History Main / LovableLizard

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': Espio the Chameleon is a member of the Chaotix detective agency, and also the stoic OnlySaneMan of the group.

* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'': Randall Boggs plays with this. In the original movie, he, a lizardlike monster, was portrayed as pure evil. But the prequel ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' shows his StartOfDarkness. As a teen, "Randy" was a shy, dorky, and innocent guy who just wanted to make friends. This led him to join the JerkJock fraternity, only for them to [[spoiler:cast him out when he loses the big game to]] Mike and Sully, causing him to develop a grudge against Sully that guides his actions in the original movie. This is an interesting example because even though we know he's going to turn bad, his younger self in ''MU'' is still quite cute and relatable, making him a great (if retroactive) example of straying away from ReptilesAreAbhorrent.

* Alphys from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' is a monster resembling a golden, crested lizard or dinosaur. Her timid, socially awkward personality will make most players come to love her quickly.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gex}}'': Downplayed. While Gex is a gecko and the protagonist of the series, he is a selfish AntiHero in the first two games. Not exactly the innocent type, although his jokes and references help make him a little more likable. He does become more heroic in the third game, though.
* In ''VideoGame/Klonoa2LunateasVeil'', the AmusementPark Joilant has its own mascot in the form of a goofy-looking CartoonCreature resembling a lizard or dinosaur. In the Joilant Fun Park level, he can be seen numerous times in the background, entertaining the guests.
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': Neeko is a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-chameleon]] CuteMonsterGirl and one of the sweeter and more adorable Champions in the game.

* ''Literature/ArtTheGeckoMakesAFriend'': The TitleCharacter Art is cute and lovable and clearly adores his owner Brett.

** Introduced in the [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI games]], Helioptile is a timid and cute frilled lizard. It evolves into Heliolisk, which has been shown to have playful mannerisms in Pokémon Amie and [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} the anime]].

This perceived cuteness often leads to lizard characters being kindhearted and/or heroic, more so than other reptiles like [[SnakesAreSinister snakes]] and [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]]. Geckos and chameleons are the most commonly-used lizards for this trope, due to their small size and being among the cutest of lizards. Exotic-looking lizards such as [[HerbivoresAreFriendly iguanas]], frilled lizards, bearded dragons, basilisks, horned lizards, and thorny devils are also popular choices, though they still have their share of negative portrayals as well. [[MaliciousMonitorLizard Monitor lizards]], being the largest, scariest, and least "cute" of the lizards, are rarely portrayed this way. Gila monsters are also usually portrayed negatively due to being [[PoisonIsEvil venomous]] and scary-looking. Skinks, despite being smaller, are also not likely to be portrayed as this due to looking "generic" and therefore creepy. And good luck finding a legless lizard -- nobody can tell them apart from those awful ''snakes''. However, despite legged lizards being the more likely squamates to be shown as lovable, this hasn't stopped portrayals of kindhearted snakes from occurring[[note]]It should be noted that snakes are technically a kind of lizard[[/note]].

This perceived cuteness often leads to lizard characters being kindhearted and/or heroic, more so than other reptiles like [[SnakesAreSinister snakes]] and [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]]. Geckos and chameleons are the most commonly-used lizards for this trope, due to their small size and being among the cutest of lizards. Exotic-looking lizards such as [[HerbivoresAreFriendly iguanas]], frilled lizards, bearded dragons, basilisks, horned lizards, and thorny devils are also popular choices, though they still have their share of negative portrayals as well. [[MaliciousMonitorLizard Monitor lizards]], being the largest, scariest, and least "cute" of the lizards, are rarely portrayed this way. Gila monsters are also usually portrayed negatively due to being [[PoisonIsEvil venomous]] and scary-looking. Skinks, despite being smaller, are also not likely to be portrayed as this due to looking "generic" and therefore creepy. And good luck finding a legless lizard -- nobody can tell them apart from those awful ''snakes''[[note]]which technically are a kind of lizard[[/note]]. Despite lizards and turtles being most likely reptiles to be shown as lovable, this hasn't stopped portrayals of kindhearted snakes or crocodilians from occurring.

