How Bad Can I Be VS Biggering, A Video Essay looking at The Lorax Soundtrack

You know, I'd argue the way these songs convey their message (One well, and one not as well) is not an underlining problem with How Bad Can I Be and what makes Biggering awesome. The former is intentionally structured in a way to appear sarcastic or gullible, thinking ''how bad can destroying an environment for profit may be?'' almost like ''Oh gee I wonder what could possibly go wrong?'' And I think it works in the favor of that song specifically, because we, the audience do see and realize that it's bad, whilst Onceler himself doesn't (Or at least pretends he doesn't). Of course, what Biggering did is leagues better than How Bad Can I Be would dream of being, but that's what I think it is. Biggering is overall a much cooler, more unique and a darn better overall song than the aforementioned. The dynamic between Onceler and the Lorax is exceptional and that's something How Bad Can I Be never showed, Lorax really is treated as pathetic and completely shoved aside, which works to the detriment of the experience. In conclusion, even though I feel like How Bad Can I Be is decent and accomplishes what it's supposed to do well enough, I simply can't deny that Biggering is in a league of its own, leapes and bounds ahead of the song that Illumination decided to stick with to keep their silly little corporate-friendly film just that, nothing more.

For me "how bad can i be" is like a popsong, good for tiktok as we know, and kinda annoying... but that's not what i look for in movies, not only that the message would feel more important and stronger but it is just a great song with emotions. Dude sang his heart out and makes me wanna do the same, when I listened to "biggering"for the first time I remember that at the end I had tears in my eyes because of how goo it could've been

with this song probably the whole movie was supposed to be more serious, and actually... when I was a kid or a young teen, without the original I thought that the movie is just about being eco and i didn't know that the corporate greed had anything to do with it except for Once-ler's family who "made him like that"
that's how kids see it, but I don't think that is how it was supposed be

In biggering there is nothing about other people, it is just him and... It's real

I actually quite liked how bad can i be but tbh biggering is better

You're right about film scores. JAWS wouldn't have been nearly as successful with John Williams's famous score. The music, in fact, acts as a stand in for the antagonist.

EDIT: I watch The Grinch every Christmas too. No judgement.

EDIT: From what I understand, they didn't use "Biggering" because the Executives literally were scared it would scare parents. So the toned down "How Bad Can I Be," which uses some lyrics got swapped in. But it doesn't have the same wallop.

How I would end the movie would that the Onceler would give him the seed but we don’t see him plant it but years later, we do see the Onceler seeing a large tree in the distance and cries and reunites with the Lorax

I can't be the only one who hears that a video will be "a long one" and expects several hours and not under 20 minutes? (Who knows...maybe my nearly 40-year-old mind is getting old and the younger set thinks this is a long video?)

" How bad can I be " could have been the villain song for Mr. O hare , and " Biggering " could have been for the Once-Ler .
that would make it two villain songs !

I kinda disagree with how bad can it be. It is showing you how bad it can be, its just the onceler is him singing in denial until it becomes about how much he can push it

I think both songs are good but I wish that “how bad can I be” and “biggering” could have worked if they used it like a progression of his character as his business grows. I would have loved to see “Biggering” in the movie. Also I always thought that the survival of the fittest part was like him using a faulty argument to justify his stance and actions. Probably wasn’t intentional but that’s what I always thought

Biggering would fit so well if it was a in a broadway Lorax musical

It’s an actual shame, speaking of only the music we went from a powerful ballad to a safe pop song.

Im glad the consensus has changed recently, I hear way more people saying that there should be an entire rescript of the movie to be closer to the book. I wish for that as well, kids need a movie that shows them just how bad corporate greed can be for the world, while also showing that thry cant rely on the people at top to actually care.

I think it's important to take the animation for 'How Bad can I be' into consideration when you think of the song. The animation somewhat solves a lot of the problems you found in it. The "few things" vs "few trees" argument, for example: when paired with the video, it's obvious that there's more than just the "few" trees that are dying. You see the environment turn dark, the animals without food, the water turn to sludge. I think it adds to the fact that The Oncelor is denying that any of this is his fault. It's a major understatement, which is exactly what the whole song is about: The Oncelor sating that it's "not that bad". Considering the animation also solves the songs problem of not explicitly stating how bad it could be. We can SEE how bad it is, all while The Oncelor ignores the damage he's causing.
I do agree that 'Biggering' does a much better job at showing the process or his devolution though; 'How Bad can I be' is a pretty jarring change from his original character.

Even though he has good points about the story development and the depth of lyrics and composing of a metal song, the target audience aren't adults. We cannot expect children to adore a dark 5 minutes song in a kids movie.
How bad can I be is supposed to be catchy cuz it explains the plot of the movie and it should be easy to be understood and liked by the target audience. The question How bad can I be starts by Once Ler not understanding what the problem is and then the same question turns into a challenge. How bad can I be until someone stops me?
I personally think both songs are great depending on who is receiving the message and how deep can the person go into it.
My younger sisters and I love the movie because it's funny, catchy and it has a deep message. If the whole movie would be darker and more serious I don't think most of the kids would want to watched it twice.
For cinematography pleasure, a version of the movie should be made with Biggering being the main song and having more detail into the true story.

