Italian Brain Rot

The internet is a weird beast. We think that we've seen it all—the growing robots, the hotdogs dancing, and humans giving birth to chairs—just when we'd seen it all previously, but worlds provide us with material that we never even dreamed of. This time it's a weird and odd bunch of characters in the form of the Italian Brain Rot creatures.

No videogame characters, no cartoon characters. They’re creations of people (and possibly a little bit of crazy A.I.) that like putting up goofy, insane videos on the internet. Heard the phrase “Tralalero Tralala” ever? Caught a glimpse of a shark wearing sneakers? Congratulations: your head is officially rotten. Let us make you meet the heroes of this crazy and hilarious world.

Tralalero Tralala: The Sneaker Shark

We begin with the one and only zaniness king himself—Tralalero Tralala. A three-legged shark but a Nike-shoed one. Yes. A shark. With legs. Wearing sneakers.

He never does swim. He dances and leaps and sings "Tralalero Tralala" over and over and over. Why? No idea. Just does. And it is horrid and charming. It is something you'd invent, and the worst of it is that we'd fight over him if he growled at us.

Bombardino Crocodilo: The Plane Crocodile 

We've even got the Crocodilo bomb plane. It is a bomber monstrosity with the snapping beast reptilian head. It shrieks overhead growling with an unpleasant Italian brogue and enjoys blowing things up or shrieking gibberish. He's the kind of person you just find yourself sitting there going: "Did someone really do that on purpose? " And the answer is a resounding yes. And they should get a medal for mischief and originality.

Ballerina Cappuccina: The Coffee Dancer

Take a ballerina and a cappuccino in a cup and put them together and you have Ballerina Cappuccina.She does a spin and a pirouette with a steaming cappuccino precariously perched on her head, tutu-skirted and staring into the mirror. Classy? Nope. Humorous? For sure. She's generally set amidst soft Italian music and over-dramatic lighting which makes the whole stunt even more absurd when she collides with a wall.

The Elephant Cactus in Sandals: Lirili Larila

If you cannot envision an elephant and a cactus going together, you need to rethink. Lirili Larila does the same exact thing but equally as well.

She walks around with an elephant trunk and cactus spines. And flip flops, of course. And that is all Lirili does: strut and sing silly songs stupidly. She is 10/10 on the attitude front, however. Queen of doing nothing and getting away with it with cool nonchalance.

Tung Tung Sahur: The Drum Warrior

last but not least is Tung Tung Tung Sahur. Not a Brainrot Italian himself but showing up in the same clips. Feet player and he calls up a bat. Parodies a real Indonesian practice but when he is with Brain Rot he is just running around screaming "TUNG TUNG TUNG" like he is rousing up the moon.

They are not bound by any convention. They're not part of any coherent narrative. They're there for one thing and that one thing alone: to put laughter, confusion, or hopefully a yell of "WHAT AM I WATCHING?!" on your television set. It's bonkers. It's absurd. And that's precisely what the world requires.

Italian Brainrot is an insane art exhibition brought to you by your dreams and your nightmares and a hyperactive Italian robot. And oddly, inexplicably, we cannot help but adore it. So the next time you find yourself staring into a coffee-stained ballerina pirouetting with a flying crocodile, don't lose your head. Smile, sing "Tralalero Tralala," and along it goes.