Lizard lizard lizard. That's the word on everyone's mind thanks to a viral meme that is exploding across TikTok, taking over our brains with its robotic, mesmerizing repetition. The little lizard slaps his hand down again and again, pressing the button that seems to release so much dopamine in his little brain that his eyes start to drift apart in blissful ignorance of the world around him.
If you don't recognize this little weirdo, it's because he made his debut in the post-credits scene from Pixar's
"Elio." Despite standing out as one of Pixar's best films since "Coco," "Elio" faced a turbulent production and struggled at the box office amidst a crowded market. When it finally debuted in June 2025, "Elio" brought in a paltry $21 million domestically on its opening weekend, cementing its status as the lowest-ever debut for a Pixar film.
Unlike most post-credit scenes, this isn't a character from "Elio," but rather a sneak peak at Pixar's next film, "Hoppers," a comedic take on "Avatar" that has a little boy infiltrate the beaver world. The scene itself gives no real context as to what's going on in the film, as the little guy (who Pixar has now revealed is named Tom) stands in front of a cellphone. Staring down at the glowing screen, he presses the lizard emoji and hears the Siri-like voice repeat the word "lizard." Doing this clearly makes Tom happy, because he presses the button again and again and again, filling the screen with lizards as the robot calmly repeats his favorite word over and over.
His blissful ignorance has taken the world by storm, becoming the latest meme ripped from cinema, and the rise of this meme paints a vivid, if depressing, portrait of where our minds are at in this present moment.
Read more: 5 Reasons Why Disney's Live-Action Snow White Bombed At The Box Office
Tom The Lizard Lizard Lizard Is Going Viral Because We Crave Mindless Repetition
While some of these "lizard lizard lizard" memes work on the (often sexual) double-entendre of the word "lizard," most of the funniest ones are jokes about the little repeatable actions that provide little hits of dopamine every time we do it, like drunkenly pressing the "walk" button at a crosswalk or slapping your loved one's backside. These are actions we repeat almost mindlessly, soaking in the tiniest morsels of dopamine they provide because, well, why not?
Finding a sense of inner peace in these trying times has never been harder. It feels like the world is falling apart in front of our very eyes. If pressing the lizard emoji and hearing a robot voice flatly say the word "lizard" gives you even a millisecond's worth of peace, who am I to judge if you hit it again and again to wring every drop of dopamine you can? After all, what else is the internet for? So drop those lizard emojis in the group chat and soak it in while you still can.
Watch "Elio" at home when it becomes available to rent and buy on August 19, 2025. And be sure to catch Tom in "Hoppers" when it releases in theaters on March 6, 2026. Lizard lizard lizard.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
