# Moto Moto
Moto Moto is the smooth-talking hippo bachelor from DreamWorks' 2008 film Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, voiced by will.i.am, whose flirtation with Gloria birthed the enduring 'Moto Moto likes you' catchphrase. His song 'Big and Chunky' and reaction clips turned him into one of animation's most enduring thirst-object memes on Reddit and YouTube.
## Origin
Moto Moto debuted in DreamWorks' Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which was released theatrically on November 7th, 2008[1]. Voiced by Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, the character is written as a hippo heart-throb whose flirtation with Gloria drives a subplot about her feeling seen for her size[2].
On November 8th, 2008, BlackTree TV uploaded a behind-the-scenes interview introducing the character and will.i.am's performance, and that clip circulated as the first taste of Moto Moto outside the theater[5].
- **Platform:** Film (Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa) / Reddit + YouTube (viral spread)
- **Creator:** DreamWorks Animation (character); will.i.am (voice)
- **Date:** 2008
## Overview
Moto Moto is an animated hippo bachelor whose whole personality is confidence, low-frequency vocals, and an obsession with 'chunky' partners. His name means 'hot hot' in Swahili, and the running joke is that the name is so nice you have to say it twice[1]. Online, he functions less as a character reference and more as a stand-in for exaggerated attraction, with the line 'I think Moto Moto likes you' captioned over crushes, celebrities, and cursed image edits[2].
The format is loose. People clip the scene where Moto Moto struts up to Gloria and use it as a reaction to anything they find hot, or they photoshop his face onto other bulky figures like Thanos and Salt Bae to riff on his aura[3]. The 'Big and Chunky' musical number gets repurposed as ironic hype music. Urban Dictionary entries lean into the bit, defining him as a 'smooth player hippo with big thick dark eyebrows'[4].
## How It Spread
The song 'Big and Chunky', performed by will.i.am in-character, was uploaded to YouTube by XTheVideoGirlX on September 13th, 2009 and racked up millions of plays over the following decade, seeding the audio for later edits[6]. On April 27th, 2013, uploader Mostafaabobakr7 posted the isolated 'Moto Moto Likes You' scene, which became the reference clip people linked whenever the catchphrase came up[7].
Reddit is where Moto Moto turned into a proper recurring meme. On October 17th, 2018, Redditor Danny-fantom posted a photoshopped Thanos/Moto Moto hybrid to r/thanosdidnothingwrong, and on December 31st, 2018, Redditor Inb625 dropped a Salt Bae-as-Moto Moto edit to r/dankmemes that pulled 14,600 points[2]. A dedicated r/motomoto subreddit was created on February 3rd, 2019, drawing 500 subscribers within weeks[2]. On April 28th, 2018, OllieMemes' compilation of every Moto Moto scene pulled millions of YouTube views, feeding a new wave of edits[8].
## How to Use
The classic use is captioning: paste 'I think Moto Moto likes you' under a photo of someone or something being thirsted over. The other common convention is a face-swap or role-swap, dropping Moto Moto's head onto muscular or bulky figures (Thanos, Salt Bae, a real hippo) to lean into the 'chunky' joke[2]. 'Big and Chunky' often plays over the edit as ironic backing music.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Moto Moto?
Moto Moto is a flirtatious hippo character from the 2008 DreamWorks film Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, voiced by will.i.am, who became a long-running Reddit and YouTube meme around the line 'Moto Moto likes you'[1][2].
### Where did Moto Moto come from?
He debuted in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, released November 7th, 2008, and started spreading online via YouTube uploads of his scenes and the 'Big and Chunky' musical number[1][6].
### What does Moto Moto mean?
'Moto moto' means 'hot hot' in Swahili, which is a wink at the character being an over-the-top heart-throb hippo[4].
### How do you use Moto Moto?
People typically caption 'I think Moto Moto likes you' under a photo of a crush, or photoshop his face onto other bulky pop culture figures like Thanos or Salt Bae[2].
### Is Moto Moto still popular?
He is a classic 2010s Reddit meme with a dedicated r/motomoto subreddit and steady rewatch views on the original scene clips[2][7].
## References
1. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479952/]()
2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/moto-moto]()
3. [https://www.reddit.com/r/motomoto/]()
4. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Moto%20Moto]()
5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXoYXE6d8ZU]()
6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUpKaG9qtWo]()
7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm_KyVvoGmA]()
8. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZdKVTyAgpY]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/moto-moto
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