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A mysterious cartoon lizard has become TikTok’s latest rising star.
The green reptile, standing in a pitch-black room with a somewhat dazed smile, is repeatedly smacking a small lizard icon on a glowing screen — each time triggering an automated voice saying “lizard.”
It comes from a post-credits scene in Disney’s latest Pixar film “Elio” which was released in June. The scene was a promotion for Pixar’s upcoming release “Hoppers,” which arrives in theaters next spring.
But in recent weeks, the clip has turned into a viral meme, with the soundbite making its way into numerous musical remixes online.
According to the meme database Know Your Meme, the teaser picked up traction after YouTuber The Pixar Nerd posted a video of it on June 20. One month later, on July 27, the TikTok account igreenscreenthings posted a user-made green-screen template featuring the lizard.
The template has inspired more than 78,000 videos on TikTok, where people use it to represent spamming actions like skipping songs, annoying their friends or fast-forwarding through workplace compliance trainings.
“My last brain cell trying to make it through the workday,” wrote one TikToker in the text of their video using the meme.
The lizard has also inspired an array of fan creations. One user made a T-shirt commemorating the meme, and another baked a lizard-inspired cake with a movable smacking arm.
One TikTok creator has been gaining massive traction by making mashups of the lizard soundbite with various popular songs. A lizard mashup with the 2010 classic “Like A G6” accrued more than 12 million views, and others set to hits like Eminem’s “Rap God,” Cardi B’s “WAP” and AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” also got millions of views each.
A performer at an EDM music festival in Denver last weekend even featured the lizard in their set onstage.
Pixar’s official social media accounts acknowledged the hype around the meme last week. Posting the clip to its platforms, the animation studio wrote: “his name is Tom.”
“See Tom in Disney & Pixar’s #Hoppers, arriving in theaters March 6, 2026. 🦎” Pixar wrote in the caption.
Tom isn’t featured in the teaser trailer for the new movie, which follows a girl named Mabel as her consciousness is transferred into the body of a robotic beaver, which somehow enables her to communicate with other animals.
NBC News has reached out to Pixar for comment.
Though not much is known about Tom the lizard, many online still can’t seem to get enough of him.
Or, at the very least, can’t get him out of their heads.
