Lovable Lizard

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The common view is that Reptiles Are Abhorrent. They're scaly, inhuman, and to some people, creepy... but some can be cute.

For a number of reasons, lizards tend to be regarded as some of the cuter reptiles. They're small with big eyes, traits that humans instinctively find endearing, and most are non-threatening to humans. Sure, some species of lizard can still seem creepy, but if you look closely, you can find some of the same qualities in them that make other animals endearing.

This perceived cuteness often leads to lizard characters being kindhearted and/or heroic, more so than other reptiles like snakes and 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 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. 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 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, being more closely related to iguanas than to the non-Serpente legless lizards.

May or may not be Lizard Folk. May overlap with Hollywood Chameleons, especially in kids' shows where they make for brightly colored and charming sidekicks. Related to Wise Old Turtle, another common aversion of Reptiles Are Abhorrent. See also Delightful Dragon and Shoulder-Sized Dragon for this trope with wings.

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Examples:

Advertising

• The GEICO gecko is a polite little guy with a Cockney accent.

Anime & Manga

• Beastars: Gosha is a rare example of a friendly komodo dragon. A former crime-fighting vigilante, he is now a friendly old man that volunteers at a day-care and is constantly worried of his venom hurting others. He's also a caring grandfather to the protagonist Legoshi.
• My Hero Academia: Played with. The lizard man Spinner is a member of the League of Villains, but is one of the most benevolent Anti Villains in the series. He refuses to kill Midoriya because Stain has decided he is worthy of being a hero and even stops Magne's attacks towards him. Chapter 220 explores more of him to reveal he joined the League in an attempt to rebel against the Fantastic Racism against mutants rather than just wanting to destroy society like his boss.

Comic Strips

• FoxTrot has Jason's iguana Quincy. He doesn't really do much, but he has an adorable design and his child owner loves and dotes on him like the beloved pet that he is.

Fanworks

• Heaven's Light: Pascal, again, since this is a crossover between Tangled and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He certainly endears himself to Quasimodo, being a Friend to All Living Things. Of course, Beware the Nice Ones still applies to him, as he contributes to the death of Big Bad Frollo's Hellish Horse Snowball later on.

Films — Animation

• Leo: Leo the lizard is the main protagonist. The teaser shows that he is a slightly disgruntled old man, but he still gets along with children and wants to have fun. Subverted, as he's actually a tuatara (a lizard-like reptile, but not truly a lizard).
• Monsters, Inc.: Randall Boggs plays with this. In the original movie, he, a lizardlike monster, was portrayed as pure evil. But the prequel Monsters University shows his Start of Darkness. As a teen, "Randy" was a shy, dorky, and innocent guy who just wanted to make friends. This led him to join the Jerk Jock fraternity, only for them to 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 Reptiles Are Abhorrent.
• Rango: The title character, a dorky chameleon looking for his place in the world.
• In Tangled, Rapunzel has a pet chameleon named Pascal, who is cute and feisty, as well as a bit of a Silent Snarker. However, he's also responsible for tripping Mother Gothel up so that she falls to her Disney Villain Death at the climax.
• The Rescuers Down Under:
  • Frank, an adorably hyperactive and nervous frilled lizard.
  • While Joanna the Goana is a secondary antagonist, her doglike mannerisms are endearing. It's implied her antagonism is largely due to be being abused by her master, and she is spared in the end.

Films — Live Action

• In Cinderella2015, the Fairy Godmother turns two wall lizards into footmen, and they're very friendly in both their human and lizard forms.
• In the kung fu movie Five Deadly Venoms, the martial artist known as Lizard (because his style of kung fu allows him to walk up walls) is one of the heroes, while the warriors named after creepier animals (Centipede, Snake, and Scorpion) are bad guys.

Literature

• Art the Gecko Makes a Friend: Art is cute and lovable and clearly adores his owner Brett.
• Lionboy has Ninu, a friendly little chameleon who befriends Charlie and Sergei.
• Sissix from The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is an Aandrisk, a species of alien that looks a lot like a bipedal lizard. She is one of the more friendly beings on the Wayfearer, quickly helping Rosemary feel at home among the crew.
• The Shredderman books by Wendelin van Draanen have The Gecko and Sticky, an in-universe TV show about a gecko-themed superhero fighting crime with his pet gecko, Sticky, who can talk. The book's protagonist, Nolan Byrd, loves the show so much that it inspires him to create his own secret identity, kickstarting the plot.

