the "few things" vs "few trees" distinction makes a HUGE difference, not only because he's killing more than just trees, but also because he knows and acknowledges the fact that hes killing more than just trees.
i think "who cares if a few trees are dying" implies that he's choosing to ignore the situation as a whole and he's ignorant as to how his actions are rippling out. "who cares if a few things are dying" shows that he knows exactly what he's doing, but he just doesn't care.
To add to this, remember, it wasn't "few things," it was "some things." "A few trees" and "some things" are a huge contrast. He knows the damage is large but is ignoring it.
@@sambradley9091 yeaaah some is much more vague than a few. a few trees brings like,, 3 or so individual trees to mind. some things could be like,, an entire species
I remember seeing this comment on Biggering, "What's wrong producers, or whoever was in charge? Hit too close to home?" and I think about that sometimes
Biggering is pretty clearly the remnant of an earlier, darker draft of the script. You couldn't just plug a song that sounds like that and includes the line "who cares if some THINGS are dying" (rather than "trees") into a movie with the tone of the final version. I'd love if an earlier script draft were leaked, like the original Gremlins draft that was more violent. The Thneedville demo having Ted interested in getting a tree so he can be the first kid on his block to have one, rather than so he can get a girl to like him, also indicates that the story used to be very different.
+Jodgee SAME! Just cuz some people are over sensitive about how dark The Biggering is, that doesn't mean people who like it shouldn't be allowed to have it I'm pretty sure some little kids could handle it too, cuz in the 80's and 90's little kids were shown way darker shit in kid's movies.
Have you seen any children's movie ever? The best ones from the eighties and nineties always shoehorned in some dark skit, it was sometimes out of place but it was usually the best part of the movie
By what I got from listening to the demos it sounded like ted would have go through his own greed while listening to the once-lers story I bet he would reliaze that while trees are important the reason he wanted one in the first place was wrong
If Illumination bothered to give Once-ler’s devolution of character more than three minutes they could have kept both songs. Start with *How Bad Can I Be?* , with the protagonist cheerfully jumping around, wondering if the growth of his corporation is really that bad of a thing. Keep the “who cares if a few trees are dying”, cause really, the damage is not that visible at first. It’s just a dozen of trees, there’s more. And then, after the persona of Once-ler is established, proceed with *Biggering* . At first he underplayed the damage to comfort himself, but now it’s too glaring to be ignored and he doesn’t care. Now finish with “who cares if some things are dying” for some juicy cinematic parallels and highlight of the nature of the slippery slope of pride and greed Gosh, bruh, so much potential straight outta the window. Biggering is a bop, plus the music and vocals are much stronger and more aggressive, it could have been such a beautiful shift of tone
I agree so much it should've shown him thinking "whatever its fine" then progressing to "what have i done, but i need even more now its not my problem" when it is out of selfish pride . But they didn't think of that, they needed it to be further from it being about them almost.
When I hear it I feel that "biggering" was the climax for "how bad can I be", make it from the naive Once-ler to the nasty evil person one can become if they let creed and pride let loose.
you like 'how bad can I be' just because its catchy, it is actually a bad song because it portrays the Once-ler as someone who isn't at fault for his actions and doesn't understand what he's doing, but he knows exactly what he's doing, he just doesn't care for the long term. Which is the same exact BS corporations say when they do something wrong: "we didn't know lead was poisonous, even though we bribed scientists and government departments to deny the fact, we're innocent we tell you!".
When I heard "Biggering", I instantly felt it was a shame it didn't make it in the actual movie. It's a powerful song. And while I liked "How bad can I be" some time ago (now I find it quite annoying), "Biggering" is obviously superior.
I was listening to the Lorax OST and in the Thneedville demo, Ted starts singing about all the stuff he doesn't have and that all he needs to be happy is "all the stuff i never nad" and i think that wouldve been an excellent foil to biggering, especially how the onceler talks about all that he ever needed.
It really shows how easily pride and greed can make you want more and more - Ted growing up in a society filled with that mentality and how the taste of it can push even a humble person to become destructive
I wish they stuck with the idea of Ted learning that materialism is destructive by scrapping the crush narrative and having Ted want a tree because there aren’t any left and making the Once-ler a true villain but the script was scrapped because it was deemed “too relentlessly dark”, a shame really
How Bad Can I Be is The Once-ler denying what he's doing is wrong. Biggering is The Once-ler admitting what he's doing is wrong, and that he doesn't care.
I decided to listen to Biggering after hearing someone talk about it, and after it was over, I thought "this is... honestly too intelligent for a modern kid's film." I mean, it shouldn't be, but somehow it is.
@@FlyingFocs So was Prince of Egypt but that didn't stop 8 year old me ( even me now ) from enjoying the film. Plus kids content can still get dark without leaving all its whimsical and goofiness, look at Kung Fu Panda 2 or you know, the original Lorax for example. If producers couldn't handle making a movie about consumerism destroying the planet a bit more mature then maybe they shouldn't make the movie in the first place
I seriously just found out about it, and hell the shame that i felt. I feel like Biggering shouldve been it because it really reflects the problem more broadly. The problem is, anyone can get pride and greed, and it usually happens when we actually become successful and end up wanting more and more. HBCIB was okay, but i think Biggering shouldve been a superior choice because it gives a more real depiction of what companies/industries do. They know the harm theyve caused, but they dont care. Seriously, it was obvious that Biggering was the superior song. What went through their heads when they decided stuffs?
I really like Biggering. It is a great song. I actually like more the original demo songs of the Lorax. It is more varied, better for characterization overall, and with nice lyrics. From the amazing Biggering to the funny as hell Onceler traveling madness.
Edgy noodle how bad can I be= a dumbass song that tries to make a point about “pollution is bad fellow kids” but fails and ends up being a pretentious song that just doesn’t work.
@@kevinbacon5492 It's more of one half of the song. I see biggering would've had a better effect if it had How Bad to start it off and let Biggering be the bigger darker brother of the two, a way to give more contrast to the other.
I was surprised to hear "Biggering" on the soundtrack, as it didn't really sound like any other song that made it to the film. This is a good sum of the thoughts I had about it, but the film only goes so deep, so Biggering would almost come off as overwrought when the rest of the movie never makes so much of itself. My favorite things about Biggering *is* the music itself, though; the conversational set up had me thinking of the way songs like "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and "Paranoid Android" sound like acts in a play, and when Onceler's guitar comes back in with his final verse, it has a bit of a "Working Man," vibe.
@@suckypuckle9292 I have no idea if there's scrapped storyline basis for this, but I see fans inserting Norma into the story as a former love interest/friend/employee. I like this idea! Like you say, the movie as is wouldn't support that kind of depth. But Norma's optimism about Ted's mission could carry a more bittersweet weight, a personal investment that ties into the "we're all accountable" spirit of the story.
I actually really like both songs, but I do feel like Biggering would’ve worked better in the movie. It gets across the message and gives the Once-ler more character. I have to say that HBCIB is really catchy, though. HBCIB is my favorite song in the movie, but I do prefer Biggering for the story.
I would argue that, with the movie structured as it is, Biggering would have been too dark a tone to fit with the rest of the movie. I mean, those bears are made to have the same childish energy as creatures such as the Minions or Rabbids and such; I don't think they would translate into Biggering. This isn't to say Biggering is bad, it's not, but it is clearly made for a different type of movie.
@@theguywithsomething8634 a different type of movie that the lorax was, in fact, going to be. i won't go into detail but. the original movie was supossed to be way darker, similar to the book.
I kinda love this explanation, it's a bit weird that the Onceler would tell Ted everything he did in the worst light possible, that song was kinda his attempt to justify it to ted. Even though we all love to talk about how much better "I sit down with myself is" than How Bad, they both play the same purpose. To say, "This is what's gonna happen, whether I did it or not."
@@ALIEN-DUDEI think the air still exists, because trees aren't the only things thst make air. He did destroy envirement but what about algae, and more. I think he's just getting empty bottles and selling them. He's doing this because THEY don't think air still exists
I’m pretty sure a big part is that the air is fine, I saw a theory on it. I mean it’s an open place (no roof) and there’s no produced air outside, but people still spend time outside without smelling anything like what Ted mentions once he leaves the town. So yeah I think O’hare is just screwing with these people or something
I'd rather have both. with "How Bad can I be" being the major cord build up, where the Onceler is blind to the problem, and the problems haven't yet escalated too far. Then after a few moments of the Lorax confronting him and exposing the truth to him, then The minor cord "Biggering" shows how he acknowledges the affects of his actions but actively choosing to more forward anyways. that way there is more focus on how we got there, and just replace the beginning and end with the ones from the book. This way the two songs become reflections of each other. one is the lies we tell ourselves that cause the problem, and the second the pride and greed that not only keep us from fixing said problem, but grow it. If we ever go back to remake this film I hope both come back but better! and that's my very long two cents!
I agreeee this would’ve been perfect. The pop tune and light-hearted beat of HBCIB, turned into the dark and theatrical “Biggering”. Something that started out so innocent and with good intentions turned into a horrible thing.
How bad can I be does one thing right, in that it shows that someone can tell themselves all manner of excuses as for why it's alright for them to take more and more. But it fails in that it refuses to examine the damages done to the animals and the environment. Literally all it does is show goop being poured on the fish, the birds getting hit with smog, and the trees getting cut down. The biggest and in my opinion the best line in Biggering is straight up the realization that things, animals, are dying because of his actions. And he doesn't care about that. His need for money has overtaken his need to ensure that the animals that he made friends with, are safe and able to survive while he makes a comfortable living for himself. Add in the fact that the Onceler is no longer the 'innocent entrepreneur turned corporate head', but is the 'innocent entrepreneur who was totally going to do as he said, until his family came along and badgered him into growing the company' It maintains the Onceler as an innocent. It's not *his* fault, per se, his manipulative bitchy mother came along and made him feel like it was all for her, he needed to do it or she'd be upset. "You've gotta do what's best for the business. . .And your momma." Which is manipulative as shit and the Onceler is just a helpless stooge that does as his mother says. He's innocent, he's not getting the corporate greed, he's trying to take care of his family! That's only natural, you can't blame him for that, can you? It should be noted a message that sometimes family is wrong, and sometimes family uses you is important, but it's *NOT THE MESSAGE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GET FROM THE LORAX* The message you get is supposed to be 'Hey y'know guys maybe if we could reign back the corporate greed, maybe we wouldn't be in quite the huge fucking mess we're in'. Biggering lays it all out on the line. People can say HBCIB is subtle, and supposed to be satire, but the impact of Biggering is like a goddamn anvil to the head, in a way that HBCIB cannot possibly even hope to match. It explains how people work. How people tend to get comfortable. . .And then want more. And take more and more pride in all their stuff. That they never knew they 'needed'. It turns the Lorax from a quiet begger and pleader, who doesn't even get a line in HBCIB, into a force. Someone trying to convince the Onceler that no, this is too much. He's hurting people, he's hurting the Lorax's friends. This is unsustainable, and if you keep feeding that need to get bigger, that need to keep biggering, it's all going to fall apart.
I feel that there is a little off about your view. The Onceler IS a bad guy, and it IS his fault... he grew more and more powerful and became more and more of a jerk. He didn't stay innocent. It was just that, once he lost everything, the people that actually loved him were too hurt to accept him again, and the people that pretended to love him no longer had a reason to. How Bad Can I Be, I feel represents HIS OWN view of the situation better, while Biggering shows the perspective of the victims... He doesn't view himself as the villain until it's too late... So I feel each song actually shows a different perspective. His mom wasn't at fault, she was just the catalyst. He himself was at fault, but in his own head, he still felt that he was the same person the Lorax and crew loved, not realizing that, he wasn't...
