10 Movies Where Characters Are Turned Into Animals

While it may seem that every movie is 100% unique and original that’s simply not the case. Nearly every movie in existence has borrowed something from either another movie or more likely, relies on a popular trope to tell its story. Every movie genre has there own tropes but a select few tropes work for nearly any genre.

Having characters be transformed into animals is one of those tropes that can be used for just about any genre. And there are a multitude of reasons why characters are transformed into animals. Sometimes it’s to teach them a lesson and other times it’s just to create drama. Whatever the case, it’s always fun to see how it will play out.

10 Beauty And The Beast (1991)

One of the most well-known human to animal transformation movies is the Disney animated classic and Academy Award-nominated Beauty and the Beast.

While many think the movie centers on Belle, the Beast is actually the main character of the movie. As fans will remember, the story opens with Prince Adam being cursed by an enchantress after he denies her shelter in his castle. Prince Adam thus gets turned into the Beast which he’ll stay as unless he can fall in love.

9 Brave (2012)

Pixar Animation Studios loves to use anthropomorphism in their movies but in 2012 they decided to switch it up by turning a human into an actual animal in the underrated Pixar movie Brave.

After not getting what she wants in Brave, Merida ventures into the forest where she meets a wish who agrees to help her get her mother, aka the Queen, to see her side. However, the spell isn’t what Merida expected and her mom ends up being transformed into a giant black bear.

8 Brother Bear (2003)

Disney’s Post-Renaissance Era isn’t the most popular Disney animated period despite the fact that it has several hidden gems. One of those underrated gems is none other than the 2003 movie Brother Bear. 

After watching his brother get killed by a bear, Kenai seeks revenge by killing the bear. This only makes things worse because Kenai is magically transformed into a bear. And not just any bear, but a bear his other brother is determined to kill. As if that’s not enough, Kenai also befriends Koda, a young bear cub who is motherless after his mom was killed.

7 Fluke (1995)

It’s admittedly a lot harder to tell a human turning into an animal story in the live-action world but that doesn’t mean filmmakers haven’t tried. Unfortunately, they’re not always successful and in Fluke’s case become a box-office bomb.

Nothing seems to be going right for the Johnson family, especially not after their workaholic patriarch dies in a car crash. However, things take a weird turn when Thomas Johnson returns in the form of canine. Realizing he never spent enough time with his family, Thomas attempts to make up for the lost time by being there for the family in dog form.

6 Spies In Disguise (2019)

Blue Sky Studio has created some of the best and most memorable animated films of all time. Unfortunately, the studio has now been shut down, thus making Spies in Disguise one of its last original shows.

While most humans get transformed into scary animals, in Spies in Disguise spy Lance Sterling gets turned into a pigeon. The good news is that Lance doesn’t lose his spy skills, the bad news is that he now must team up with scientist Walter Beckett to save the world.

5 Spirited Away (2001)

Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is one of Studio Ghibli’s most iconic animated movies of all time and deservingly so; it even won the second-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

While the main character Chihiro doesn’t get turned into an animal herself, her parents unfortunately do. After seeing them transformed into pigs, it’s now up to Chihiro to figure out a way to save her parents and herself before it’s too late.

4 The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

Yet another underrated Post-Renaissance era Disney animated film, The Emperor’s New Groove deserves more attention than it gets. It’s also another example of Disney transforming a character into an animal.

This time, arrogant and egotistical Emperor Kuzco accidentally gets transformed into a llama and left stranded in the jungle instead of being killed by Yzma who is vying for the throne. Now, Kuzco must trust Pacha to help him return to his kingdom and transform back into a human.

3 The Princess And The Frog (2009)

The Princess and the Frog is iconic for a number of reasons including being Disney’s first Black princess movie, as well as being the first Disney Princess movie in over a decade.

Instead of just one character being transformed, The Princess and the Frog upped the stakes by turning not only Tiana but also Prince Naveen into frogs. Tiana and Naveen couldn’t be more different if they tried but they must put aside their differences in order to break the curse and be human again.

2 The Shaggy Dog (1959)

Still, it’s one of the more memorable live-action humans to animal transformation movies. It’s also pretty funny considering the human who gets transformed into the shaggy dog is the son of a dog-hating mailman. Now, this odd father-son duo must figure out a way to break an ancient curse.

1 The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)

While most people wouldn’t consider The Twilight Saga: New Moon to be a movie featuring humans being turned into animals, that is exactly what it is.

A huge part of the second movie in the epic teen franchise series centers on the fact the Quileute tribe’s children are one-by-one transforming into werewolves. Unlike most of the human to animal transformations, Jacob and the rest of the affected tribal members can control when they transform into a werewolf.

About The Author

Danielle Bruncati
(298 Articles Published)

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Danielle Bruncati was born and raised in Southern California and has been a story-teller for as long as she can remember. She is currently a freelance writer for ScreenRant and is also pursuing a Master’s Degree in Television Writing and Producing from a top 10 film school. When she’s not writing, Danielle can be found binging the latest sitcom or teen tv series with her dog by her side or walking around Disneyland with a Mickey-shaped snack in hand.

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