What’s the meaning behind ‘The Lorax Leaving’ meme on TikTok?

The internet seems to be revisiting the 2012 animated film The Lorax a lot lately. Specifically, TikTokers rework images from a scene where the Lorax floats away into a series of memes called “The Lorax Leaving.”

According to IMDb, The Lorax — based on the popular Dr. Seuss book of the same name — tells the story of a 12-year-old boy named Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) who searches for “the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams.” But in order to find it, he must first discover the story of the Lorax (played by Danny DeVito), described as a “grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.”

The scene going viral happens when the Lorax sends all the native animals away to find a new home after theirs becomes uninhabitable. Ted tries to stop them, but it’s no use. Then, he removes his hat and slowly bows his head as the Lorax sadly nods goodbye and floats into the sky.

Each meme plays the same scene, but the video captions refer to a different scenario about getting shunned, blocked or feeling ignored or “left behind” in a sad but comical way.

Other examples include feeling left out in a group chat:

Taking a joke too far:

And falling asleep before a FaceTime call with friends:

Most of the videos are set to the song “Christmas Kids” by ROAR, which has recently become a popular sound on TikTok. And some even feature a scene from the first animated Lorax movie, released in 1972.

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