What is Italian Brainrot? Understanding the Italian Brainrot Phenomenon

Italian Brainrot, also referred to as AI Italian Animals, is a surreal internet meme phenomenon that emerged in early January 2025 on TikTok. It revolves around AI-generated images of animals blended with human or inanimate features, narrated by a deep, robotic Italian male text-to-speech voice. These videos typically rhyme character names with absurd or controversial statements about religion, daily life, or unrelated topics.

The first known video was posted by TikTok user @eZburger401, who introduced the character Tralalero Tralala — a shark with Nike sneakers and human legs. The video paired its bizarre imagery with a nonsensical monologue, blending pop culture (e.g., Fortnite) and irreverent commentary. Though the original account was banned, the soundbite and image were reuploaded and quickly spread by users such as @elchino1246.

By March 2025, the format had exploded in popularity, leading to a growing library of anthropomorphic, AI-generated animals, each paired with distinct audio and eccentric lore. The trend gave birth not only to dozens of Italian creations but also to regional variants in countries like Indonesia, which adopted the structure and made it culturally specific.

Italian Brainrot is more than just a collection of absurd memes. It's a layered digital folklore built from AI tools, remix culture, and surreal humor. Each character embodies not only bizarre aesthetics but also underlying ideas about identity, transformation, power, and social absurdity. Its spread beyond Italy — especially into Indonesia — shows how meme formats evolve globally, adapting to new cultures while retaining a core essence: the mix of the uncanny and the comedic.