@@TheDeathmail It just feels too safe sadly. It just sounds exactly what the corporate wants to hear, making it trendy, catchy pop music score that is marketable from the statistics. It just continues making the excuse of the "they didn't know it could be harmful" message the corporates try to paint themselves. Bigerring is embodying the message of what Seuss wanted to send. That corporations know what they are doing is harmful, but they dont care. Moral is not their priority, they only want all the money. And yes, kids can handle the rock opera music and a much darker tone, if that wasn't the case they would have been scarred from the hunchback of notre dame Hellfire. I sure I wasn't when it came out.
The Lorax movie came close to the message of the book, but faceplanted right at the end because it "needed" to be easily digestible. Making the Onceler an everyman that people can relate to is a good move if he has agency. Biggering is about a Onceler who has agency and has gone down the slippery slope of greed and pride. At the start, he can still turn back, but doesn't because he "needs" to grow his business. However, in the movie, the Onceler doesn't have agency, and thus Biggering doesn't work. How Bad Can I Be has some subtle jabs at the shallow excuses and deflections that corporations use to defend their actions, but you really need to sit down and analyze it. Biggering is in your face about it's message. There are no excuses, deflections, or subtle jabs. It is a song about pure, unabashed greed, and how it corrupts people. There are many things wrong with the Lorax movie, but the handling of the Onceler is probably its greatest sin.
There's another dark layer to the line, "Who cares if a few things are dying", any human living in Thneedville at the time with any health problems that affect the respiratory system (asthma, cystic fibrosis, etc.) and/or have a disease that makes them immunocompromised are screwed. All those health problems are going to be exasperated and would have been made much deadlier.
I think about this a lot and how Ted's grandma who was shown to be in pretty good shape with the stuff she does, is really the only old person we see in the movie even when they all come together it's adults and kids meaning most if not all of the people around her age have died because they couldn't survive the excessive pollution and oxygen they were used to growing up.
the line isn’t even “a few things” it’s actually *”some* things” which i think makes it even more impactful cause *a few* hints that it isn’t too many, but *some* is far vaguer and more concerning
Choosing the catchy, easy song instead of the challenging, thought provoking one, yep, that sound like Illumination alright, this movie could've been so much better
It's a kids movie bro I don't think "the thought provoking one" kids are gonna enjoy because they're like 9 and i doubt their thinkin much of the song lyrics. Also, "the thought provoking one"? dude cmon you gotta be joking that shit is more on the nose than having to think about it just look at the lyrics. I mean both songs are on the nose but cmon, i wouldn't call one more thought provoking than the other. i would say the songs are like basically the same just like a genre shift
@@demontamerbf18 yeah seeing as how im a kid myself, i would say they’re pretty dumb. I probably watched this when i was 7-9 so i didnt even know this was an “anti-corporation” movie until i listened to hbcib like 7 times and realized the message.
it was cut out because it was "too dark." What illumination? Did biggering hit too close to home for you? I mean think about it, by replacing biggering with "how bad can I be?" they were BIGGERING by making the message watered down and completely ignoring the point to save their own asses.
That isn't what biggering means. They were just going for a poppy mass appeal movie, that's all it was. The execs don't give a fuck about the movie itself, to them it's just a vehicle for more money.
I would say that How Bad Can I Be is catchier, and fully inhabits the Onceler's perspective, starting at a point at which he really isn't that bad, and shows how he doesn't see any difference between his earlier and more innocent and sustainable behavior and his later abuses of the environment. He denies the Lorax's warnings that his business could be destructive , and continues this denial even as it becomes obviously false. Because of how fully it reinforces the Onceler's uncomplicated perspective, it lacks depth and substance, similarly it's perspective of the Lorax as a petty annoyance lines up with how the Onceler would perceive him at this point in his life. In contrast, Biggering approaches it from an outside perspective, the lyrics are still largely from The Onceler's perspective, but the tone is much more ominous, contrasting the carefree facade he's trying to project. It is less catchy and focused, but deeper and more substantive. While HBCIB is focused on a single perspective, hoping that it's hypocrisy will be made apparent by the lyrics and visuals, Biggering is an interplay of perspectives. The Onceler says he's happy, that he's gratified, that if he just gets a bigger office, a bigger desk, everything will be hunky dory, but the grungy melody and baseline gives the lie to that idea, shows how deeply unhappy he is. How he is consumed by his greed and hunger for ever more, how the constant growth he thinks will make him happy is actually making him miserable, like an addiction. When the Lorax makes his case, we listen to him not just because of the music building behind his words and the choir echoing him, but because the music has been telling us this the whole time. How Bad Can I Be presents the situation as a comedy while Biggering presents it as a tragedy. The film forces the main thread of the book into a single musical number, focusing instead on the basically fine world before this environmental devastation, and the empty, plastic, but still livable world built on the ashes of the living world. If the film was going to shrink from it's own main point in this way, Biggering is indisputably the better song, as it fully encapsulates the complexity of the situation, but ideally a single musical number would not be burdened with encapsulating the entire plot of the book. I like How Bad Can I Be, but ideally it would be just one part of the story of the Onceler's fall from grace, counterpointed with a song from the Lorax explaining the flaws in this perspective, and a song from the Onceler once the last tree has been cut about his regret that he didn't stop sooner. In this way each of the perspectives that make up Biggering could be given the same clarity and purity of expression as the Onceler's pride, greed, and willful ignorance of the consequences of his actions is in HBCIB. How Bad Can I Be is catchy and focused , while Biggering is deep and dense. How Bad Can I be replacing Biggering is just another consequence of a movie that is supposed to be about industrialism and its consequences flinching as intensely as possible from actually depicting industrialism and its consequences.
I hate how they replaced "the biggering" to make the movie more relatable, completely ruining the message in the process so they could do exactly what it is warning against. They make the Oncler seem more like someone who was just pressured by his mom to make bad decisions rather than someone who was consumed by greed and economic growth so that more people would like him and watch the movie more. By doing this, they changed the Lorax from being a cautionary tale against the dangers of capitalism and over using resources to being a story about yet another "quirky" main character who makes bad decisions to fit in. Not only that but The Biggering is a way better song than HBCIB in general, it also has so much more raw emotion, and that is just the demo! Imagine how much better the movie would be if they put the biggering in instead, or at least made it a reprise to HBCIB. Don't get me wrong, your family isn't always right and you can't just do anything they say, but *that isn't the theme of the lorax.* Or is that what they wanted us to get out of this decision? By letting the lorax advertise for cars that help pollute the earth? Are they trying to show us that this is a real thing that takes place in our everyday life?
In my opinion, biggering is more relatable. Biggering is a song about the start up company, something that most movie watchers are a lot closer to than a huge corporation.
@@EmmaBonn96 true, since it does mention how greed and pride feeds off and will always get hungry, wanting more. It's very applicable to anything, especially during our highest peaks in life with success.
Exactly! The original didn’t include the Oncelers face, because it was showing that The Onceler could be *anyone* and anyone could become like him. The movie literally ignored it’s own message
@@StarDustwolf77 too be far it is an adaptation and it would quite a long time without seeing his face, but what if they just made him a normal person instead of the embodiment of tumbler crushes and at the end of biggering, the onceler strikes the hidden pose he had as ceo in the original short film. And stays like that until the last tree is cut down to show how dehumanised he had become
How Bad Can I Be isn't trying to justify the Oncler's destruction of the environment; it's the Oncler trying to justify the destruction to HIMSELF, and we as the audience are supposed to see that as an empty lie.
I agree. I think the problem with that, though, is what Charles pointed out above: unlike Biggering, it doesn't address the moral conflict directly, just alludes to it. Biggering focuses on _why_ the Onceler is doing this, and instead of presenting it as a jokey comedic thing, it presents it as a serious thing. Idk.
I agree; that's what HBCIB is _trying_ to do. The problem is that it fails to realize that a song the audience is meant to see as an empty lie needs to be written differently than one they're supposed to agree with. Yes, people (even children) can think for themselves, but if they are thinking "This song is wrong" while the movie says "This song is right," the dissonance is going to make for a worse movie.
@Adrift at C Yes, I think the actual problem is that the song is too catchy and upbeat despite being about a pretty serious topic. 'Biggering' would have been much better in getting the moral across because it's somber and thought-provoking. I think a possible reason people prefer 'How Bad Can I Be?' may be because many of them don't think children can handle serious and thought-provoking stuff.
I actually liked HBCIB; it's kind of air-headed and vapid, yeah, but I never got the impression from it that we were supposed to agree with the Onceler justifying his actions to himself. Collecting the charity proceeds for himself, framing the Lorax's endorsement, even just the crazy dutch angles that put us at the mercy of his chopping machines, he's thoroughly villainized in the song. However, Biggering is much better -- musically, lyrically, and tonally. It *is* the rebuttal to HBCIB, and it's a showstopping one at that. I think it should have been used alongside HBCIB, as a callback. That way, the catchy emptiness of HBCIB would be properly put in its place, and moreover, the Onceler would be explicitly shown as self-deluded.
It's about plausible deniability. Remember that whole plot thread they added in the film, that has nothing to do with the book, where the Onceler's family COERCES him into chopping down the trees? That was included so that all the devastation that happens after wouldn't be entirely the Onceler's fault. Which destroys the message - because in reality, it IS all our fault. We knew using that plastic straw was bad. We did it anyway. BP knew about the oil spill; they carried on anyway. Nestle knew exactly what they were doing when they stole an entire town's water supply and sold it back to them. They're not stupid. HBCIB is trying to sell us something that does not happen in real life. In real life, people KNOW when they're making these choices. They weren't forced; they weren't coerced. They weighed the options and they consciously decided the environment wasn't as important; or that people weren't as important. Biggering talks about that concept - and it was removed in favour of a safe, comforting lie.
Biggering is so huge and dramatic and dark and I legitimately want to make an entire cartoon around that version. It is, also, in fact, METAL AS F**K. 🤘
My favorite part about biggering is its portrayal of The Lorax. In How Bad Can I Be, he just pathetically tries to stop the onceler by just standing in his way. But here, he feels more like a frustrated forest spirit, explaining to the onceler why what he's doing is wrong, and why he feels justified in doing so. He sounds fed up, a figure that exists to caution even though he has no real power to stop the onceler and knows it
@YoungOasis and why did they put it for little kids instead of making it 14+? Because they didn’t wanna traumatize children with the hardcore truth of our existence
I feel like if you changed a couple of lyrics, Biggering, with its darker and more solemn tone could actually have been used after How Bad Could I Be, showing how Onceler reflects upon his actions when looking at the desolate landscape that he created, realizing how corrupt he became and how he never meant to take it this far, but what's done is done and now he has to cope with his actions
This shows that Illumination still has the same good writers that made the original despicable me, they just don't use them. The original movie was supposed to be about corporate consumerism and the greed of businesses, how even a likable person can turn out to be a monster if enough money is involved. Sounds similar to something you might have expected from 2000s Dreamworks, who are now also under illumination's thumb. But they dumbed it down repeatedly, changing ted's motivation from consumerism based greed into a childhood crush, changing the onceler from a truly corrupted individual at the end into a naive and ignorant destroyer. If the original story was kept, this would have been considered the second good movie that illumination made. But funnily enough, the ideals of consumerism that the original screenplay warns against ended up ending this message because it was "too dark" and "not marketable", instead going with a light message of basic environmentalism. Then, once it came out, the Lorax had 70 corporate tie-ins. A real shame.
I'd die for a version of the movie like this. It's sad because this was probably early drafts of the script and the producers made it fluffier and nicer "for the kids". This could've been something special, whoever composed this song knew their shit.