* Gary from ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankRiftApart'' is an interesting example: being a [[LizardFolk Snivelakian]] like the antagonistic Goons-4-Less, he's basically a tall, muscular crocodile-like alien... But his big round eyes and gentle personality make him very endearing.

This perceived cuteness often leads to lizard characters being kindhearted and/or heroic, more so than other reptiles like [[SnakesAreSinister snakes]] and [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]]. Geckos and chameleons are the most commonly-used lizards for this trope, due to their small size and being among the cutest of lizards. Exotic-looking lizards such as [[HerbivoresAreFriendly iguanas]], frilled lizards, bearded dragons, basilisks, horned lizards, and thorny devils are also popular choices, though they still have their share of negative portrayals as well. [[MaliciousMonitorLizard Monitor lizards]], being the largest, scariest, and least "cute" of the lizards, are rarely portrayed this way. Gila monsters are also usually portrayed negatively due to being [[PoisonIsEvil venomous]] and scary-looking. Skinks, despite being smaller, are also not likely to be portrayed as this due to looking "generic" and therefore creepy. And good luck finding a legless lizard -- nobody can tell them apart from those awful ''snakes''. Despite lizards and turtles being more likely to be show as lovable, this hasn't stopped portrayals of kindhearted snakes[[note]]which technically are a kind of lizard[[/note]] or crocodilians from occurring.

** Mona Lisa is usually a teenage college student who eventually was mutated into a salamander (the only exception is a space salamander from a warrior race who is nicknamed after the masterpiece). She later becomes an ally of the turtles, and even gets romantically involved with one of them.

This perceived cuteness often leads to lizard characters being kindhearted and/or heroic, more so than other reptiles like [[SnakesAreSinister snakes]] and [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]]. Geckos and chameleons are the most commonly-used lizards for this trope, due to their small size and being among the cutest of lizards. Exotic-looking lizards such as [[HerbivoresAreFriendly iguanas]], frilled lizards, bearded dragons, basilisks, horned lizards, and thorny devils are also popular choices, though they still have their share of negative portrayals as well. [[MaliciousMonitorLizard Monitor lizards]], being the largest, scariest, and least "cute" of the lizards, are rarely portrayed this way. Gila monsters are also usually portrayed negatively due to being [[PoisonIsEvil venomous]] and scary-looking. Skinks, despite being smaller, are also not likely to be portrayed as this due to looking "generic" and therefore creepy. And good luck finding a legless lizard -- nobody can tell them apart from those awful ''snakes''. Despite lizards being more likely to be show as lovable, this hasn't stopped portrayals of kindhearted snakes[[note]]which technically are a kind of lizard[[/note]] or crocodilians from occurring.

This perceived cuteness often leads to lizard characters being kindhearted and/or heroic, more so than other reptiles like [[SnakesAreSinister snakes]] and [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]]. Geckos and chameleons are the most commonly-used lizards for this trope, due to their small size and being among the cutest of lizards. Exotic-looking lizards such as [[HerbivoresAreFriendly iguanas]], frilled lizards, bearded dragons, basilisks, horned lizards, and thorny devils are also popular choices, though they still have their share of negative portrayals as well. [[MaliciousMonitorLizard Monitor lizards]], being the largest, scariest, and least "cute" of the lizards, are rarely portrayed this way. Gila monsters are also usually portrayed negatively due to being [[PoisonIsEvil venomous]] and scary-looking. Skinks, despite being smaller, are also not likely to be portrayed as this due to looking "generic" and therefore creepy. And good luck finding a legless lizard -- nobody can tell them apart from those awful ''snakes''. Despite lizards being more likely to be show as lovable, this hasn't stopped portrayals of kindhearted snakes or crocodilians from occurring.