Gandalf - The Lord Of The Rings (2001-2003)
Chihiro - Spirited Away (2001)
The Character: A spirited 10-year-old, Chihiro winds up in a magical world when her dad takes a wrong turn on the way to the family's new house.
Though she's confronted with spooky shade things, dragons and a giant-headed witch called Yubaba, Chihiro never loses her cool, which only serves to increase her own cool factor.
Fantastic Dialogue: "There must be some mistake! None of these pigs are my parents!"
Coraline - Coraline (2009)
The Character: The intrepid heroine of this spooky Neil Gaiman adaptation, Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is everything you want in a heroine.
Curious, quick-witted and with awesome blue hair, she doesn't fall for any of the bumph that adults spout - and, naturally, saves the day when things get a bit weird in her new house.
Fantastic Dialogue: "He's not drunk, Mom, he's just eccentric."
Totoro - My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
The Character: First encountered in a tree and later appearing at a bus stop wearing a tiny green leaf to shelter himself from the rain, Totoro is like a giant rabbit-chinchilla - only infinitely more awesome.
A spirit who befriends sisters Satsuki and Mei, he's adorable and enigmatic - and so iconic that a toy version of Totoro even cameos in Toy Story 3 .
Fantastic Dialogue: [guttural sigh]
The Genie - Aladdin (1992)
The Character: Fast-talking, flamboyant, LOUD, the Genie (voiced by Robin Williams) would be migraine-inducing if he wasn't so darned funny.
A musical wunderkind and a creative genie-us, he's the kind of friend everybody wishes they had. Mostly because he can grant those wishes.
Fantastic Dialogue: "Thank you for choosing "Magic Carpet" for all your travel needs. Don't stand until the rug has come to a complete stop. Thank you. Goodbye, now. Goodbye. Goodbye. Thank you. Goodbye."
Jack Sparrow - Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003)
The Character: Before he became a bumbling joke in the subsequence sequels, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is brilliantly buffoon-like in the first Pirates flick.
Perpetually sozzled and clumsier than a baby deer, he dreams big and often survives perilous situations almost despite himself.
Fantastic Dialogue: "Me? I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid."
Smaug - The Hobbit (2012-2014)
The Character: Greediest of all the inhabitants of Middle-earth, Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a fearsome dragon who invaded the Lonely Mountain and made it his home.
Slithering his way through mountainous caverns filled with gold, he's a rapacious reptilian menace with a heart corrupted with greed.
Fantastic Dialogue: "I am fire… I am death!"
Skeletor - Masters Of The Universe (1987)
The Character: A power-mad bastion of evil, Skeletor (Frank Langella) has a face only a mother could love.
Skeletal in every sense of the word - seemingly wasted and withered by his commitment to all things evil - he's the Darth Vader/Emperor of the He-Man universe.
Fantastic Dialogue: "I dare anything! I am Skeletor! Throw down your weapons and pledge yourselves to me!"
Hellboy - Hellboy (2004)
The Character: A demon with a killer right hook, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) may look like something hell spat out (er, it sort of did), but that doesn't mean you should pre-judge him.
Recruited by the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, he's got a soft spot for cats (who hasn't?) and likes nothing better than putting holes in the heads of squirmy monster-like things.
Fantastic Dialogue: "Didn't I kill you already?"
Ludo - Labyrinth (1986)
The Character: A giant ginger monster, Ludo is discovered being taunted by the guards of the labyrinth by erstwhile quester Sarah (Jennifer Connelly).
Though he's large in size, he's gentle in spirit - and has the enviable ability to summon rocks at will. Rocks friends…
Fantastic Dialogue: "SMELLLL BAAAAAD."