Live-Action TV

• Galavant: King Richard's pet bearded dragon lizard, Tad Cooper, is a Ridiculously Cute Critter who, despite his owner's belief that he's the other kind of dragon, is completely harmless and docile. Except Richard's right about his lineage. He really was a baby dragon.
• Primeval: Rex is a Coelurosauravus who ends stranded in the present day and gets adopted by Abby and Connor as a pet, he is always portrayed as a friendly and loving animal with heavy loyalty to his "owners" and is the Team Pet of sorts of the good guys.
• Under the Umbrella Tree has Iggy the Iguana, who is the most lovable and relatable of the characters.

Mythology

• The cultural heroes of the Adnyamathanha are Kudnu (literally "goanna" or "skink") and Muda ("gecko"). Traditionally lizards are thus respected by the Adnyamathanha.

Sports

• The mascot for the National Hockey League's Vegas Golden Knights is Chance, a friendly gila monster with sparkly scales. When choosing a mascot, the Golden Knights felt an anthropomorphic animal would be cuter and more appealing to children than an actual knight, and chose the gila monster because it's a creature that can be found in Nevada.

Tabletop Games

• Eberron: The native celestials are the couatl, winged rainbow snakes. Because of this, rainbow snake motifs are very common in any religious context (especially for the Silver Flame, as Tira Miron was guided by a couatl), and Keith Baker suggests adding cosmetic snake features to existing celestials to reinforce this theme. There are still evil snake monsters, but they aren't seen as indicative of a wider trend any more than evil dog monsters or evil fire monsters.

Video Games

• Animal Crossing:
  • Nat the chameleon is a British-accented naturalist who hosts the Bug-Off Tournament.
  • City Folk has Frillard the frilled lizard, a Cool Old Guy who is a famous comedian and can teach the player different emotions.
  • New Horizons introduces Nat's son Flick, an Perky Goth artist with a shy, sweet personality.
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest has Rattly the Rattlesnake, who acts as a friendly Power Up Mount for Diddy and Dixie's adventure, averting even the usual stereotypes for a venomous snake.
• Farnham Fables:
  • The native lizard inhabitants of Glekutsu Village are very kind people. Keith Spearhorn is a talented doctor who offers to make medicine for the princes at no charge if they find the missing ingredient, Gloria Moongrass is a sweet and energetic little girl, and her mother Rachael is a loving parent.
  • The Edison family are reptilian expies of the Apple family. Wendy is a Cool Big Sis to her cheerful little sister Winona, William is a diligent worker, and Wilford is very proud of his grandchildren for having these qualities.
• Gex: Downplayed. While Gex is a gecko and the protagonist of the series, he is a selfish Anti-Hero 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.
• The Salamashes in Haven (2020), a species of cute, oversized lizards who are effectively harmless even when under the influence of rust. The very first Salamash that Kay and Yu pacify even ends up becoming an unofficial Team Pet that hangs out near their home base.
• In Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, the Amusement Park Joilant has its own mascot in the form of a goofy-looking Cartoon Creature resembling a lizard or dinosaur. In the Joilant Fun Park level, he can be seen numerous times in the background, entertaining the guests.
• League of Legends: Neeko is a half-chameleon Cute Monster Girl and one of the sweeter and more adorable Champions in the game.
• Pokémon:
  • The first in Generation I is Charmander, the first fire starter, an adorable and determined little guy that eventually becomes badass dragon Charizard.
  • Generation III introduces Treecko, a tiny green gecko with an adorably determined expression and Kecleon, a Hollywood Chameleon.
  • Generation V has Scraggy, a yellow lizard with buck teeth and loose skin around its hips that resemble baggy pants.
  • Introduced in the 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 the anime.
  • In Pokémon Sword and Shield, Gen VIII introduces Sobble, a little blue chameleon with big, watery eyes that looks like it's about to cry, hence its name and Water type.
• Gary from Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is an interesting example: being a Snivelakian like the antagonistic Goons-4-Less, he's basically a tall, muscular lizard- or crocodile-like alien... But his big round eyes and gentle personality make him very endearing.
• Sonic the Hedgehog:
  • Espio the Chameleon is a member of the Chaotix detective agency, and also the stoic Only Sane Man of the group.
  • Trip the Sungazer is a young sungazer lizard with big curious eyes and spiky ridges on her torso that resemble an orange dress. True to her name, she also has a tendency to trip on things and cry. She is no less friendly when in her dragon form either.
• Super Paper Mario has Francis, a Nintendo fanboy chameleon who kidnaps your Exposition Fairy because he thought it was just a cool-looking butterfly. After completing the game, he'll sell you a robotic version of her.
• According to the Tempedia, Pycko from Temtem has a cheerful personality and is the star of a fire safety cartoon.
• Munch in Tribal Hunter is a spirit who inhabits the body of a lizard plushie that can grow fatter on a whim. Despite his potentially huge size and strength, he's a kind and gentle soul that wants to protect his friends.
• Alphys from 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.
• Yooka-Laylee: Yooka the chameleon, one of the two main protagonists, is kindhearted and optimistic.

