Thumper in Bambi
The Real Animal: A rabbit. Again. There’s a reason for the phrase ‘go at it like bunnies’, you know.
The Movie Animal: The kind of cute that’ll melt even the iciest of hearts. When Thumper laughs, we laugh. When Thumper cries, we cry…
Best Quote: “‘Eating greens is a special treat, It makes long ears and great big feet. But it sure is awful stuff to eat.’ I made that last part up myself.”
Fantastic Mr Fox
The Real Animal: A fox. Menace of the urban streets. Screecher in the night. General nuisance.
The Movie Animal: Suave, sophisticated, dashing… and that’s just the guy voicing him. Mr Fox is the hero we all want to be – and he has a really cool pair of PJs, too.
Best Quote: “Why a fox? Why not a horse, or a beetle, or a bald eagle? I'm saying this more as, like, existentialism, you know? Who am I? And how can a fox ever be happy without, you'll forgive the expression, a chicken in its teeth?”
Sebastian in The Little Mermaid
The Real Animal: A crab. You know, those things that drunkenly scuttle sideways or ruin your day at the beach by snapping hold of your big toe.
The Movie Animal: All Sebastian wants to do is make music. Joyous, soul-soaring music. Instead he gets stuck chasing around a little mermaid. In the end, though, he comes out good – and even gets to conduct a few tunes along the way.
Best Quote: “My nerves are shot. This is a catastrophe! What would her father say? I'll tell you what her father'd say. He'd say he's gonna kill himself a crab, that's what her father'd say!”
Boxer in Animal Farm
The Real Animal: A farm horse. Eats hay. Poos indiscriminately.
The Movie Animal: Despite the chaos that envelopes Animal Farm, Boxer remains a strong, loyal and kind-hearted resident, even though he’s not always the sharpest tool in the box.
Best Quote: “I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm. It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The solution, as I see it, is to work harder.”
Ted
The Real Animal: A bear, though what species of bear is up for debate.
The Movie Animal: Think a miniature fratboy and you’ve got a fair picture of Ted. He loves weed. He loves to get drunk. And he loves Flash Gordon . We wish he was our drinking buddy.
Best Quote: “I look like something you give to your kid when you tell ’em Grandma died.”
Cowardly Lion in The Wizard Of Oz
The Real Animal: Another lion – we promise this one’s our last.
The Movie Animal: His name says it all. The Cowardly Lion has lost his courage, which is the one thing a lion really needs. Unless he’s been turned into a domesticated cat by a Bond villain.
Best Quote: “I'll go in there for Dorothy. Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I'll tear them apart. I may not come out alive, but I'm going in there. There's only one thing I want you fellows to do… Talk me out of it!”
Babe
The Real Animal: A pig. Yes, a smelly, noisy, hairy pig. With trotters.
The Movie Animal: One for the kiddies that adults can enjoy, too. His parents may end up pork, but Babe’s got an adaptable spirit that means he can turn his trotter to anything. Including becoming the world’s first sheep pig.
Best Quote: “Move along there, ya... big buttheads!”
Dory in Finding Nemo
The Real Animal: A Pacific Regal Blue Tang, which is a very long name for a not-very-big fish.
The Movie Animal: More forgetful than our Aunt Ada, Dory’s winsomely kooky – though we wouldn’t necessarily pick her to go on a quest with. Still, she pretty much saves the day in the end.
Best Quote: “Hey, look. ‘Esc-a-pay.’ I wonder what that means. That's funny, it's spelled just like the word ‘escape’.”
Roger Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
The Real Animal: One last rabbit, though we’ve never seen a rabbit dressed up like this in the wild.
The Movie Animal: An animated goofball with one heck of a sexy lady for a wife.
Best Quote: “Check the probate. Why, my Uncle Thumper had a problem with his probate, and he had to take these big pills, and drink lots of water.”
Kermit the Frog in The Muppets
The Real Animal: Somewhat smaller, slimier and less attractive than their fuzzy Henson-created counterpart.
The Movie Animal: The frog to end all frogs. Sure he’s little more than a sock puppet, but Kermit is the calm amid the chaos that is The Muppets. He’s also deserving of our sympathy – nobody wants Miss Piggy swooning over them 24/7, right?
Best Quote: “Do what I do: imagine the audience naked.”