@@pizzawashere8940 I would have liked to see the movie with its original script since it would give us the message that dr seuss wanted to give us in the book I would die to see that version of the old script
I think they should have had both. Biggering reuses some lyrics from How Bad Can I Be so having it as a darker version later on would be super powerful
I feel like having both songs in the movie, would have been really good, I think listening to HBCIB first, and in the background see Lorax speaking, but we as the audience, not be able to listen to him, and then immediately going to Biggering and be able to listen to Lorax and see that HBCIB is basically a combination of a PR stunt and a justification of the Onceler actions to himself, plus it would feel like that scene in Mulan where they are singing A girl worth fighting for and them the destruction caused by war and see the difference in the mood of the scenes
The primary flaw of "How Bad Can I Be," is not the self-victimization through equating greed with nature, but in the ironic glorification of greed as ideal. "How Bad Can I Be" is a catchy pop-rock tune because (aside from being more marketable) it is meant to invade the mindspace of the listener, and much like how by his melancholic monologues Milton's Satan evokes sympathy in readers of Paradise Lost, make the audience genuinely identify with the desires of the Oncler, who by the end of the song is shown to be fallen from his initial state of naive and idealistic grace to a corrupt and destructive existence. The problem herein is that this is a children's film, and a moral meant to be learned through identifying with a successful character only to feel shame upon realizing the extant of that character's corruption is TOO SUBTLE A MESSAGE. By comparison, "Biggering" is much more straightforward in its presentation of its point, because it directly addresses the moral dilemma of greed and corporate growth conflicting with the desire for sustainability. I agree that "Biggering" is the better song in terms of theme and presentation, and genuinely believe that it should have been in the film rather than "How Bad Can I Be." However, I sincerely believe that you failed to properly analyze and then summarily dismissed the latter song due to preexisting bias against it based on your own personal taste in musical styles. (On a related note, you don't seem to know what stylistically constitutes Rap, which would warrant its own discussion, but that is neither here nor there.)
Charles Gorillionaire I'm going to disagree with you that How Bad Can I Be is too subtle. Kids are capable of understanding subtlety, and the visuals paired with the song are anything but subtle. Children aren't going to agree with the dude kicking the teddy bears.
You're both wrong. Carrier, children aren't stupid. They might not be able to consciously understand the nuances of how "How Bad" is different from "Biggering," aside from one being catchy and the other having the Lorax sing, but they _will_ pick up on the differences. It's the same way that _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ worms its way into their minds while crappier cartoons slip out; they might enjoy both while watching, but the quality of writing _is_ noticed. But, Charles..."How Bad" is not trying to subtly tell you that the Onceler is wrong. It is having the Onceler say something wrong and leaving it at that. The movie doesn't even try to explain _why_ he's wrong. There's more to "let the audience make the connection on their own" than showing something wrong. I mean, even _Birth of a Nation_ goes _that_ far.
@@timothymclean You see the consequences of what he's doing in the background during the song, you see the trees being chopped down and you already know what happened to the world after this. You know WHY it's wrong already by watching it.
@@matti.8465 it's never actually addressed Why should a child care about a tree and a bunch of animals? Yeah, they are suffering in the background but why should we care, the song never even tries to explain why being greedy is bad, for the contrary, its actually saying that greed is ok as long as you have plausible deniability of your actions
@@MrPF I think it does do a good job of showing it's bad. It's clear what he did was bad. What it does wrong is give that plausible deniability you mentioned. These same kids who are raised on the belief companies don't realize they do wrong will likely think, oh well, this oil company had no idea its pipe was faulty, the dump was bad but they shouldn't be sued! It wasn't their fault! When what we need to teach youth, especially now, is that we must hold companies accountable regardless if they know or not (and that they probably do know).
I think that The Prince of Egypt has one of the best sound tracks for an animated movie. Most of the orchestral music was composed by Hans Zimmer, and the songs are very well written too. I highly suggest watching it if you haven't seen it already or just listen to the sound track. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, also has a great sound track. When movies have good music it almost has the same effect as listening to a good concept album for me haha.
Biggering weirdly reminds me of Hellfire in the sense that both Frollo and the Onceler attempt to justify their horrible actions (Frollo claiming that it was not his fault and blaming Esmarelda, the Devil and even God for his lust, and the Onceler claiming that he needs to keep biggering and destroying the environment or he "will become another's lunch") There is more to both songs (like the lorax warning the Onceler about pride although his warning gets ignored by the Onceler and the guard interrupting Hellfire to tell Frollo that Esmeralda escaped,who is heavily implied to be an angel sent to give Frollo a chance to forget his obsession and his sin before being called an idiot and cast aside sealing his fate) although I have already written an essay and cant be assed to continue.
Biggering actually FITS with the plot, it gives a reason for why trees matter. The onceler is supposed to represent companys and how they abuse the environment. How bad can I be is just... a mediocre version of biggering, its just answering a question with- well a question. It doesn't fit with the plot as well. They're just to scared to admit this is how companies work and left it.
I really like this interpretation because it shows that both songs have their own points that their making; that their not just a better/worse version of eachother
Honestly,biggering made me cry. I usually don't cry but I also noticed that his guitar represented him,his personality. Towards the end,at the peak of his evil,it stopped,representing that he was not who he once was,and is now totally consumed by his greed and pride. Biggering is a powerful song,something that the makers of the Lorax said was "too scary for little kids",when in reality,they thought it was too real.
I think "who cares if SOME THINGS are dying" also includes humans as well. Health hazards from air pollution comes to mind. Side tangent: the chorus is more powerful in Buggering than in the latter. It just reminds me of Queen and Panic.
"How bad can I be" isn't even that bad of a song in a bubble imo, but they should have at least made it out as the onesler was actually just making excuses and trying to convince himself that it's not his fault and that it's not so bad. But they don't do that, and it literally comes off as the the movie itself being delusional. But it was just so tonally off for what it should have been. "Biggering" had the potential of being one of biggest/best villain song ever. Something on the lines of Hellfire from Notredame. I genuinely think it's that good. Such a missed opportunity.
Many have philosophized over the ideas of whether or not human kind’s morals are objective or subjective. How Bad Can You Be says you are naturally evil under a certain set of circumstances. Biggering says you can choose whether you’re good or bad. I think we both know what’s the more mature and better song.
Honestly the Lorax should've had a darker tone and stuck with biggering, I know the movie was made for kids but the message they tried to send was much darker than they could. they basically took a skull and crossbones and turned it into sugar and candy and dressed it up to lose it's meaning. I kinda like how bad can I be however biggering hits harder not only in tone but also in message, it would've been more impactful and done more for the film than what we got in the final version.
To be honest, I really love "how bad can I be", as it is catchy, upbeat and easy to sing along, but DAMN! "Biggering" is just in another level. Less a song to sing along and more one you hear with intent, that requires your attention, that questions everything.
Another thing that I like about Biggering is that Onceler sounds a lot more calm at the starts, but when we get to the "Who cares if some things are dying" line, he sounds a lot more shouty. I also like the "I don't want to hear you crying" part, more so in agreement with the interpretation that he's saying that the customers are just as much to blame because they were buying from his corporation and causing it to succeed.
This reminds me of a comment from another video about how "how bad can I be" gives us the memes and Biggering gives us the good quality we wanted the movie to have
When i heard biggering, it gave me literal chills, especially when i hear "Who cares if somethings are dying" Its not just trees, It can be animals, environment, etc and especially humans-
I like How Bad Can I Be, and of course the Onceler is trying to justify things to himself, because what he's doing feels so amazing he can't stop, or don't want to. and the poppy catchiness fits with his mindset where it's so easy to lose himself in it than thinking too much about it (maybe it could have worked to have a darker reprise, though, or something in-between). although what I don't like is how they make the Lorax so... petty (which is a problem in general, how it plays the Lorax for laughs until the moment he leaves), so there I agree that the other song is stronger in how it includes the Lorax, and makes me wonder how the rest of the movie could have been if they went with this instead. feels like it would be less flippant at least.
Honestly biggering is better because the song itself is him, somber, weighted down and alone. Noone is trying to drown him out, nothing is acting all cheery and light, and nothing is being sugarcoated
Even leaving aside meaning, rock opera like Biggering is sorely missing these days. You get bubblegum pop like How Bad every day on the radio, re-introduce some WEIGHT and grit and actually make a statement, and get some kids into ROCK
I think both songs should have been in the film, though the film would have needed a rework for that. "How Bad Can I Be?" could have been the song of the modern-day protagonist, who is starting down the same path as the Onceler. "Biggering" could then have been a response to "How Bad Can I Be?", the Onceler answering the protagonist's question by [musically] explaining his own past/greed/pride/mistakes.
The way I can put it: The original soundtrack was trying to accurately represent the book and show the message, while the final soundtrack tries to prevent parents from getting mad because their kid is crying.
The first time I heard Biggering, my first thought was ‘I love it when someone goes absolutely HAM in a kids movie even though they didn’t have to’. I can’t believe how heavy, and intense, and aggressive it is in the back half, starting with the Lorax’s verse. It kicks. your. ass. I’m honestly amazed it made it as far as being fully recorded and produced. We’re blessed just to have it finished honestly. I like HBCIB in its own right, it’s catchy as hell and all, and I like how you can hear a remnant of Biggering’s ominous, heavy choir and instrumentation in the background of the last verse. But at the end of the day, it has no teeth. And it s definitely no rock opera masterpiece like Biggering is.
Greed is the thing that makes you wanna say "i want that thing." Meanwhile on the other hand, pride is what makes you look at the concequences and say "Yeah, so?"
I really want a mashup between the naive "How Bad Can I Be" slowly transitioning to "Biggering" as the wounds start to widen and the scabs left behind not allowed to heal. But then I realized that that is musically almost impossible since the songs were so tonally different (maybe a transition scene to stick these songs together but-) in the end, we have to pick one. The Moral of The Story or The Catchiness of The Song
Biggering is the Superior song. I can't believe this was not in the movie because I can't stop listening to it, it's my only favorite song from the lorax movie.
The one big thing about this song is that Illumination probably wouldn’t further have a foundation to produce movies if Biggering was the song used instead of HBCIB. Especially in 2012. In today’s day, it probably would have survived. But the fact that Biggering is a target to not only the Onceler, but also the corporations that are absentmindedly affecting the public negatively and their factories and industrial plants tearing apart our planet. Hollywood, without a doubt, would have plummeted Illumination before it could produce another film. And this film probably wouldn’t exist. They did their best to accommodate for the sensitive parents and impressionable children with HBCIB. It did make the movie a whole lot more cheesy to me after I heard that, though. Biggering would have stuck for years in a more striking and hardcore way. “HBCIB is just an easy song while Biggering challenges you.” I absolutely agree. Of course everyone remembers HBCIB because it has the notes that appeal to the younger ears and has an easily memorable chorus. But Biggering develops. It makes you want to sing it like a broadway performer with greed and pride behind your vocals. It’s that kind of an angry, nasty, true, aggressive, relentless song.
Both of the songs work better when played right after another, in HBCIB he is trying to convince himself that he’s still in the right in biggering he is basically right into being the bad guy it would be good character development for him to go from not caring trees are dying to not caring if anything is dying
Its actually kinda funny. The whole issue could have been solved by treating thneeds like diamonds, and treating the trees like crops to be farmed. Hoarde the thneeds and release them in small increments and inflate the prices over time. This would create the added benefit of their increased value, which customers in the past can use to profit from, almost like turning Thneeds into stocks. Then isolate the woodland into a series of areas designated for milling and regrowth, respectively, then farm them like you do any other crop. The Lorax wasnt just a nature spirit, he was hiding the secret to some real hardcore biggering.
The idea is that theed's became a fad. Like how meme popularity expires within a week. He was cashing in on the popularity of thneeds. And funny enough after the trees all died, no one cared about thneeds anymore
The use of “survival of the fittest” is saying you need to “claw and bite and punch” in order to survive, not that some animals are predators are some are prey.
I learned of this song today and I have to say, it makes me want a rock opera take on the Lorax now. I feel like Biggering would work immensely well as part of a rock opera.