Webcomics

• The protagonist of Broken Plot Device is Lizardbeth, a lovably eccentric iguana who writes and draws her own webcomic.

Web Original

• Polite Lizard, a meme that started out with a video of a leopard gecko inching towards the camera with a big smile and Puppy-Dog Eyes. People started adding captions comparing the gecko to someone staring at something they want or love.

Web Video

• Clint's Reptiles takes this view, as a reptile keeper eager to spread knowledge of proper animal care and recommendations for pets.

Western Animation

• Amazing Animals: Henry the Gecko, the CGI-animated lizard.
• Bing from The Angry Beavers may be annoyingly clingy, but he is otherwise very amicable.
• Dora the Explorer: Isa the Iguana, one of Dora's animal companions and The Heart of their little Five-Man Band.
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has Lizard Man, sometimes just called Lizzie. He's not nearly as beefed up and muscular as most of the heroes (he didn't have an action figure in those days), but he's a nice and heroic guy and very good at climbing.
• Much of The Lion Guard's edutainment value comes from teaching kids about different wild animals, so the heroes meet up with a few of these:
  • Kinyonga, a Badass Adorable veiled chameleon who helps the Lion Guard by spying on Scar in the Outlands thanks to her camouflage ability.
  • Hodari, a William's dwarf gecko who forms a Brains and Brawn duo with Makuu.
• The animated short film Lizard Quest stars an adorable little gecko going on a quest with a turtle and a chameleon, who are more experienced adventurers and see the gecko as The Load. The gecko has a tendency to get stuck to things, which lands him in trouble a few times until he uses it to help defeat the dragon, making the turtle and chameleon realize how special he is and accept him into the group.
• Liz of The Magic School Bus, Ms. Frizzle's loyal sidekick Jackson chameleon.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: In My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Summertime Shorts, Sunset Shimmer gets a pet in an adorable leopard gecko which she names Ray.
• Oscar's Oasis features a titular protagonist who is a gecko.
• Ovide and the Gang has Polo, a giant red lizard who is one of the main heroes.
• Phineas and Ferb: In one episode, the boys find a chameleon and name him Steve. Ferb especially takes such a shine to the reptile that when he goes missing, Ferb delivers an epic (and utterly out of character) Rousing Speech when Phineas and Isabella are about to give up.
• PJ Masks: Gekko, a young Lizard themed superhero. He also has a pet lizard named Lionel, who acts more like a dog than a reptile (he likes to play fetch).
• Santiago of the Seas: Nacho is the pet green iguana of Tomas, one of the main characters of the series. He is quite adorable and seems to love cuddling with his human and dozing off.
• Komodo from The Secret Saturdays is one of Zak's animal companions. Being a Komodo dragon, however, he is less pleasant than most examples.
• The Simpsons:
  • In "Selma's Choice", Selma gains a pet iguana named Jub-Jub, who formerly belonged to her deceased aunt Gladys. She shows a lot of affection for the lizard, even cradling him like a baby.
  • Played with in "Bart the Mother". Bart takes in what he thinks are two bird eggs, but they turn out to be Bolivian tree lizards, a fictional species that lay their eggs in bird nests to feed off the birds. Bart grows attached to them anyway, and is horrified when Principal Skinner tries to kill them (as he runs a birdwatching club and considers the lizards destructive) but saves them with Marge's help and releases them into the wild. Here, the "lovable" part comes not so much from the lizards themselves, but with Bart's fondness for them, which is truly heartwarming:
    Bart: Everyone thinks they're monsters. But I raised them and I love them.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has these as mutants, depending on the continuity.
  • Mondo Gecko, who was an ordinary gecko (or a human) prior to his mutation, is a skater who tends to start out misguidedly working for villains (or extremists at best) before he befriends the ninja turtles. He naturally gets along the most with fellow skater Michelangelo.
• Work It Out Wombats!: Although fastidious, Mr. E is ultimately a warm-hearted, helpful, and hard-working iguana.

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