Special Report

25 Most Iconic Pets in Movie History

Americans love pets and movies, so what could be better than movies with pets? There have been a lot of them and 24/7 Tempo has identified the most iconic ones by reviewing some of the most popular pet movies as well as films in which pets play a featured role on IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon

Our list is a real Noah’s Ark. There are dogs – lots of them, the majority by far – and a few cats, but also an owl, a parrot, a fish, and other creatures. (See the official pets and animals of every state.)

The oldest movie on our list is “The Thin Man,” a comic mystery from 1934, based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett and starring Myrna Loy and William Powell as a hard-drinking rich couple who solve crimes with the occasional help of a Wire Fox Terrier names Asta. The next oldest is “Bringing Up Baby,” a 1938 screwball comedy about a paleontologist, played by Cary Grant, an heiress, played by Katharine Hepburn, and a leopard called Baby. (As it happens, the dog who plays Asta – real name Skippy – takes on the role of a dog named George in the Grant/Hepburn movie.)

The classic “Wizard of Oz” was released in 1939. The central character Dorothy Gale, played by Judy Garland, is accompanied on her adventures by a dog named Toto, played by a female brindle Cairn Terrier (some sources say Yorkshire Terrier) named Terry. (These are the most famous dogs of all time.)

If you like pigs you’re in luck because there are a couple of them on our list. Who could forget Wilbur from “Charlotte’s Web”? There’s also “Babe,” about a lovable piglet. It was a critical and commercial success, making close to $250 million at the box office. 

Click here to see the 25 most iconic pets in movie history

And bird-lovers will appreciate the presence here of  Cap’n Flint, the parrot in the 1950 version of “Treasure Island,” and Hedwig, Harry Potter’s pet snowy owl.

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

1. Toto
> Movie: Wizard of Oz (1939)
> Kind of animal: Dog (Cairn or Yorkshire Terrier)

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Courtesy of Universal Pictures

2. Babe
> Kind of animal: White Yorkshire pig
> Movie: Babe (1995)

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

3. Asta
> Kind of animal: Dog (Wire Fox Terrier)
> Movie: The Thin Man (1934) and sequels

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

4. Cap’n Flint
> Kind of animal: Parrot
> Movie: Treasure Island (1950)

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Distribution Company

5. Duchess
> Kind of animal: Cat (Turkish Angora)
> Movie: The Aristocats (1970)

Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

6. Max
> Kind of animal: Dog (mixed breed)
> Movie: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

7. Dug
> Kind of animal: Dog (Golden Retriever)
> Movie: Up (2009)

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

8. Balto
> Kind of animal: Dog (Siberian Husky/wolf mix)
> Movie: Balto (1995)

Courtesy of United Artists

9. Blofeld’s Cat
> Kind of animal: Cat (Persian)
> Movie: From Russia With Love (1963) and sequels

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Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

10. Lassie
> Kind of animal: Dog (Rough Collie)
> Movie: Lassie Come Home (1943)

Courtesy of Buena Vista Distribution Company

11. Lucky
> Kind of animal: Dog (Dalmatian)
> Movie: One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

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Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

12. Wanda
> Kind of animal: Angel Fish
> Movie: A fish called Wanda (1988)

Courtesy of Buena Vista Film Distribution Company

13. Old Yeller
> Kind of animal: Dog (Labrador Retriever/Mastiff mix)
> Movie: Old Yeller (1957)

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

14. Baby
> Kind of animal: Leopard
> Movie: Bringing Up Baby (1938)

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

15. Air Bud
> Kind of animal: Dog (Golden Retriever)
> Movie: Air Bud (1997)

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

16. Beethoven
> Kind of animal: Dog (St. Bernard)
> Movie: Beethoven (1992)

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

17. Black Beauty
> Kind of animal: American Quarter Horse
> Movie: Black Beauty (1971)

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

18. Chance, Shadow, and Sassy
> Kind of animal: Dog (Golden Retriever), dog (Bull Terrier), and cat (Siamese), respectively
> Movie: Homeward Bound (1993)

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

19. Hedwig
> Kind of animal: Snowy Owl
> Movie: Harry Potter franchise (2001)

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Courtesy of CBS

20. Snoopy
> Kind of animal: Dog (Beagle)
> Movie: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Courtesy of Buena Vista Film Distribution Company

21. Lady
> Kind of animal: Dog (American Cocker Spaniel)
> Movie: Lady & The Tramp (1955)

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

22. Wilbur
> Kind of animal: Pig (breed unspecified)
> Movie: Charlotte’s Web (1973)

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

23. The Beast
> Kind of animal: Dog (English Mastiff)
> Movie: The Sandlot (1993)

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

24. Marley
> Kind of animal: Dog (Labrador Retriever)
> Movie: Marley & Me (2008)

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

25. Hootch
> Kind of animal: Dog (Dogue de Bordeaux)
> Movie: Turner & Hooch (1989)

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