead of a G-Rated happy story about the onceler getting peer pressure from his parents and accidentally chopping down all the trees, we could have had a PG-Rated rock drama about the onceler actually doing his crimes on his own and not feeling any remorse for anything he destroys. Illumination should create a darker version of this movie with Biggering in it, i feel.

Biggering is what actually happened How bad can i be is just the way the Onceler told the story to that little kid

The darkest and best part imo is when he's rationalising it to himself by talking about how a company's an animal, and it's needing fed to survive and that it's (in a sense) part of nature itself. Really adds a lot of personality that is missing from the song that's actually featured in the movie. (I like it, just damn this would have been great fully animated).

this hits so much harder after seeing the greedy and borderline EVIL behavior studio CEOs and executives have put on display recently. their refusal to pay actors and writers right on top of plotting to use AI to replace them is super depressing. they even plan on dragging the strike until the SAG/WGA members start losing their apartments and houses. this whole situation is the embodiment of "who cares if some things are dying? I don't wanna hear your crying"

I like the line “I need a bigger staff”. He’s most likely referring to a staff for his company. I prefer thinking it as he wants a bigger scepter to go with his bigger chair and hat, like a king on his throne.

I will never forgive them for ruining the animal that doesn’t winds up someone else’s lunch. It’s so powerful here but there it was just annoying and came across as childish. This is a masterpiece and illumination is symptomatic of the very problem the movie was SUPPOSED to talk about.

You know, "How Bad Can I Be?" is essentially the Kidz Bop version of "Biggering," someone said once. I don't remember where I heard that though, but it's not wrong.

The fact that this would’ve not only been the best scene in illumination history, but the greatest villain song in animation history but they just said ”nah” is so insane. Hellfire really has nothing on this

Everyone talks about the Onceler’s solo at the end but my favorite part is Lorax’s monologue. It’s so brutal and honest.

Imagine the emotional impact this would've had.

I can't find the original comment so I'll just put this here again. Everyone is talking about that this should have been in the movie instead of HBCIB, but I think it'd have worked even better if they put both. Starting off with HBCIB as the Once-ler is still "naive" but doing increasingly questionable things in the name of money, which then returns as a dark reprise in Biggering (since they even share parts of the melody and lyrics) with a drastic tonal shift in the movie once he fully embraces his corporate greed and willingly descends into full-on madness, destroying the world out of his own avarice and newfound megalomania. By having a light-hearted iteration of the song in the beginning of his story that returns as a gritty reprise later, the audience would be able to see how far the Lorax has fallen from the "innocent" person he used to be, while still clearly seeing that he chose this path all by himself. It would have shown both how innocent intentions can go wrong (like the movie tries to), but alongside the original book's message that if a person becomes a monster like this, they'll have nobody to blame but themselves for it.

This song gives "Hellfire" a run for it's money. It sucks so much that we were robbed of it, especially since Lorax SHOULD be an unapologetically dark story.

“WHO CARES IF SOME THINGS ARE DYINGGGGGGGG!!!! I DON’T WANNA HEAR YOUR CRYINGGGGGGGG!!!!” *Bro that honestly hits way to close to home…*

The line "Who cares if some things are dying" gives me a mental image of a barbaloot being killed by one of those axe machines

I mean, I see the irony. The Once-ler cuts the trees. They cut the songs. Biggering it is.

Not only does it sound better as a composition, but the singer sounds so much more into his performance. He can feel himself being consumed by his power as the song goes on, and that's nothing short of amazing

“How bad can I be” is what he told Ted “Biggering” is what actually happened

I love how this animatic shows tthe Onceler getting glasses and actually seeming to age as he destroys the world behind him. It's not "chops down 1 tree, and then 1 overly repetitive and boring song later he's destroyed the region or even entire world's ecology and poisoned the air without ageing a day", it shows that years of him tearing apart nature is what does it, that he had plenty of time to consider the path he was going down and kept going down it. We even see his expressions become more and more similar to what you'd expect to see in a villain, we see how his greed grows. A now middle-aged Onceler who wasted what should've been some of his best years chasing money speaking to the Lorax, and instead of the Lorax having to explain it knowing exactly how much harm he's done or at most only now being willing to acknowledge the harm he knew he was causing but wilfully ignored, would've hit so much harder.

Honestly, this movie should be remade. A tad bit of a darker version, which includes this song. On another note, this song is so great. I know that the Once-ler is falling into darkness and is being a total jerk but at the same time you can really feel for him. You actually feel like you're with him at the top of the world near the end. Really says something about the human race. We want to do the right thing... but we also want things for ourselves.

"who cares if some things are dying?" I fucking love this part

2:08 *That is a nasty little worm... And I like to call it PRIDE* This movie could've left a gigantic mark if they'd chosen to take this route. The Lorax's bit about unrestrained greed and personal pride is so real it burns.

Although this song wasn't in the movie, let's all be grateful that we were able to hear it. We might of never knew that a song was created to truely represent the Lorax

Honestly the writers act as if they had to choose between this and HBCIB, but like, do they not understand what an amazing reprise to HBCIB this could have been?

