The Once-ler (nicknamed the Greed-ler and Oncie) is the deuteragonist/central antagonist of the 2012 film, The Lorax. He is a recluse who was previously a greedy industrialist that cut down all of the Truffula Trees to make a peculiar garment known as a Thneed.
Biography[]
The Once-ler, at this point nicknamed Oncie, lived with his mother, his brothers Bret and Chet, his uncle Ubb, and his aunt Grizelda. They all thought he would "result to nothing", so when he left they laughed at his optimism to make it some day.
After the Once-ler adventured he came across a valley was filled with Truffula Trees. The Once-ler, being mesmerised by the trees, cuts one down for his invention, the "Thneed". After the tree is cut down, the Lorax is summoned, warning him of what will come, but the Once-ler ignores his threats.
As time passes, the Once-ler's Thneed gets discovered and goes into a high demand. In order to fulfill that demand, the Once-ler calls his family to the valley to help him make the Thneeds. After his family arrived in the valley, his mother demands him to cut down more trees for his garment. The Once-ler being afraid of his family's disappointment in him, he does so.
Over 526.8K Thneeds sold
He denies that he has done anything wrong and goes on to cut down more trees and popularise his brand and name. The Once-ler, now nicknamed the Greed-ler, has become a prideful and greedy man. Now extremely wealthy, the Once-ler lives in his factory living with luxury, having plans on building a city named "Thneedville".
Billboard for Thneeds being taken down
The Once-ler still denying he has done anything wrong feels incredibly guilty to see the last of the Truffula Trees being chopped down. All of the animals including the Lorax leave, along with the Once-ler’s family, now being disappointed in him for the end of his business.