What's The 'Sad Johnny' Meme From 'Hotel Transylvania?' The Emotional Photo Of Jonathan Looking Out A Window Explained

The most viral reaction image on TikTok right now is the Sad Johnny meme, showing the Hotel Transylvania character looking solemnly out of a plane window.

Jonathan "Johnny" Loughran is a protagonist in the 2012 animated film. Throughout most of the movie, he's pretty happy. However, in this one scene (that's been turned into a moody, black-and-white image macro), Johnny is anything but happy. He just wants to listen to his earbud music in peace.

So, where did the Sad Johnny meme come from? Why is the Sad Johnny meme so viral on TikTok? Let's explain.

Where Did The 'Sad Johnny' Meme Come From?

The original movie scene that the Sad Johnny meme comes from shows Jonathan on an airplane, seemingly heartbroken while looking out of a window. He's got his earbuds in, listening to a sad song.

The image was first turned into a black-and-white photo in 2019, when an Amino Apps user shared a blog post that included a GIF of Johnny's melancholic scene.

Then, in May of this year, Spanish-speaking TikTokers began sharing a cropped version of the black-and-white photo. They paired it with their own sad song, also adding captions that outlined a humorously sad scenario, using Sad Johnny's expression to compound the meme's emotion.

How Is The 'Sad Johnny' Meme Used On TikTok?

This month, the Sad Johnny meme has made major waves in the English-speaking meme world, specifically on TikTok. Sad photo slideshows are to blame which are using Johnny's depressed look to their creative advantage.

Many of the current Sad Johnny slideshows use a sound of a guy singing, "What the, what the, what the hell?" The sound has racked up more than 1,000 posts so far, most of which use Sad Johnny.

Plus, as the meme spreads fast on TikTok, Sad Johnny memes are now appearing on other social media platforms like Twitter / X. If you're a meme economist, it might be time to invest.

What Are Some Other 'Hotel Transylvania' Memes?

Hotel Transylvania has proven to be a highly memeable film franchise since its original movie back in 2012. Dracula Rap is a good example (not to be confused with Dracula Flow) in which Drac laid down some bars, later becoming YTP fodder.

As the Hotel Transylvania fandom comes of age in the next few years, the film's meme count will only increase.

For the full history of Sad Johnny, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.