Things dying. Trees dying. It's a one-word difference but the difference is huge. Trees are one thing but the book was just as concerned about, maybe MORE concerned about, the animals and the air quality and all the rest of it. Biggering then isn't just superior musically or for bringing the Lorax in to argue but for lyrically hedging closer to the source material and thereby covering a greater and more nuanced scope. Fuck, this movie was awful.
the movie had an incredible potential to be one of the best movies if the original script and the demo songs had stayed, we would have made it a gem of a movie
Me when I first heard "How Bad Can I Be": OMG I LOVE THIS SONG IT'S AMAZING OMG (I was like 7 or 9 okay) Me when I heard "Biggering": ...I have made a crucial mistake. WHY didn't anyone tell me about this MASTERPIECE SOONER?! THIS SONG IS OBVIOUSLY SUPERIOR IN EVERY WAY SHAPE OR FORM.
I love biggering WAY more than the how bad can i be. The darker tone sets the mood way better, and tells you how serious it is... it also just sounds way better in general.
I love videos covering topics such as this, a song that removes all plausible deniability being cut is so fucking telling and on point for modern media
How Bad Can I Be is catchy, but Biggering is powerful. Biggering does such a good job building up in it's momentum, gradually becoming an epic mess of a song that still manages to be such a slap. And I think we can all agree that between the two songs, when they shared lyrics, Biggering did it better. obviously there's the "some things are dying" vs "a few trees are dying" comparison, but another that really sticks out to me is the "become someone else's lunch" line. In How Bad Can I Be it's just a quirky, annoying little throwaway line, but in Biggering it feels more powerful and threatening. It's like saying "Haha, get eaten lol" vs "If you can't keep up, then you'll get stomped into the ground". But that's just how I see it anyway
Pride works better as a flaw for the onceler than greed. Consider it. You have a guy who was bullied by his entire family, nothing he could do was ever good enough. Then, just once, he does something worth praising. He pushes and pushes that one thing, he begins biggering. He has been starved of pride for so long he gorges himself on it. The family doesn’t make him greedy, but they can urge him towards pride. To a lesser extent, biggering sounds close to beginning, to me at least. And the song kinda reflects that. Biggering shows the process of being a startup company that becomes huge. How bad can I be, just revels in being big. How bad can I be shows you a villain, but biggering shows you that the villain can start small, just like you.
@@rainingtacos3135 Right. The Lorax actively confronts the Onceler about how he's ruining the valley and corrupting himself, while in HBCIB, the Lorax is instead constantly being pushed around by the song, never says a word, and never directly confronts the Onceler.
Honestly first time I saw "How bad can I be" I found it catchy. It was a neat song. But then I heard biggering. And I gotta say it hits way harder and it just sounds way better.
The one thing I’d like to add is that the final note is amazing. Guitar and chorus going higher and higher until the choir gives out and the guitar warbles out shortly after. Natural dies and then so does the man made.
I feel like “Biggering” put the Onceler in a more story accurate light. The Onceler in the book wasn’t oblivious. He knew exactly what he was doing by constantly expanding the operation well past sustainability. The final film paints him as oblivious or in denial from peer pressure, which just didn’t feel right. I honestly would have far preferred his final redemption arc if they had stuck with the lawful evil depiction they originally wanted to use.
Despite being somebody who actually enjoyed the 2012 Lorax film now that I actually know about this song that didn't make it into the film it really makes me think twice about how bad can I be. Biggering is considerably much better and really gets the message across
Years late but... Biggering is one of the most powerful songs I've heard in a children's movie. It's dark, thoughtful, and soulful. It better fits that dark ambiguity that the original book had. I guess things like this don't really sell, so that's why they decided to take it out. Don't wanna make people feel bad. Jeez How Bad Can I Be comes off as vapid and fluffy by comparison.
I'm pretty sure Biggering was cut because it wouldn't be able to just stick with as many people. As well as the fact that it was ‘too dark’, and they also wanted to make the Once-ler relatable. I feel like Biggering is one of the most popular cut songs from The Lorax (2012). Plus, Biggering would resemble the Once-ler in the book way more. In Biggering, the Once-ler knows what he's doing. This makes sense (at least in The Lorax (2012)) because he wanted the acceptance of his family. *Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.*
This is the first time I see someone not only analyze the lyrics but also how even the instruments carry the meaning of the song!! Just by listening to them, without dialogue, you know what each part of the song is portraying and how its characters feel and act. It's brilliant.
I think you're NOT supposed to be warm towards biggering. I'd more of say, it's supposed to send chills down your spine. Yes, you can love the song, I do, but it's horrifying, and cold... AND THAT'S WHY I LOVE BIGGERING, MORE THEN HOW BAD CAN I BE.
Well and another thing in the line "who cares if some things are dying?" It deconstructs and generalizes the trees, the fish and Barbalutes to allow him to clean his own conscience and this is also what corporations do in real life. "Who cares? It's just some people."
Honestly for me a VERY big difference between biggering and how bad can I be is that in how bad can I the onceler looks surprised at the dead valley, not realysing the full extent of his actions until it was too late, hence the lane "a few trees are dying" showing he didn't notice everytiing else, as where in biggering it shows that he made the concious decition to keep going, fully aware of the impact he was having as demostrated in "a few THINGS are dying" tho simply opting to not care about it and act oblivious later. Honestly I think that a big reason it got cut it's because it exposes that logic of "acting" like they didnt know the dangers that the companies have while its actually a lie and they just didnt care, it was a too blunt hit and lets remember that the studio making the fild is owned by one of sed companies.
Here's what should happen if they added biggering, I think 1. Have the lorax send the animals to find new homes before the last tree is cut, rather then after. And instead of him being sad, have him not give a shit and only be sad when the last tree is cut, not cuz he ruined natural, but cuz he couldn't make a profit anymore, just like in the og. If he's not oblivious, then it doesn't make sense for him to be sad when the animals leave. Cuz how tf you gonna say 'who cares if they die, I can sleep at night 😋" then be like 'wait, guys, I sowwy. Pwease don't leave 😢 it was a joke, I was just kidding 😭' 2. Don't have the lorax come back at the end. As in this version, it wasn't his mom who manipulated him, he was just greedy and selfish and he doesn't have plausible deniability either, he knew what he was doing, he knew he was abusing animals which makes me absolutely SICK, heck even knew he was hurting people too. He just didn't care. What a sick, evil fuck. "Who cares if a few trees are dying?" Shows plausible deniability while "who cares if some things are dying?" Absolutely does not. I even forgave him at the end and sympathized with him since I believed he didn't know what he was doing. If biggering was used, however, I would not have felt sorry for him nor forgiven him, Much like 1972 onceler. And neither should the lorax. If the onceler knew the pain he was causing, he would not have deserved for the lorax to come back. Just like how 1972, since he KNEW the pain he caused, did not deserve for him to come back either. Errrmmm, sorry for this long ass essay, idky, but I'm very interested in the difference between biggering onceler/1972 onceler and hbcib onceler/2012 onceler
A comment I read on another video about Biggering is that if they cut back in the Thneedville story they could've included both songs. Starting with HBCIB then having the Lorax taking the Onceler around the forest showing him the devastation he is causing on the forest. After this it'll be the Onceler falling to his pride and greed and breaking into Biggering making the call back of "Who cares if some things are dying" to the "Who cares if a few trees are dying." Along with all of the other parallels between the songs showing the shift from "Plausible deniability" to "I know what's going on but I don't care"
the "few things" vs "few trees" distinction makes a HUGE difference, not only because he's killing more than just trees, but also because he knows and acknowledges the fact that hes killing more than just trees.
i think "who cares if a few trees are dying" implies that he's choosing to ignore the situation as a whole and he's ignorant as to how his actions are rippling out. "who cares if a few things are dying" shows that he knows exactly what he's doing, but he just doesn't care.
To add to this, remember, it wasn't "few things," it was "some things." "A few trees" and "some things" are a huge contrast. He knows the damage is large but is ignoring it.
@@sambradley9091 yeaaah some is much more vague than a few. a few trees brings like,, 3 or so individual trees to mind. some things could be like,, an entire species
@@burdlo4687 Some can mean trees, fish, bears, birds, and maybe even the people of Thneedville
@@sambradley9091 i know
I remember seeing this comment on Biggering, "What's wrong producers, or whoever was in charge? Hit too close to home?" and I think about that sometimes
That commenter knows what’s up, they are an absolute legend
Saw that one
lol, that's what I was thinking when listening to the song. "They must have cut this out cuz it just hit too close to home for them." 😆
I practically quote that comment every time I complain to someone why I don't like the movie lol
The producers after hearing Biggering: This, but unironically!
Biggering is pretty clearly the remnant of an earlier, darker draft of the script. You couldn't just plug a song that sounds like that and includes the line "who cares if some THINGS are dying" (rather than "trees") into a movie with the tone of the final version. I'd love if an earlier script draft were leaked, like the original Gremlins draft that was more violent. The Thneedville demo having Ted interested in getting a tree so he can be the first kid on his block to have one, rather than so he can get a girl to like him, also indicates that the story used to be very different.
+Jodgee
SAME! Just cuz some people are over sensitive about how dark The Biggering is, that doesn't mean people who like it shouldn't be allowed to have it I'm pretty sure some little kids could handle it too, cuz in the 80's and 90's little kids were shown way darker shit in kid's movies.
@Ty The Great I guess it hit too close to home for Illumination
Have you seen any children's movie ever? The best ones from the eighties and nineties always shoehorned in some dark skit, it was sometimes out of place but it was usually the best part of the movie
I would legitimately read that entire script if it was leaked. I'm loving the idea of this earlier draft
By what I got from listening to the demos it sounded like ted would have go through his own greed while listening to the once-lers story I bet he would reliaze that while trees are important the reason he wanted one in the first place was wrong
If Illumination bothered to give Once-ler’s devolution of character more than three minutes they could have kept both songs. Start with *How Bad Can I Be?* , with the protagonist cheerfully jumping around, wondering if the growth of his corporation is really that bad of a thing. Keep the “who cares if a few trees are dying”, cause really, the damage is not that visible at first. It’s just a dozen of trees, there’s more. And then, after the persona of Once-ler is established, proceed with *Biggering* . At first he underplayed the damage to comfort himself, but now it’s too glaring to be ignored and he doesn’t care. Now finish with “who cares if some things are dying” for some juicy cinematic parallels and highlight of the nature of the slippery slope of pride and greed
Gosh, bruh, so much potential straight outta the window. Biggering is a bop, plus the music and vocals are much stronger and more aggressive, it could have been such a beautiful shift of tone
Yes, just *yes*
I agree so much it should've shown him thinking "whatever its fine" then progressing to "what have i done, but i need even more now its not my problem" when it is out of selfish pride . But they didn't think of that, they needed it to be further from it being about them almost.
Yes! YES!!! I was JUST thinking that!!! 😃👆🏾
I definitely agree, you get the most bang for your buck if you use both songs, in the words of George Lucas: "it's like poetry so that they rhyme"
“... potential straight out the window” and this is why I cry at night 😢
I like both songs but I feel like Biggering is closer to how the book was supposed to be
When I hear it I feel that "biggering" was the climax for "how bad can I be", make it from the naive Once-ler to the nasty evil person one can become if they let creed and pride let loose.
I think biggering is better for the movie, but how bad can i be is just too amazing musically
@@jacobsmith4980 is good, but widouth biggering clossing the act it miss the point the original made.
you like 'how bad can I be' just because its catchy, it is actually a bad song because it portrays the Once-ler as someone who isn't at fault for his actions and doesn't understand what he's doing, but he knows exactly what he's doing, he just doesn't care for the long term. Which is the same exact BS corporations say when they do something wrong: "we didn't know lead was poisonous, even though we bribed scientists and government departments to deny the fact, we're innocent we tell you!".
Yeah, the book portraited the Once-ler as a greedy company owner, not a naive hipster boy.
When I heard "Biggering", I instantly felt it was a shame it didn't make it in the actual movie. It's a powerful song. And while I liked "How bad can I be" some time ago (now I find it quite annoying), "Biggering" is obviously superior.
I imediatly fell in love with biggering when i heard it for the first time too
@@6.6kiwik6.6 Same
Ikr!