This excatly what should have been in the film. He knows his, past, he knows all the people he's hurt, but his pride wont stop him from biggering. Lorax also played a more active role in this storyboard than being pushed around in "how bad can I be". Wonderful work.

Imagine putting your heart and soul into making one of the best songs in film history, only for it to be cut because it hurt some business man’s feewings

“if the customers are buyin’ and the money multiplyin’... who cares if some things are dyin’?” DUDE that line is so good why didn’t it get into the actual movie?? oh wait, because illumination was too scared to face the reality of corporate greed and consumerism in a kids movie because they were afraid it’d be “too dark”

honestly, what kind of movie did we miss out on that had this song in it??? like, the cheesy movie that we got could've never had anything like this, so WHAT was the first draft of the lorax like to allow for this banger of a song??

Maturing is realizing that "biggering" is better than "how bad can i be."

i really want for someone to turn this masterpiece into a 3D smoothly animated clip

this was cut to make the movie more relatable think about that, they were literally biggering

Wow this is just so….human…in a way that most don't like to ponder.

I like how this also shows the creation of thneedville, and actually shows the onceler as an actual villain and his decent into this greed and cruelty instead of being mamas boy who listened to their fam and “how bad can I be”?

To think how good this movie actually would’ve been if this song would’ve made the cut. Not only is it a better song, but it’s more organic to the story and it would’ve allowed a better opportunity to write a character growth arc for the Onceler. The movie would’ve made a lot more sense, and it would’ve been more faithful to the original onceler. He would’ve actually learned that he should actually give a shit about the environment, instead of realizing he made an oopsie and didn’t replant the trees. I’m one of the few people who actually unironcally like the Lorax movie (and I ironically enjoy How Bad Can I Be) but this movie would’ve been so much better with Biggering and would’ve allowed for more potential for the movie to be more respected.

I know, I'm probably terribly late for the party, but my dear god, this song is so great. Slow start, story development, the cut to the overwhelming silence right after the apex, the climax - everything just lines up perfectly. And not only that, but the overall message is much deeper that overly simplified "nature is gud cause we want trees". How Bad Can I Be has it's own merits, but Biggering is a straight up masterpiece, and realizing it's forgotten forever to be buried in the dumpster brings a single tear to my eyes.

Anyone else have a hunch that this film was meant to be waaaaaaay darker until it got watered down to what we have now by the execs? This certainly gives credence to that hypothesis...

At first I didn't realize I needed all this stuff I had a little cottage And that cottage was enough A place where I could sit and knit A place where I could sell my Thneeds But now I've had a little time To re-assess my needs And I need a bigger office I need a bigger chair A bigger desk, a bigger staff A bigger hat to wear Because I'm biggering I'm figuring I'm biggering And biggering is triggering More biggering Hey, listen up, meathead I'm going to say this once, and I'm not gonna repeat it Greed ya see, it's like a little pet, alright? And the more and more and more that you go and feed it The more hungry it'll get But you know, you really can't blame greed No, that's stupid You see, it's gotta worm inside Oh yeah, that's right It's one that always needs to feed And it is never satisfied You get it? But the more you try to find it The more it likes to hide Now listen that is nasty little worm And I like to call it pride See, now that's why you're biggering Listen here, idiot I'm figuring on biggering But that biggering's just triggering more biggering Got that? Alright There is a principle of nature That most every creature knows It's called survival of the fittest And this is how it goes The animal that wins has got to Claw and kick and punch The animal that doesn't Winds up someone else's lunch A company's an animal That's trying to survive (survive) It's struggling, and fighting Just to keep itself alive I must keep biggering I'm figuring I'm biggering Though biggering is triggering more biggering I won't stop Biggering I'm figuring I'm biggering And biggering is triggering more biggering And the customers are buying And the money multiplying And the pr people lying And the lawyers are denying Who cares if some things are dying? I don't wanna hear your crying This is all so gratifying

I’m glad people haven’t forgotten about this cut song from the Lorax after all this time. *It really does go hard like no joke.*

Illumination: *critiques capitalism* Also Illumination: Oh shit I forgot we're a corporation

This is so ironic that this got cut because of corporate greed

3:56 is amazing. And 3:58 is too. The once-ler, overwhelmed for a moment by guilt, reaches out to the Lorax, as a sort of peace offer. It is far too late.

Something I noticed in the lyrics while listening to this song again: In the last part (where the chorus takes place), the Once-ler says this: "Though biggering is triggering more biggering!" But then, in the next part, he states: "And biggering is triggering more biggering!" "Though" is replaced with "and," like Once-ler's fully accepting what he's doing. This could imply that Once-ler was having second thoughts. Or maybe I'm looking too deep into things.

Illumination: Oh no, this song is too dark and scary for younger audiences, we can't use this 😭😭😭 Me, as a 6 year old, watching Scar being eaten alive by hyenas and being engulfed by fire and Frollo singing about wanting to abuse a woman at all costs: This is fine

It's funny that executives thought this song was too dark for kids, when in reality I think it would've been the most popular song in the movie. Biggering is prime AMV material.

