What Pet from the Movies Do You Wish You Could Have?

If you watch the new trailer for Big Hero 6, you’re going to want a Baymax. And every kid in the world is going to want one this fall when the Disney animated feature hits theaters.

Back in the ’80s, when I was growing up, everyone wanted an Ewok as a pet, then everyone wanted a Mogwai, then everyone wanted a Puckmaren (from Flight of the Navigator), then everyone wanted surrogate parental ghosts like the Maitlands in Beetlejuice. Or maybe that was just me.

With the ’90s came desires for other movie pets and nonhuman sidekicks to come home off the screen and live with us. These included Totoros and the Iron Giant, Gromit and Babe the pig, Binx the talking cat (from Hocus Pocus) and Frank the talking pug (from Men in Black). Some of us may have wanted a dinosaur from Jurassic Park — preferably one falling in the “veggie-saurus” group.

For your consideration, don’t limit your wish list to traditional pet types, even if some of the best choices are dogs like Toto, Asta (The Thin Man), Flike (Umberto D), Uggie (The Artist), Baxter (Anchorman) and all 101 dalmatians, as well as the cat from outer space and the ferrets from The Beastmaster and Hedwig the owl and the sharks with frickin laser beams attached to their heads. 

Although we don’t want to think of any of them as pets in the way that makes them sound like our slaves, characters that fill a similar kind of “man’s best friend” role include Groot, Toothless the dragon, Johnny 5, Stitch, Bubo (from the original Clash of the Titans), Remy the rat, FizzGig (The Dark Crystal) and maybe even Chewbacca. 

My personal pick: Falcor the luck dragon from The Neverending Story. He’s good for transportation, conversation and imagination.

What movie pet do you wish you could have?

Here are some responses received so far via Twitter:
 

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