Are we the same person?
@Unboxing PH yes he did
I was listening to the Lorax OST and in the Thneedville demo, Ted starts singing about all the stuff he doesn't have and that all he needs to be happy is "all the stuff i never nad" and i think that wouldve been an excellent foil to biggering, especially how the onceler talks about all that he ever needed.
It really shows how easily pride and greed can make you want more and more - Ted growing up in a society filled with that mentality and how the taste of it can push even a humble person to become destructive
I wish they stuck with the idea of Ted learning that materialism is destructive by scrapping the crush narrative and having Ted want a tree because there aren’t any left and making the Once-ler a true villain but the script was scrapped because it was deemed “too relentlessly dark”, a shame really
@@commitco3213 or maybe they dont want people accociating illumination with it
How Bad Can I Be is The Once-ler denying what he's doing is wrong.
Biggering is The Once-ler admitting what he's doing is wrong, and that he doesn't care.
They had the perfect setup but squandered it. Fantastic idea.
I decided to listen to Biggering after hearing someone talk about it, and after it was over, I thought "this is... honestly too intelligent for a modern kid's film."
I mean, it shouldn't be, but somehow it is.
If only they put Biggering in alongside HBCIB.
Then it'd be a fucking great arc.
@@FlyingFocs So was Prince of Egypt but that didn't stop 8 year old me ( even me now ) from enjoying the film. Plus kids content can still get dark without leaving all its whimsical and goofiness, look at Kung Fu Panda 2 or you know, the original Lorax for example. If producers couldn't handle making a movie about consumerism destroying the planet a bit more mature then maybe they shouldn't make the movie in the first place
I seriously just found out about it, and hell the shame that i felt. I feel like Biggering shouldve been it because it really reflects the problem more broadly. The problem is, anyone can get pride and greed, and it usually happens when we actually become successful and end up wanting more and more. HBCIB was okay, but i think Biggering shouldve been a superior choice because it gives a more real depiction of what companies/industries do. They know the harm theyve caused, but they dont care. Seriously, it was obvious that Biggering was the superior song. What went through their heads when they decided stuffs?
I really like Biggering. It is a great song. I actually like more the original demo songs of the Lorax. It is more varied, better for characterization overall, and with nice lyrics. From the amazing Biggering to the funny as hell Onceler traveling madness.
Hi
Any of the original demos are better than what we got
omg oncelers travelling madness is the funniest thing omg
@@_w3irdpanda_326 it really is.
@@hunnybunny3211 True. I recommended a friend to hear the demos in order and then watching the movie.
Biggering = beautiful eargasms
Edgy noodle how bad can I be= a dumbass song that tries to make a point about “pollution is bad fellow kids” but fails and ends up being a pretentious song that just doesn’t work.
raffle baffle that make sense
@@kevinbacon5492 w-well damn dude that song slapped
I agree. I have yet to hear the whole song because of the rush of adrenaline I get from the parts I've actually heard.
@@kevinbacon5492 It's more of one half of the song. I see biggering would've had a better effect if it had How Bad to start it off and let Biggering be the bigger darker brother of the two, a way to give more contrast to the other.
I was surprised to hear "Biggering" on the soundtrack, as it didn't really sound like any other song that made it to the film. This is a good sum of the thoughts I had about it, but the film only goes so deep, so Biggering would almost come off as overwrought when the rest of the movie never makes so much of itself. My favorite things about Biggering *is* the music itself, though; the conversational set up had me thinking of the way songs like "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and "Paranoid Android" sound like acts in a play, and when Onceler's guitar comes back in with his final verse, it has a bit of a "Working Man," vibe.
Presumably, the version of the film that was going to include Biggering was making more of itself than the shit we got.
@@suckypuckle9292 I have no idea if there's scrapped storyline basis for this, but I see fans inserting Norma into the story as a former love interest/friend/employee. I like this idea! Like you say, the movie as is wouldn't support that kind of depth. But Norma's optimism about Ted's mission could carry a more bittersweet weight, a personal investment that ties into the "we're all accountable" spirit of the story.
I actually really like both songs, but I do feel like Biggering would’ve worked better in the movie. It gets across the message and gives the Once-ler more character. I have to say that HBCIB is really catchy, though. HBCIB is my favorite song in the movie, but I do prefer Biggering for the story.
Yeah, but as the overused joke says
*"I guess it hit too close to home for illumination"*
I would argue that, with the movie structured as it is, Biggering would have been too dark a tone to fit with the rest of the movie. I mean, those bears are made to have the same childish energy as creatures such as the Minions or Rabbids and such; I don't think they would translate into Biggering.
This isn't to say Biggering is bad, it's not, but it is clearly made for a different type of movie.
@@theguywithsomething8634 a different type of movie that the lorax was, in fact, going to be. i won't go into detail but. the original movie was supossed to be way darker, similar to the book.
@@theguywithsomething8634 well the original story of The Lorax would have been that type of movie that you ment soooooooooo.............
Yes
"How Bad Can I Be" is what the Once-ler told Ted.
"Biggering" is what actually happened.
I kinda love this explanation, it's a bit weird that the Onceler would tell Ted everything he did in the worst light possible, that song was kinda his attempt to justify it to ted. Even though we all love to talk about how much better "I sit down with myself is" than How Bad, they both play the same purpose. To say, "This is what's gonna happen, whether I did it or not."
@@apersonwhomayormaynotexist9868yea, I think that's why he made himself seem all likable and sympathetic period. Like, yk, it's his pov after all
The biggest gripe I have with the movie is that they didn’t have the balls to show what happened if you couldn’t afford the air.
Oh yeah, I never thought about that, how do you sell air?
@@ALIEN-DUDE I imagine they make the chemical mix of breathable air in labs and sell it in containers
To be honest... nothing
@@ALIEN-DUDEI think the air still exists, because trees aren't the only things thst make air. He did destroy envirement but what about algae, and more. I think he's just getting empty bottles and selling them. He's doing this because THEY don't think air still exists
I’m pretty sure a big part is that the air is fine, I saw a theory on it. I mean it’s an open place (no roof) and there’s no produced air outside, but people still spend time outside without smelling anything like what Ted mentions once he leaves the town. So yeah I think O’hare is just screwing with these people or something
I'd rather have both. with "How Bad can I be" being the major cord build up, where the Onceler is blind to the problem, and the problems haven't yet escalated too far. Then after a few moments of the Lorax confronting him and exposing the truth to him, then The minor cord "Biggering" shows how he acknowledges the affects of his actions but actively choosing to more forward anyways. that way there is more focus on how we got there, and just replace the beginning and end with the ones from the book. This way the two songs become reflections of each other. one is the lies we tell ourselves that cause the problem, and the second the pride and greed that not only keep us from fixing said problem, but grow it. If we ever go back to remake this film I hope both come back but better! and that's my very long two cents!
Just one problem with that that makes big companies look really bad and the people payin for the production of movies are big companies
It would have been perfect, it would have allow 1 good and 1 great song to appear in the movie and expand the message of the film.
I agreeee this would’ve been perfect. The pop tune and light-hearted beat of HBCIB, turned into the dark and theatrical “Biggering”. Something that started out so innocent and with good intentions turned into a horrible thing.
A mini tv musical can work
Dude, the latter half of Biggering acting as a dark reprise would have been amazing.
How bad can I be does one thing right, in that it shows that someone can tell themselves all manner of excuses as for why it's alright for them to take more and more. But it fails in that it refuses to examine the damages done to the animals and the environment. Literally all it does is show goop being poured on the fish, the birds getting hit with smog, and the trees getting cut down. The biggest and in my opinion the best line in Biggering is straight up the realization that things, animals, are dying because of his actions. And he doesn't care about that. His need for money has overtaken his need to ensure that the animals that he made friends with, are safe and able to survive while he makes a comfortable living for himself.
Add in the fact that the Onceler is no longer the 'innocent entrepreneur turned corporate head', but is the 'innocent entrepreneur who was totally going to do as he said, until his family came along and badgered him into growing the company'
It maintains the Onceler as an innocent. It's not *his* fault, per se, his manipulative bitchy mother came along and made him feel like it was all for her, he needed to do it or she'd be upset. "You've gotta do what's best for the business. . .And your momma." Which is manipulative as shit and the Onceler is just a helpless stooge that does as his mother says. He's innocent, he's not getting the corporate greed, he's trying to take care of his family! That's only natural, you can't blame him for that, can you?
It should be noted a message that sometimes family is wrong, and sometimes family uses you is important, but it's *NOT THE MESSAGE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GET FROM THE LORAX* The message you get is supposed to be 'Hey y'know guys maybe if we could reign back the corporate greed, maybe we wouldn't be in quite the huge fucking mess we're in'.
Biggering lays it all out on the line. People can say HBCIB is subtle, and supposed to be satire, but the impact of Biggering is like a goddamn anvil to the head, in a way that HBCIB cannot possibly even hope to match. It explains how people work. How people tend to get comfortable. . .And then want more. And take more and more pride in all their stuff. That they never knew they 'needed'. It turns the Lorax from a quiet begger and pleader, who doesn't even get a line in HBCIB, into a force. Someone trying to convince the Onceler that no, this is too much. He's hurting people, he's hurting the Lorax's friends. This is unsustainable, and if you keep feeding that need to get bigger, that need to keep biggering, it's all going to fall apart.
Biggering gets the same thing right, and everything else.
I feel that there is a little off about your view. The Onceler IS a bad guy, and it IS his fault... he grew more and more powerful and became more and more of a jerk. He didn't stay innocent.
It was just that, once he lost everything, the people that actually loved him were too hurt to accept him again, and the people that pretended to love him no longer had a reason to.
How Bad Can I Be, I feel represents HIS OWN view of the situation better, while Biggering shows the perspective of the victims...
He doesn't view himself as the villain until it's too late...
So I feel each song actually shows a different perspective.
His mom wasn't at fault, she was just the catalyst. He himself was at fault, but in his own head, he still felt that he was the same person the Lorax and crew loved, not realizing that, he wasn't...
@@TheDeathmail It just feels too safe sadly. It just sounds exactly what the corporate wants to hear, making it trendy, catchy pop music score that is marketable from the statistics. It just continues making the excuse of the "they didn't know it could be harmful" message the corporates try to paint themselves.
Bigerring is embodying the message of what Seuss wanted to send. That corporations know what they are doing is harmful, but they dont care. Moral is not their priority, they only want all the money. And yes, kids can handle the rock opera music and a much darker tone, if that wasn't the case they would have been scarred from the hunchback of notre dame Hellfire. I sure I wasn't when it came out.
The Lorax movie came close to the message of the book, but faceplanted right at the end because it "needed" to be easily digestible. Making the Onceler an everyman that people can relate to is a good move if he has agency. Biggering is about a Onceler who has agency and has gone down the slippery slope of greed and pride. At the start, he can still turn back, but doesn't because he "needs" to grow his business. However, in the movie, the Onceler doesn't have agency, and thus Biggering doesn't work.
How Bad Can I Be has some subtle jabs at the shallow excuses and deflections that corporations use to defend their actions, but you really need to sit down and analyze it. Biggering is in your face about it's message. There are no excuses, deflections, or subtle jabs. It is a song about pure, unabashed greed, and how it corrupts people.
There are many things wrong with the Lorax movie, but the handling of the Onceler is probably its greatest sin.
“Now listen. That is a nasty little worm. And I like to call it... pride.”
Chills every time man.
There's another dark layer to the line, "Who cares if a few things are dying", any human living in Thneedville at the time with any health problems that affect the respiratory system (asthma, cystic fibrosis, etc.) and/or have a disease that makes them immunocompromised are screwed. All those health problems are going to be exasperated and would have been made much deadlier.