The writers of these songs appreciated and respected Seuss' language WAY more than the movie's scriptwriters.

The lyrics to this song is terrifying. It shows the truth self of the Onceler. He doesn't care about the animals, nor the trees, nor the Lorax, he only cares about the profits he makes from his Thneeds. THAT is scary, and that is a real thing happening in companies.

How Bad can I be: Who are you? Biggering: I'm you but stronger.

"who cares if SOME THINGS are dying!" You almost had the balls illumination, you almost had the balls...

And this cut right here is an example of why Illumination is it’s own worst enemy. They play things too safe, and keep their stories safe.

"Why are you trying? This thing is for childern, come on dumb it down a bit" A producer probably

Everyone feels bad for the singer, but imagine how bad the composer feels.

I feel like it also would have been a more interesting detail if throughout the song you saw less and less of the Oncler's face to the point he’s pretty much identical to the original greedy Oncler from the book.

Rare that a song that is not only narratively but also musically getter gets cut. The song slaps and is a much better representation of how a normal person can turn into a greedy CEO of a company like say, I don’t know, the guys that own the minions

It's funny how 5 minutes of scene, just a single song, could make the film 10000x more impactful and in line with the Lorax creation proposal.

I like how he doesn’t just say he “wants” a bigger office or he “wants” a bigger chair, he NEEDS it. It really shows just how greedy he’s gotten that he can’t distinguish between a want and a need.

this makes the onceler seem like an actual villain rather than a guy who did an “oopsie” and ruined the environment

Composers: yall really think this would scare the kids? Producer: kids? We already shit our pants

Biggering is such a masterpiece, accurately displayed how greedy and monsterous companies and big cooperations are, and is generally and amazing villian song

I love this version of the Onceler, mainly because he's well aware of all the harm he's doing, he just doesn't give a shit

I'm scared that i can genuinely vibe to a song that was made for that Lorax movie

I believe that we should bring this back, in honor of Universal, who distributed Lorax, who made the brilliant decision to cut trees that were providing shade to striking workers around the studios. Because the irony is just... so palpable. After all, why does Universal care if some things are dying, they just want to keep Biggering.

Dr. Suess is feeling a little better in his grave now that there are people who appreciate this.

Meanwhile, in a better universe then our own...

The idiots at Illumination Pictures didn't realize the sin they've made by letting this scene go unused. Something could've at least been salvaged from this overall bad adaptation besides the meme material.

This is best deleted song I have ever heard. It rocks so hard and reminds me of Worthless from the Brave Little Toaster or something from Pink Floyd's The Wall. I can only imagine what a fully produced version would sound like.

2:18 2:36 3:46 3:53 Honestly these frames scare me. The faces of Onceler and the Lorax are so dark and macabre revealing Onceler's frightening and monstrous look, while the Lorax's face is brutal and honest, keeping his eyes fixed with honesty and brutality looking directly at Onceler He doesn't get scared, sad or anything like that, he gets pretty rough because of Onceler's uncontrollable and never-ending corporate and greedy destructive actions.4:09 in this section Lorax really gets scared knowing that onceler will NEVER stop and the increasingly insane and scary and cruel situation of onceler 4:26 wow ok this frame is bizarre and scary it just shows how sadistic he is knowing that SOME THINGS are dying but he doesn't give a shit just caring about his fame glory power wealth and unbridled profits. throughout the storyboard, onceler has a high seriousness and apathy, showing no regret or remorse with what happens around him a real monster.

What's heart-wrenching is that this song- not "How Bad Can I Be"- comes with the realization that the Lorax isn't just trying to save the trees. He's trying to save the Once-Ler.

Sure 11 year old me thought "how bad can I be" was a bop. BUT THIS WOULDVE SLAPPED SO HARD AND MAKE THE WHOLE CINEMA WHEEP

This song is terrifying, it shows how the Onceler wasn’t pushed into success by his family like in the released movie, it shows that greed isn’t the root, he wants success, and is willing to step over so many little things to get to it. He’s still human, but he’s also doing awful things, that companies refuse to show that there are evil people in the world that, in fact, are still humans, just trying to strive for success. They know the consequences of there actions, and they don’t care.

No joke, this fan-made storyboard along with this rejected song is better and more enjoyable than the entire movie, by far. It also actually, you know, *gets the point of the original story properly across.*

Reasons why this song wasn’t used: 1: if they used it kids may feel slightly weird and they might even have to think and that wouldn’t sell as many toys. That’s it. Thanks illuminations

can you imagine being the writer and storyboard artists who worked on this only for it to be scrapped for shallow bubblegum pop trash?

I'd kill for a fully-made version of the original idea they had for the movie Like i wanna see this actually evil Once-ler fully realized

"the more you try to find it, the more it likes to hide. Now listen, that is a nasty little worm, I like to call it... pride!" absolute fire!