I've been listening to Biggering on repeat. It's so good.

Really, even biggering was handling the message same way as the other one, just instrumentals alone make it a 1000000 times better song than the Amazon commercial we got.

I love biggering. Ever since I first heard it, I've been extra annoyed at the movie for not using it.

Well, i still like Cat in the hat movie. maybe because i seen it before knowledge of the original. Well, and maybe its cause of dub of that movie i watched. I dont blame original but that voices was so bad. I know its changing opinion state to state but for me Czech dub (language i speak) i feel more better acted than original. For me that movie is that bad, its kinda good.
Sorry for my english, i am still learning.

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 think it should be considered that this was meant to be a kids movie. when you compare the styles of the music, how bad can i be is more fun for kids to sing

I used to like how bad can I be and listened to it a lot. However once I heard Biggering how bad can I be is unlistenable

i can understand why biggering got cut, the studio is a company they have corporate funding from other companies that are fully bought into never ending growth

The most important thing for me is that "how bad can I be" focuses on personal greed, while "Biggering" is a critique of the corporate economic system

This has always been strange to me; the song is about corporate greed from the perspective of the corporation speaking to the masses. While musically Biggering is a better song, it's also completely out of place because of that, as the Onceler doesn't realize just how bad he is until it hits the logical extreme of the entirety of nature being culled. The only way Biggering would work is if he never owns up to his evil and ends the movie as still a villain.

It hurts me that they had a The Wall style rock opera number ready for this movie, and they left it on the cutting room floor

you look like that retro game review guy

I’m sorry, there is a human on Earth that likes “How Bad Can I Be” more than “Biggering”? I don’t believe you.

The Lorax could've actually been a good and important movie

I get that biggering is the better song but how bad can i be is so damn catchy

I loved cat in the hat

How bad can i be: denial
Biggering: admittance

You take that back, the cat in the hat is excellent.

okay, biggering is still better in message and music but you can't deny that how bad can I be is a bop.

HBCIB is about corporations being ignorant of the damage they're doing.
Biggering is about corporations being apathetic to the damage they're doing.
The "a few trees" vs "some things" encapsulates this in a simple word change.
HBCIB doesn't realize the damage is larger than trees.
Biggering knows more than trees are being hurt, but still asks who cares.

i LOVE both songs and it makes me so sad they didn’t add biggering… i mean, both songs could’ve easily been put in the movie (changing the part of the lyrics where it’s the same ofc) because how bad can i be shows the onceler become the greedy businessman and biggering begins with the onceler businessman, so why not add both :(

In the portuguese version of how bad can i be, the line about "i just do what comes naturally" is replaced by "I just do what it's good for me" which makes the music a bit better

Honestly, I like HBCIB simply because the upbeat cheery nature is a really great metaphor for how greedy corporations try to distract you from their misdeeds with showmanship, flashy products, "charm" in general. Biggering doesn't have that same ring to it. It's a great song, yeah, but I feel like without that cheery tone it's missing out on teaching people that important aspect of the real problem with Greedy Corporations.

I've heard people say Biggering is better because it does a better job of conveying to you that The Onceler is doing bad things, he's evil and it's not questioned. I agree with only the second part but I think that's exactly why it ISN'T better. It's like Jean-Luc Picard says at the end of Drumhead: "Villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged.". And this is the real problem with Evil Corporations today. Just like when you're listening to "How Bad Can I Be", if you let yourself get distracted by the upbeat cheery singing then you'll probably come away thinking "aw it's not that bad", but if you actually pay attention to what's going on and actually listen to the lyrics it's plainly evident how bad he actually is. That's the important message that HBCIB has that Biggering doesn't: Pay Attention, because evil doesn't announce itself, it hides.

I think the Lorax would’ve been 100% better as a rock opera if they were gonna make it a musical

The cat in the Hat movie kicks ass you loser.
Dont diss sold gold.

My main dissapointment with the movie how much of a dystopia a world you needed to purchase air in would be.

U DONT DESVERE IT

I agree that biggering is better thematically, but I enjoy how bad can I be more. If I had heard both songs and was unable to hear the lyrics I would go with how bad can I be.

Also as another commenter pointed out biggering seems like it was written for an older version of the script. Wish we could have seen that.

The best strength of HBCIB is the start has more of a “how bad is this, really?” feeling, where the end of it has a “how bad can I make this?” vibe.

Also people probably like it more because 90% of “Biggering” is the word “Biggering,” things that rhyme with it, and the Lorax talking with rhythm. It’s a better work of art, but one listen alone can be a little exhausting with the sheer amount of iggerings.

TALKING ABOUT CUT OUT SONGS THE ONCELERS TRAVELING MADNESS IS KINDA GOOD IN A WAY

Personally my head canon is, Biggering is what really happened. How Bad Can I Be is what Once-Ler told Ted.

Why don't people like biggering? Not only is it a good song, but it also gets across the true point of the film and how bad corporate greed can be if left unchecked

As an eight year old growing up watching The Lorax in 2012, I really loved How Bad Can I Be?

But as a nineteen year old adult in 2023, I realize Biggering is superior in every way.