Oh boy
I think about this a lot and how Ted's grandma who was shown to be in pretty good shape with the stuff she does, is really the only old person we see in the movie even when they all come together it's adults and kids meaning most if not all of the people around her age have died because they couldn't survive the excessive pollution and oxygen they were used to growing up.
the line isn’t even “a few things” it’s actually *”some* things” which i think makes it even more impactful cause *a few* hints that it isn’t too many, but *some* is far vaguer and more concerning
And what about the poor who couldn't afford to buy fresh air? We don't see them because they're all DEAD!
the lawyers are denying
Choosing the catchy, easy song instead of the challenging, thought provoking one, yep, that sound like Illumination alright, this movie could've been so much better
It's a kids movie bro I don't think "the thought provoking one" kids are gonna enjoy because they're like 9 and i doubt their thinkin much of the song lyrics. Also, "the thought provoking one"? dude cmon you gotta be joking that shit is more on the nose than having to think about it just look at the lyrics. I mean both songs are on the nose but cmon, i wouldn't call one more thought provoking than the other. i would say the songs are like basically the same just like a genre shift
@@mikeyzimmerman7882 Sure, kids are really dumb after all right?
@@demontamerbf18 yeah seeing as how im a kid myself, i would say they’re pretty dumb. I probably watched this when i was 7-9 so i didnt even know this was an “anti-corporation” movie until i listened to hbcib like 7 times and realized the message.
@@mikeyzimmerman7882 have you read the book? Its super dark and so should tye movie be.
@@endertobias1908 not all movies need to be exact replicas of the book bruh
it was cut out because it was "too dark." What illumination? Did biggering hit too close to home for you? I mean think about it, by replacing biggering with "how bad can I be?" they were BIGGERING by making the message watered down and completely ignoring the point to save their own asses.
Yeah, as soon as I saw that this movie was being featured in car commercials, I knew that this would be shit
@@cattythecat9722 wasn’t that supposed to be like meta lol
Okay buddy, go join a 99% rally
That isn't what biggering means. They were just going for a poppy mass appeal movie, that's all it was. The execs don't give a fuck about the movie itself, to them it's just a vehicle for more money.
@@cattythecat9722 Spider-Man: No Way Home was featured in car adverts, and that film was f*cking amazing!
I would say that How Bad Can I Be is catchier, and fully inhabits the Onceler's perspective, starting at a point at which he really isn't that bad, and shows how he doesn't see any difference between his earlier and more innocent and sustainable behavior and his later abuses of the environment. He denies the Lorax's warnings that his business could be destructive , and continues this denial even as it becomes obviously false. Because of how fully it reinforces the Onceler's uncomplicated perspective, it lacks depth and substance, similarly it's perspective of the Lorax as a petty annoyance lines up with how the Onceler would perceive him at this point in his life.
In contrast, Biggering approaches it from an outside perspective, the lyrics are still largely from The Onceler's perspective, but the tone is much more ominous, contrasting the carefree facade he's trying to project. It is less catchy and focused, but deeper and more substantive. While HBCIB is focused on a single perspective, hoping that it's hypocrisy will be made apparent by the lyrics and visuals, Biggering is an interplay of perspectives. The Onceler says he's happy, that he's gratified, that if he just gets a bigger office, a bigger desk, everything will be hunky dory, but the grungy melody and baseline gives the lie to that idea, shows how deeply unhappy he is. How he is consumed by his greed and hunger for ever more, how the constant growth he thinks will make him happy is actually making him miserable, like an addiction.
When the Lorax makes his case, we listen to him not just because of the music building behind his words and the choir echoing him, but because the music has been telling us this the whole time. How Bad Can I Be presents the situation as a comedy while Biggering presents it as a tragedy.
The film forces the main thread of the book into a single musical number, focusing instead on the basically fine world before this environmental devastation, and the empty, plastic, but still livable world built on the ashes of the living world. If the film was going to shrink from it's own main point in this way, Biggering is indisputably the better song, as it fully encapsulates the complexity of the situation, but ideally a single musical number would not be burdened with encapsulating the entire plot of the book.
I like How Bad Can I Be, but ideally it would be just one part of the story of the Onceler's fall from grace, counterpointed with a song from the Lorax explaining the flaws in this perspective, and a song from the Onceler once the last tree has been cut about his regret that he didn't stop sooner. In this way each of the perspectives that make up Biggering could be given the same clarity and purity of expression as the Onceler's pride, greed, and willful ignorance of the consequences of his actions is in HBCIB. How Bad Can I Be is catchy and focused , while Biggering is deep and dense.
How Bad Can I be replacing Biggering is just another consequence of a movie that is supposed to be about industrialism and its consequences flinching as intensely as possible from actually depicting industrialism and its consequences.
I hate how they replaced "the biggering" to make the movie more relatable, completely ruining the message in the process so they could do exactly what it is warning against. They make the Oncler seem more like someone who was just pressured by his mom to make bad decisions rather than someone who was consumed by greed and economic growth so that more people would like him and watch the movie more. By doing this, they changed the Lorax from being a cautionary tale against the dangers of capitalism and over using resources to being a story about yet another "quirky" main character who makes bad decisions to fit in. Not only that but The Biggering is a way better song than HBCIB in general, it also has so much more raw emotion, and that is just the demo! Imagine how much better the movie would be if they put the biggering in instead, or at least made it a reprise to HBCIB. Don't get me wrong, your family isn't always right and you can't just do anything they say, but *that isn't the theme of the lorax.* Or is that what they wanted us to get out of this decision? By letting the lorax advertise for cars that help pollute the earth? Are they trying to show us that this is a real thing that takes place in our everyday life?
In my opinion, biggering is more relatable. Biggering is a song about the start up company, something that most movie watchers are a lot closer to than a huge corporation.
just a note: it's not "thr biggering", it's just "biggering" ;D
@@EmmaBonn96 true, since it does mention how greed and pride feeds off and will always get hungry, wanting more. It's very applicable to anything, especially during our highest peaks in life with success.
Exactly! The original didn’t include the Oncelers face, because it was showing that The Onceler could be *anyone* and anyone could become like him. The movie literally ignored it’s own message
@@StarDustwolf77 too be far it is an adaptation and it would quite a long time without seeing his face, but what if they just made him a normal person instead of the embodiment of tumbler crushes and at the end of biggering, the onceler strikes the hidden pose he had as ceo in the original short film. And stays like that until the last tree is cut down to show how dehumanised he had become
How Bad Can I Be isn't trying to justify the Oncler's destruction of the environment; it's the Oncler trying to justify the destruction to HIMSELF, and we as the audience are supposed to see that as an empty lie.
I agree. I think the problem with that, though, is what Charles pointed out above: unlike Biggering, it doesn't address the moral conflict directly, just alludes to it. Biggering focuses on _why_ the Onceler is doing this, and instead of presenting it as a jokey comedic thing, it presents it as a serious thing. Idk.
Children aren’t capable of critical analysis Harold
I agree; that's what HBCIB is _trying_ to do. The problem is that it fails to realize that a song the audience is meant to see as an empty lie needs to be written differently than one they're supposed to agree with. Yes, people (even children) can think for themselves, but if they are thinking "This song is wrong" while the movie says "This song is right," the dissonance is going to make for a worse movie.
Okay but it's a shit song AND it fails at any intent anyway.
@Adrift at C
Yes, I think the actual problem is that the song is too catchy and upbeat despite being about a pretty serious topic. 'Biggering' would have been much better in getting the moral across because it's somber and thought-provoking. I think a possible reason people prefer 'How Bad Can I Be?' may be because many of them don't think children can handle serious and thought-provoking stuff.
I'm Really late but
Biggering feels like a villainy song
How bad can I be feels like a pop song
of course illumination choose the pop song
Oh hey
Nine hours ago nice
Oh hey
Six months ago nice
Oh hey why are these the replies nice
Imagine working on biggering when the studio axes it because it’s so effective at the message
I actually liked HBCIB; it's kind of air-headed and vapid, yeah, but I never got the impression from it that we were supposed to agree with the Onceler justifying his actions to himself. Collecting the charity proceeds for himself, framing the Lorax's endorsement, even just the crazy dutch angles that put us at the mercy of his chopping machines, he's thoroughly villainized in the song. However, Biggering is much better -- musically, lyrically, and tonally. It *is* the rebuttal to HBCIB, and it's a showstopping one at that.
I think it should have been used alongside HBCIB, as a callback. That way, the catchy emptiness of HBCIB would be properly put in its place, and moreover, the Onceler would be explicitly shown as self-deluded.
It's about plausible deniability. Remember that whole plot thread they added in the film, that has nothing to do with the book, where the Onceler's family COERCES him into chopping down the trees?
That was included so that all the devastation that happens after wouldn't be entirely the Onceler's fault. Which destroys the message - because in reality, it IS all our fault. We knew using that plastic straw was bad. We did it anyway. BP knew about the oil spill; they carried on anyway. Nestle knew exactly what they were doing when they stole an entire town's water supply and sold it back to them. They're not stupid.
HBCIB is trying to sell us something that does not happen in real life. In real life, people KNOW when they're making these choices. They weren't forced; they weren't coerced. They weighed the options and they consciously decided the environment wasn't as important; or that people weren't as important. Biggering talks about that concept - and it was removed in favour of a safe, comforting lie.
I love both.
"How Bad Can I Be?" is a boring BSB / N*sync type song, while "Biggering" is an epic Pink Floyd "rock opera."
Biggering is so huge and dramatic and dark and I legitimately want to make an entire cartoon around that version. It is, also, in fact, METAL AS F**K. 🤘
yes
I want to learn animation to give biggering justice
My favorite part about biggering is its portrayal of The Lorax. In How Bad Can I Be, he just pathetically tries to stop the onceler by just standing in his way. But here, he feels more like a frustrated forest spirit, explaining to the onceler why what he's doing is wrong, and why he feels justified in doing so. He sounds fed up, a figure that exists to caution even though he has no real power to stop the onceler and knows it
And even better the lorax isn’t just trying to save the forest he’s trying to save the once-ler
@@LucarioBot that's the lorax that should be in the movie
I just can’t believe the creators of the movie decided to take out ‘Biggering’ because it was “too real” for kids
More like too real for the execs. Didnt want to expose themselves but did anyway by taking the song out
@@endertobias1908 irony is ironic
Hit too close to home
Fun fact: The guy who wrote the lyrics to biggering actually said that he got frustrated cause biggering was cut off.
@YoungOasis and why did they put it for little kids instead of making it 14+? Because they didn’t wanna traumatize children with the hardcore truth of our existence
I feel like if you changed a couple of lyrics, Biggering, with its darker and more solemn tone could actually have been used after How Bad Could I Be, showing how Onceler reflects upon his actions when looking at the desolate landscape that he created, realizing how corrupt he became and how he never meant to take it this far, but what's done is done and now he has to cope with his actions
This shows that Illumination still has the same good writers that made the original despicable me, they just don't use them. The original movie was supposed to be about corporate consumerism and the greed of businesses, how even a likable person can turn out to be a monster if enough money is involved. Sounds similar to something you might have expected from 2000s Dreamworks, who are now also under illumination's thumb. But they dumbed it down repeatedly, changing ted's motivation from consumerism based greed into a childhood crush, changing the onceler from a truly corrupted individual at the end into a naive and ignorant destroyer. If the original story was kept, this would have been considered the second good movie that illumination made. But funnily enough, the ideals of consumerism that the original screenplay warns against ended up ending this message because it was "too dark" and "not marketable", instead going with a light message of basic environmentalism. Then, once it came out, the Lorax had 70 corporate tie-ins. A real shame.
The original movie hit too close to home and illumination didn't want to risk not getting any sponsors
I'd die for a version of the movie like this. It's sad because this was probably early drafts of the script and the producers made it fluffier and nicer "for the kids". This could've been something special, whoever composed this song knew their shit.
@@pizzawashere8940 I would have liked to see the movie with its original script since it would give us the message that dr seuss wanted to give us in the book I would die to see that version of the old script
I think they should have had both. Biggering reuses some lyrics from How Bad Can I Be so having it as a darker version later on would be super powerful
Well if biggering got replaced, that would mean that How bad can I be actually reused lyrics from Biggering instead of the other way around.
