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.
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.
1. Toto
> Movie: Wizard of Oz (1939)
> Kind of animal: Dog (Cairn or Yorkshire Terrier)
2. Babe
> Kind of animal: White Yorkshire pig
> Movie: Babe (1995)
3. Asta
> Kind of animal: Dog (Wire Fox Terrier)
> Movie: The Thin Man (1934) and sequels
4. Cap’n Flint
> Kind of animal: Parrot
> Movie: Treasure Island (1950)
5. Duchess
> Kind of animal: Cat (Turkish Angora)
> Movie: The Aristocats (1970)
6. Max
> Kind of animal: Dog (mixed breed)
> Movie: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
7. Dug
> Kind of animal: Dog (Golden Retriever)
> Movie: Up (2009)
8. Balto
> Kind of animal: Dog (Siberian Husky/wolf mix)
> Movie: Balto (1995)
9. Blofeld’s Cat
> Kind of animal: Cat (Persian)
> Movie: From Russia With Love (1963) and sequels
10. Lassie
> Kind of animal: Dog (Rough Collie)
> Movie: Lassie Come Home (1943)
11. Lucky
> Kind of animal: Dog (Dalmatian)
> Movie: One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
12. Wanda
> Kind of animal: Angel Fish
> Movie: A fish called Wanda (1988)
13. Old Yeller
> Kind of animal: Dog (Labrador Retriever/Mastiff mix)
> Movie: Old Yeller (1957)
14. Baby
> Kind of animal: Leopard
> Movie: Bringing Up Baby (1938)
15. Air Bud
> Kind of animal: Dog (Golden Retriever)
> Movie: Air Bud (1997)
16. Beethoven
> Kind of animal: Dog (St. Bernard)
> Movie: Beethoven (1992)
17. Black Beauty
> Kind of animal: American Quarter Horse
> Movie: Black Beauty (1971)
18. Chance, Shadow, and Sassy
> Kind of animal: Dog (Golden Retriever), dog (Bull Terrier), and cat (Siamese), respectively
> Movie: Homeward Bound (1993)
19. Hedwig
> Kind of animal: Snowy Owl
> Movie: Harry Potter franchise (2001)
20. Snoopy
> Kind of animal: Dog (Beagle)
> Movie: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
21. Lady
> Kind of animal: Dog (American Cocker Spaniel)
> Movie: Lady & The Tramp (1955)
22. Wilbur
> Kind of animal: Pig (breed unspecified)
> Movie: Charlotte’s Web (1973)
23. The Beast
> Kind of animal: Dog (English Mastiff)
> Movie: The Sandlot (1993)
24. Marley
> Kind of animal: Dog (Labrador Retriever)
> Movie: Marley & Me (2008)
25. Hootch
> Kind of animal: Dog (Dogue de Bordeaux)
> Movie: Turner & Hooch (1989)