Feel like the once-ler came about at least partially because 2011 to early 2012 was a very slow period for fandom, people were desperate for anything new https://twitter.com/jasperrolls/status/1253747565625032705

But this is also a good thread because it's hard to explain just how bizarre the once-ler phenomena was, the movie he was from wasn't even particularly -good- and he's the only thing anyone remembers from it