The 5 Cutest (& 5 Most Disturbing) Talking Animal Movies

Anthropomorphic, talking animals are featured in movies for children and adults alike. From adorable animated Disney fauna to creepy cockroaches to tiny CGI mice voiced by Michael J. Fox, animals magically bestowed with the power to speak in movies span the spectrum.

The most memorable talking animal movies have a tendency to lean toward two extremes: they either fill moviegoers with happy thoughts or scar them for life. While seeing Mike Myers as the Cat in the Hat is the stuff of nightmares, rallying behind the spunky pig Babe is a rite-of-passage only those with the coldest hearts don’t participate in.

10 Cute: Bambi (1942)

Bambi set the standard for cuteness in movies about animals, but it also features some of the saddest storylines in any Disney film geared toward children. Bambi, a young white-tailed deer whose father is the Prince of the Forest, experiences tragedy young when his mother is killed by a hunter.

Bambi develops a close friendship with an adorable rabbit named Thumper, and they try to co-exist with all the equally endearing creatures in their native habitat. As Bambi transitions into young adulthood and becomes a stag, he falls in love with Faline and prepares to one day assume his father’s position as the next Great Prince – which involves protecting the forest from humans.

9 Creepy: Joe’s Apartment (1996)

“Welcome to Joe’s apartment. It’s our apartment, too.” The only thing worse than an apartment infested with cockroaches is an apartment infested with cockroaches who sing, dance, and interject in a tenant’s love life.

So it goes in the bizarre musical-comedy Joe’s Apartment, which stars Jerry O’Connell as a New York City renters who joins forces with the 30,000 talking bugs in his complex in order to wage war against the Senator who wants to empty the building and construct a prison in its stead. Joe and the cockroaches go through a few rough patches, but they ultimately come to an understanding and figure out how to co-exist.

8 Cute: The Lion King (1994)

All of the chatty, song-loving fauna in Disney’s original animated The Lion King won over every moviegoer’s heart in 1994. From lions to monkeys to meerkats to warthogs, the creatures who cohabitate in the African Pride Lands are just loveable, plain and simple.

Simba is perhaps the most charming creature in the film, a young, curious lion cub who embarks on a treacherous journey toward becoming the next King. He must first defeat his evil uncle Scar, who stages a violent coup.

7 Creepy: The Cat In The Hat (2003)

A live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat just doesn’t work. Mike Myers gives an unhinged performance as the titular trickster character whose behaviors are made all the more disturbing by his peculiar appearance.

Myers wore prosthetics and a suit made from a mix of angora and human hair, which all comes together to create a frightening portrait of a beloved children’s book character. The addition of “adult” jokes and chaotic, slapstick humor only makes it much, much worse.

6 Cute: Babe (1995)

Babe is proof that a good live-action talking animal film is possible. This heart-warming feature by Chris Noonan tells the story of a livestock pig who aspires to do the same work as the herding dogs on his farm.

Alongside Babe exists memorable characters like Ferdinand, a duck who thinks he’s a rooster, and Arthur Hoggett, the farmer played by James Cromwell who makes Babe’s dreams come true. It doesn’t get any more heartwarming than seeing the huggable pig prove he’s just as capable as any sheepdog by the end of the movie.

5 Creepy: Hot To Trot (1988)

Hot to Trot is one hot mess of a movie. This screwball comedy that bombed in theatres stars Bobcat Goldthwait as a moronic bachelor who inherits a talking horse and half of a stock brokerage firm from his dead mother.

Goldthwait’s character Fred doesn’t inherit just any horse: he inherits a talking horse that is well-versed in how to play the stock market. Don the horse, voiced by John Candy, is self-conscious about his buck teeth and hopes to win the affections of the equine beauty Satin Doll.

4 Cute: Stuart Little (1999)

Stuart Little might be the most precious talking mouse of all time. Stuart is an orphaned, anthropomorphic mouse who is adopted by the human Little family in the film based on E.B. White’s 1945 novel of the same name.

Michael J. Fox voices Stuart, who must contend with the malicious Little family cat, Snowbell, before he can make his new house a true home. Fearless and incredibly optimistic, Stuart won’t let anything or anyone keep him from finding the happiness he deserves.

3 Creepy: Cats (2019)

The CGI-heavy Cats movie was a box office bomb that wasted some serious talent. Tom Hooper’s big-screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning Broadway musical based on a T.S. Eliot play follows a clowder of Jellicle kitties as they prepare for their annual Jellicle Ball.

The live-action actors in Cats, who range from Idris Elba to Judi Dench to Ian McKellen, are transformed into ridiculous-looking cats through poorly-manipulated computer graphics. These effects result in a talking and singing animal movie that is more like a freaky fever dream than a poignant reimaging of its source material.

2 Cute: Paddington (2015)

Paddington is the friendliest bear in all of London, who treks from his native Peruvian jungle to Paddington Station, where he’s taken in by the Brown family. This walking, talking teddy – equipped with a duffel coat, hat, and suitcase – settles right in with his new family.

Both 2014’s Paddington and 2017’s Paddington 2 were well-received, achieving both critical and box office success, thanks to its kind-hearted titular bear. British actor Ben Whishaw voices Paddington, giving his character even more warmth with his expressive tonal qualities.

1 Creepy: Howard The Duck (1986)

Before Marvel superheroes like Iron Man or Spider-Man made their big screen debuts, there was Howard the Duck. Howard lives on the planet Duckworld, which is occupied by anthropomorphic ducks; one fateful day, Howard is ejected from his easy chair and sent to Cleveland, Ohio – where he uses his martial arts skills to save the day.

The choice to make a live-action adaptation of Howard’s comic narratives was a contentious one, and it did not pay off for director Willard Huyck. Lucasfilm, who produced Howard the Duck, built a series of unconvincing animatronic ducks to bring the titular space quack to life.

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