I think they should’ve done a mix of both songs
I feel like having both songs in the movie, would have been really good, I think listening to HBCIB first, and in the background see Lorax speaking, but we as the audience, not be able to listen to him, and then immediately going to Biggering and be able to listen to Lorax and see that HBCIB is basically a combination of a PR stunt and a justification of the Onceler actions to himself, plus it would feel like that scene in Mulan where they are singing A girl worth fighting for and them the destruction caused by war and see the difference in the mood of the scenes
The primary flaw of "How Bad Can I Be," is not the self-victimization through equating greed with nature, but in the ironic glorification of greed as ideal. "How Bad Can I Be" is a catchy pop-rock tune because (aside from being more marketable) it is meant to invade the mindspace of the listener, and much like how by his melancholic monologues Milton's Satan evokes sympathy in readers of Paradise Lost, make the audience genuinely identify with the desires of the Oncler, who by the end of the song is shown to be fallen from his initial state of naive and idealistic grace to a corrupt and destructive existence. The problem herein is that this is a children's film, and a moral meant to be learned through identifying with a successful character only to feel shame upon realizing the extant of that character's corruption is TOO SUBTLE A MESSAGE.
By comparison, "Biggering" is much more straightforward in its presentation of its point, because it directly addresses the moral dilemma of greed and corporate growth conflicting with the desire for sustainability.
I agree that "Biggering" is the better song in terms of theme and presentation, and genuinely believe that it should have been in the film rather than "How Bad Can I Be." However, I sincerely believe that you failed to properly analyze and then summarily dismissed the latter song due to preexisting bias against it based on your own personal taste in musical styles. (On a related note, you don't seem to know what stylistically constitutes Rap, which would warrant its own discussion, but that is neither here nor there.)
Charles Gorillionaire I'm going to disagree with you that How Bad Can I Be is too subtle. Kids are capable of understanding subtlety, and the visuals paired with the song are anything but subtle. Children aren't going to agree with the dude kicking the teddy bears.
You're both wrong.
Carrier, children aren't stupid. They might not be able to consciously understand the nuances of how "How Bad" is different from "Biggering," aside from one being catchy and the other having the Lorax sing, but they _will_ pick up on the differences. It's the same way that _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ worms its way into their minds while crappier cartoons slip out; they might enjoy both while watching, but the quality of writing _is_ noticed.
But, Charles..."How Bad" is not trying to subtly tell you that the Onceler is wrong. It is having the Onceler say something wrong and leaving it at that. The movie doesn't even try to explain _why_ he's wrong. There's more to "let the audience make the connection on their own" than showing something wrong. I mean, even _Birth of a Nation_ goes _that_ far.
@@timothymclean
You see the consequences of what he's doing in the background during the song, you see the trees being chopped down and you already know what happened to the world after this. You know WHY it's wrong already by watching it.
@@matti.8465 it's never actually addressed
Why should a child care about a tree and a bunch of animals?
Yeah, they are suffering in the background but why should we care, the song never even tries to explain why being greedy is bad, for the contrary, its actually saying that greed is ok as long as you have plausible deniability of your actions
@@MrPF I think it does do a good job of showing it's bad. It's clear what he did was bad. What it does wrong is give that plausible deniability you mentioned. These same kids who are raised on the belief companies don't realize they do wrong will likely think, oh well, this oil company had no idea its pipe was faulty, the dump was bad but they shouldn't be sued! It wasn't their fault! When what we need to teach youth, especially now, is that we must hold companies accountable regardless if they know or not (and that they probably do know).
I think that The Prince of Egypt has one of the best sound tracks for an animated movie. Most of the orchestral music was composed by Hans Zimmer, and the songs are very well written too. I highly suggest watching it if you haven't seen it already or just listen to the sound track. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, also has a great sound track. When movies have good music it almost has the same effect as listening to a good concept album for me haha.
Kraz3e987 YESSSS!
Biggering weirdly reminds me of Hellfire in the sense that both Frollo and the Onceler attempt to justify their horrible actions (Frollo claiming that it was not his fault and blaming Esmarelda, the Devil and even God for his lust, and the Onceler claiming that he needs to keep biggering and destroying the environment or he "will become another's lunch")
There is more to both songs (like the lorax warning the Onceler about pride although his warning gets ignored by the Onceler and the guard interrupting Hellfire to tell Frollo that Esmeralda escaped,who is heavily implied to be an angel sent to give Frollo a chance to forget his obsession and his sin before being called an idiot and cast aside sealing his fate) although I have already written an essay and cant be assed to continue.
@@zombiehater6547 one is lust turning into wrath. The other is pride turning into greed
@@zombiehater6547 i would like you to continue analyzing these two songs
Its funny that people who did bad on that got shreked and had to work on sherk
Biggering actually FITS with the plot, it gives a reason for why trees matter. The onceler is supposed to represent companys and how they abuse the environment. How bad can I be is just... a mediocre version of biggering, its just answering a question with- well a question. It doesn't fit with the plot as well. They're just to scared to admit this is how companies work and left it.
I will die on the hill that Biggering is 10x better message-wise, slaps 100x harder, and just altogether is absolutely world-shattering.
biggering is a thousand times better
Biggering > how bad can I be.
I found out about biggering about a week ago and omg how my eyes were opened to what that film could have been.
if the movie was going to be the same as the book and the demo songs
I love how more popular this opinion is becoming. But basically, this is how the songs are:
How Bad Can I Be = Ignorance
Biggering = Intention
I really like this interpretation because it shows that both songs have their own points that their making; that their not just a better/worse version of eachother
I honestly didn’t know “biggering” existed but now I know it and listened to it, I love it and “how bad can I be” is too 2000s kids bop/pop
Biggering is a masterpiece, whoever decided to cut it deserves to be fired
Problem is can't cut the company paying for the movie
and then you realise the one who has the most money makes the choice
That would be illumination
the song is a work of art and the one who canceled the song deserves to be fired for cutting this great song
Oh the people who decided that should be trown out of the top floor of there head quarters
Honestly,biggering made me cry. I usually don't cry but I also noticed that his guitar represented him,his personality. Towards the end,at the peak of his evil,it stopped,representing that he was not who he once was,and is now totally consumed by his greed and pride. Biggering is a powerful song,something that the makers of the Lorax said was "too scary for little kids",when in reality,they thought it was too real.
is a work of art this song is deep
I think "who cares if SOME THINGS are dying" also includes humans as well. Health hazards from air pollution comes to mind. Side tangent: the chorus is more powerful in Buggering than in the latter. It just reminds me of Queen and Panic.
"How bad can I be" isn't even that bad of a song in a bubble imo, but they should have at least made it out as the onesler was actually just making excuses and trying to convince himself that it's not his fault and that it's not so bad. But they don't do that, and it literally comes off as the the movie itself being delusional. But it was just so tonally off for what it should have been. "Biggering" had the potential of being one of biggest/best villain song ever. Something on the lines of Hellfire from Notredame. I genuinely think it's that good. Such a missed opportunity.
I think the most impactful message of buggering isn't this is evil.
It's that the Onclers actions are driven more by his pride than anything.
Many have philosophized over the ideas of whether or not human kind’s morals are objective or subjective. How Bad Can You Be says you are naturally evil under a certain set of circumstances. Biggering says you can choose whether you’re good or bad. I think we both know what’s the more mature and better song.
@Hange Zoë Biggering
Honestly the Lorax should've had a darker tone and stuck with biggering, I know the movie was made for kids but the message they tried to send was much darker than they could. they basically took a skull and crossbones and turned it into sugar and candy and dressed it up to lose it's meaning.
I kinda like how bad can I be however biggering hits harder not only in tone but also in message, it would've been more impactful and done more for the film than what we got in the final version.
To be honest, I really love "how bad can I be", as it is catchy, upbeat and easy to sing along, but DAMN! "Biggering" is just in another level. Less a song to sing along and more one you hear with intent, that requires your attention, that questions everything.
Another thing that I like about Biggering is that Onceler sounds a lot more calm at the starts, but when we get to the "Who cares if some things are dying" line, he sounds a lot more shouty.
I also like the "I don't want to hear you crying" part, more so in agreement with the interpretation that he's saying that the customers are just as much to blame because they were buying from his corporation and causing it to succeed.
This reminds me of a comment from another video about how "how bad can I be" gives us the memes and Biggering gives us the good quality we wanted the movie to have
When i heard biggering, it gave me literal chills, especially when i hear "Who cares if somethings are dying" Its not just trees, It can be animals, environment, etc and especially humans-
I like How Bad Can I Be, and of course the Onceler is trying to justify things to himself, because what he's doing feels so amazing he can't stop, or don't want to. and the poppy catchiness fits with his mindset where it's so easy to lose himself in it than thinking too much about it (maybe it could have worked to have a darker reprise, though, or something in-between). although what I don't like is how they make the Lorax so... petty (which is a problem in general, how it plays the Lorax for laughs until the moment he leaves), so there I agree that the other song is stronger in how it includes the Lorax, and makes me wonder how the rest of the movie could have been if they went with this instead. feels like it would be less flippant at least.
Honestly biggering is better because the song itself is him, somber, weighted down and alone. Noone is trying to drown him out, nothing is acting all cheery and light, and nothing is being sugarcoated
Me: Mom, can we have Biggering?
Mom: We have Biggering at home!
Biggering: *How bad can I be*
I was like jumping in excitement when you took the time to explain THAT'S NOT WHAT SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST IS like yes, THANK YOU!
Lol, yeah. Glad to know I wasn't the only one who noticed that.
You can also interpret “Biggering” and “How Bad Can I Be” using this flimsy definition as an excuse for their actions.
The fact biggering was mentioned in the book and how bad can I be was just never mentioned
Biggering is honestly the kind of song I'd listen to unironically
"A bunch of people prefer How Bad Can I Be to Biggering" A bunch of people happen to be fuckin' wrong.
I like both but Biggering very much obviously slaps harder than How Bad Can I Be
I like HBCIB but I can’t deny the beauty of Biggering.
i like both
Your opinion
@@AlvinGrier More like shit taste
Even leaving aside meaning, rock opera like Biggering is sorely missing these days. You get bubblegum pop like How Bad every day on the radio, re-introduce some WEIGHT and grit and actually make a statement, and get some kids into ROCK
I would love to see the Lorax reimagined into dark musical with this song in it.
I share your sentiments exactly. A dark, epic rock opera that would bring the audience to tears.
Fr they need to do another adaptation on broadway with the og concept of the movie and this song😭
I think both songs should have been in the film, though the film would have needed a rework for that.
"How Bad Can I Be?" could have been the song of the modern-day protagonist, who is starting down the same path as the Onceler.
"Biggering" could then have been a response to "How Bad Can I Be?", the Onceler answering the protagonist's question by [musically] explaining his own past/greed/pride/mistakes.
The way I can put it: The original soundtrack was trying to accurately represent the book and show the message, while the final soundtrack tries to prevent parents from getting mad because their kid is crying.
The first time I heard Biggering, my first thought was ‘I love it when someone goes absolutely HAM in a kids movie even though they didn’t have to’.
I can’t believe how heavy, and intense, and aggressive it is in the back half, starting with the Lorax’s verse. It kicks. your. ass. I’m honestly amazed it made it as far as being fully recorded and produced. We’re blessed just to have it finished honestly.
I like HBCIB in its own right, it’s catchy as hell and all, and I like how you can hear a remnant of Biggering’s ominous, heavy choir and instrumentation in the background of the last verse. But at the end of the day, it has no teeth. And it s definitely no rock opera masterpiece like Biggering is.
It isn't that they didn't realize that they had the song, it's that it would have pissed off the corporate studio, and the fifty thousand sponsors.
Greed is the thing that makes you wanna say "i want that thing." Meanwhile on the other hand, pride is what makes you look at the concequences and say "Yeah, so?"
I really want a mashup between the naive "How Bad Can I Be" slowly transitioning to "Biggering" as the wounds start to widen and the scabs left behind not allowed to heal. But then I realized that that is musically almost impossible since the songs were so tonally different (maybe a transition scene to stick these songs together but-) in the end, we have to pick one. The Moral of The Story or The Catchiness of The Song
Biggering is the Superior song. I can't believe this was not in the movie because I can't stop listening to it, it's my only favorite song from the lorax movie.
The one big thing about this song is that Illumination probably wouldn’t further have a foundation to produce movies if Biggering was the song used instead of HBCIB. Especially in 2012. In today’s day, it probably would have survived. But the fact that Biggering is a target to not only the Onceler, but also the corporations that are absentmindedly affecting the public negatively and their factories and industrial plants tearing apart our planet. Hollywood, without a doubt, would have plummeted Illumination before it could produce another film. And this film probably wouldn’t exist. They did their best to accommodate for the sensitive parents and impressionable children with HBCIB. It did make the movie a whole lot more cheesy to me after I heard that, though. Biggering would have stuck for years in a more striking and hardcore way. “HBCIB is just an easy song while Biggering challenges you.” I absolutely agree. Of course everyone remembers HBCIB because it has the notes that appeal to the younger ears and has an easily memorable chorus. But Biggering develops. It makes you want to sing it like a broadway performer with greed and pride behind your vocals. It’s that kind of an angry, nasty, true, aggressive, relentless song.
you're right
Both of the songs work better when played right after another, in HBCIB he is trying to convince himself that he’s still in the right in biggering he is basically right into being the bad guy it would be good character development for him to go from not caring trees are dying to not caring if anything is dying
Its actually kinda funny. The whole issue could have been solved by treating thneeds like diamonds, and treating the trees like crops to be farmed. Hoarde the thneeds and release them in small increments and inflate the prices over time. This would create the added benefit of their increased value, which customers in the past can use to profit from, almost like turning Thneeds into stocks. Then isolate the woodland into a series of areas designated for milling and regrowth, respectively, then farm them like you do any other crop.
The Lorax wasnt just a nature spirit, he was hiding the secret to some real hardcore biggering.
But that would take longer, I think current events prove money now is better then more money later to most companies
The idea is that theed's became a fad. Like how meme popularity expires within a week. He was cashing in on the popularity of thneeds. And funny enough after the trees all died, no one cared about thneeds anymore
@@pizzawashere8940 I thought the idea was that thneeds were just stand ins for any capitalistic product
@@darkmiserythechao Yeah pretty much. Especially in todays day, people get sick of the wave and once it crashes, all the money dies
I've been listening to Biggering on repeat. It's so good.
The use of “survival of the fittest” is saying you need to “claw and bite and punch” in order to survive, not that some animals are predators are some are prey.
I learned of this song today and I have to say, it makes me want a rock opera take on the Lorax now.
I feel like Biggering would work immensely well as part of a rock opera.
Things dying. Trees dying. It's a one-word difference but the difference is huge. Trees are one thing but the book was just as concerned about, maybe MORE concerned about, the animals and the air quality and all the rest of it. Biggering then isn't just superior musically or for bringing the Lorax in to argue but for lyrically hedging closer to the source material and thereby covering a greater and more nuanced scope. Fuck, this movie was awful.
the movie had an incredible potential to be one of the best movies if the original script and the demo songs had stayed, we would have made it a gem of a movie
Biggering is on par with some of the greatest Disney villain songs, and that’s saying a lot.
I think it would be hellfire by frollo
Final song: What the Onceler said happened
Cut song: What actually happened
Me when I first heard "How Bad Can I Be": OMG I LOVE THIS SONG IT'S AMAZING OMG (I was like 7 or 9 okay)
Me when I heard "Biggering": ...I have made a crucial mistake. WHY didn't anyone tell me about this MASTERPIECE SOONER?! THIS SONG IS OBVIOUSLY SUPERIOR IN EVERY WAY SHAPE OR FORM.
I'm wondering the same
One thing I noticed was the affection putted in "Biggering" by the composer. In "How bad can I be?" sounds empty, without any love or charm.
I love biggering WAY more than the how bad can i be. The darker tone sets the mood way better, and tells you how serious it is... it also just sounds way better in general.
I love videos covering topics such as this, a song that removes all plausible deniability being cut is so fucking telling and on point for modern media
How Bad Can I Be is catchy, but Biggering is powerful. Biggering does such a good job building up in it's momentum, gradually becoming an epic mess of a song that still manages to be such a slap. And I think we can all agree that between the two songs, when they shared lyrics, Biggering did it better. obviously there's the "some things are dying" vs "a few trees are dying" comparison, but another that really sticks out to me is the "become someone else's lunch" line. In How Bad Can I Be it's just a quirky, annoying little throwaway line, but in Biggering it feels more powerful and threatening. It's like saying "Haha, get eaten lol" vs "If you can't keep up, then you'll get stomped into the ground". But that's just how I see it anyway
Pride works better as a flaw for the onceler than greed.
Consider it. You have a guy who was bullied by his entire family, nothing he could do was ever good enough. Then, just once, he does something worth praising. He pushes and pushes that one thing, he begins biggering. He has been starved of pride for so long he gorges himself on it. The family doesn’t make him greedy, but they can urge him towards pride.
To a lesser extent, biggering sounds close to beginning, to me at least. And the song kinda reflects that. Biggering shows the process of being a startup company that becomes huge. How bad can I be, just revels in being big. How bad can I be shows you a villain, but biggering shows you that the villain can start small, just like you.
Well, in reality, it didn't matter what the Lorax was saying. The Once-ler ignored it and pushed him aside, just like How Bad Can I be does it.
Difference being that the Once-ler used the Survival of the Fittest excuse as a response to the Lorax in Biggering.
I got chills hearing what the Lorax said in biggering
HBCIB made the onceler look like a dude who just didn't know what he was doing but biggering at first he didn't know then he knew but didn't care
@@rainingtacos3135 Right. The Lorax actively confronts the Onceler about how he's ruining the valley and corrupting himself, while in HBCIB, the Lorax is instead constantly being pushed around by the song, never says a word, and never directly confronts the Onceler.
Yeah, but the difference is something was said and ignored
Beyond just ignoring the Lorax before anything could be said
The Lorax could've actually been a good and important movie
Honestly first time I saw "How bad can I be" I found it catchy. It was a neat song. But then I heard biggering. And I gotta say it hits way harder and it just sounds way better.
The one thing I’d like to add is that the final note is amazing. Guitar and chorus going higher and higher until the choir gives out and the guitar warbles out shortly after. Natural dies and then so does the man made.
I feel like “Biggering” put the Onceler in a more story accurate light. The Onceler in the book wasn’t oblivious. He knew exactly what he was doing by constantly expanding the operation well past sustainability. The final film paints him as oblivious or in denial from peer pressure, which just didn’t feel right. I honestly would have far preferred his final redemption arc if they had stuck with the lawful evil depiction they originally wanted to use.
8:18 “An economy based on endless growth is unsustainable.”
The songs that were lost in the shuffle but are still in the truffle. Is what he should have said
I hum How Bad Can I Be but sing Biggering
Despite being somebody who actually enjoyed the 2012 Lorax film now that I actually know about this song that didn't make it into the film it really makes me think twice about how bad can I be. Biggering is considerably much better and really gets the message across
One of my favourite things abt the Lorax story is that the once lers suite turns green, the colour of greed
Years late but...
Biggering is one of the most powerful songs I've heard in a children's movie. It's dark, thoughtful, and soulful. It better fits that dark ambiguity that the original book had. I guess things like this don't really sell, so that's why they decided to take it out. Don't wanna make people feel bad.
Jeez How Bad Can I Be comes off as vapid and fluffy by comparison.
I think the Lorax would’ve been 100% better as a rock opera if they were gonna make it a musical
I'm pretty sure Biggering was cut because it wouldn't be able to just stick with as many people. As well as the fact that it was ‘too dark’, and they also wanted to make the Once-ler relatable. I feel like Biggering is one of the most popular cut songs from The Lorax (2012). Plus, Biggering would resemble the Once-ler in the book way more. In Biggering, the Once-ler knows what he's doing. This makes sense (at least in The Lorax (2012)) because he wanted the acceptance of his family.
*Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.*
Why not have both?
Ironically biggering sticks with me more than HBCiB. HBCiB is annoying
honestly HBCIB is a good fit for this film because of the more “fluffy” view but Biggering would’ve been better if they followed the book theme
This is the first time I see someone not only analyze the lyrics but also how even the instruments carry the meaning of the song!! Just by listening to them, without dialogue, you know what each part of the song is portraying and how its characters feel and act. It's brilliant.
I think you're NOT supposed to be warm towards biggering. I'd more of say, it's supposed to send chills down your spine. Yes, you can love the song, I do, but it's horrifying, and cold... AND THAT'S WHY I LOVE BIGGERING, MORE THEN HOW BAD CAN I BE.
I don’t know why this was recommended to me, especially more than 2 years later. But I completely agree with your points.
Well and another thing in the line "who cares if some things are dying?" It deconstructs and generalizes the trees, the fish and Barbalutes to allow him to clean his own conscience and this is also what corporations do in real life. "Who cares? It's just some people."
Honestly for me a VERY big difference between biggering and how bad can I be is that in how bad can I the onceler looks surprised at the dead valley, not realysing the full extent of his actions until it was too late, hence the lane "a few trees are dying" showing he didn't notice everytiing else, as where in biggering it shows that he made the concious decition to keep going, fully aware of the impact he was having as demostrated in "a few THINGS are dying" tho simply opting to not care about it and act oblivious later.
Honestly I think that a big reason it got cut it's because it exposes that logic of "acting" like they didnt know the dangers that the companies have while its actually a lie and they just didnt care, it was a too blunt hit and lets remember that the studio making the fild is owned by one of sed companies.
Here's what should happen if they added biggering, I think
1. Have the lorax send the animals to find new homes before the last tree is cut, rather then after. And instead of him being sad, have him not give a shit and only be sad when the last tree is cut, not cuz he ruined natural, but cuz he couldn't make a profit anymore, just like in the og. If he's not oblivious, then it doesn't make sense for him to be sad when the animals leave. Cuz how tf you gonna say 'who cares if they die, I can sleep at night 😋" then be like 'wait, guys, I sowwy. Pwease don't leave 😢 it was a joke, I was just kidding 😭'
2. Don't have the lorax come back at the end. As in this version, it wasn't his mom who manipulated him, he was just greedy and selfish and he doesn't have plausible deniability either, he knew what he was doing, he knew he was abusing animals which makes me absolutely SICK, heck even knew he was hurting people too. He just didn't care. What a sick, evil fuck. "Who cares if a few trees are dying?" Shows plausible deniability while "who cares if some things are dying?" Absolutely does not. I even forgave him at the end and sympathized with him since I believed he didn't know what he was doing. If biggering was used, however, I would not have felt sorry for him nor forgiven him, Much like 1972 onceler. And neither should the lorax. If the onceler knew the pain he was causing, he would not have deserved for the lorax to come back. Just like how 1972, since he KNEW the pain he caused, did not deserve for him to come back either.
Errrmmm, sorry for this long ass essay, idky, but I'm very interested in the difference between biggering onceler/1972 onceler and hbcib onceler/2012 onceler
A comment I read on another video about Biggering is that if they cut back in the Thneedville story they could've included both songs. Starting with HBCIB then having the Lorax taking the Onceler around the forest showing him the devastation he is causing on the forest. After this it'll be the Onceler falling to his pride and greed and breaking into Biggering making the call back of "Who cares if some things are dying" to the "Who cares if a few trees are dying." Along with all of the other parallels between the songs showing the shift from "Plausible deniability" to "I know what's going on but I don't care"