The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences will award some of the best– and some not as good– movies from the past year on March 2nd. Before we’re fully consumed with Oscars action, let’s gather around for the 2nd Annual celebration of the best movie animals of the year.

honorable mentions

As is (one year old) tradition, our honorable mentions go out to the (disappointingly lengthy) list of computer-generated creatures that graced our screens this year. Let’s raise a glass for our beloved Kong, Godzilla, and the rest of the monsters from Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire; the gigantic reindeer, and the walking polar bear named Garcia in Red One; the sharks from Under Paris; nearly every character from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; flying monkeys and a goat with glasses and Peter Dinklage’s voice in Wicked; Paul Dano’s large arachnid in Spaceman; and Gladiator II’s onslaught of baboons, sharks, rhino, and whatever else Ridley Scott chose to pretend existed in Rome at the time.

Now let’s take a look at our honorees…

Woodpecker attacks

Oh my, how could I be so remiss in forgetting two films that feature the incredible cinematic act of actors dressing as animals! Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, and Nathan Zellner turned back the clock a few evolution cycles in becoming the woodland family of Sasquatch Sunset. Then, we have the absolute fever dream that is the one and only Hundreds of Beavers, Mike Cheslik’s incredible comedy starring humans inside of mascot costumes.

The Watchers

Probably the worst movie that will be mentioned on this list, but animal representation still counts even in bad movies. Dakota Fanning’s character picks up a yellow parrot named Darwin from a store and has to deliver it to a zoo, but her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and forces her into the woods where weird stuff starts to happen. Darwin was played by a bird named Sunshine, and though it can’t be confirmed if it was their actual voice, one scene does feature Sunshine looking at Fanning and repeating back the phrase, “Try not to die!”

Monkey Man

Dev Patel’s directorial debut directly references its urge to stand side-by-side next to the John Wick franchise. The film even goes as far as having Patel’s character befriend a stray puppy in an alley. The cute canine doesn’t play a huge role after the first act, but their performance is worthy nonetheless!

Nosferatu

Rats. So many rats. Reportedly 5,000 of them. When the titular count touches down in England, Robert Eggers unleashes all hell onto the set with his horde of rats, which were all safely protected inside of plexiglass tracks. Big shoutouts go to Willem Dafoe for standing amongst a large grouping at one point, and even more to Emma Corin who has to lay and be covered in them.

Hit Man

The psychological role-playing inside of Richard Linklater’s latest doesn’t just live within the costume changes Glen Powell gets to go through, but is also in the characterization of at-home kitties Id and Ego, which were actually the real life pets of the film’s subject, Gary Johnson.

Blink Twice

In Zoë Kravitz’s feature debut, snakes slither around billionaire Slater King’s private island, almost as dangerously as the men do. Described as Lash Vipers, some internet digging has led to the potential of pythons– a non-venomous breed– to be used in their place. Though the snakes and their venom play a big role in the story of the film, there isn’t much asked of the reptiles in terms of action.

The Outrun

In The Outrun, Soairse Ronan goes home to the Orkney isles with the hope of getting some stability in her life and recovery from alcoholism. The film opens with her narration about the myth of Selkies; the Orkney seals that can transform into people to walk on land but must return to the water before risking being stuck on land forever. It’s a well-placed metaphor and the seal imagery carries on throughout the film, including a later scene when Ronan goes into the water and howls with them. Ronan’s character works on a sheep farm with her father, so there are plenty of fluffy animals to see on land as well, including a scene where Ronan helps a sheep give birth. In this interview Ronan reveals she delivered seven sheep(!) to get the shot.

Babygirl

Before the kinky affair of power between Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson can begin, a furry pal has to make the introduction. Standing on a New York City sidewalk, Kidman becomes paralyzed as a dog chaotically sprints her way right until Dickinson’s character, Samuel, calls it off. It’s an eye-catching scene that immediately sets up the dynamic of these two characters for director, Halina Rejin. I haven’t been able to find any information on our lovely canine actor, but that didn’t stop A24 from trying to make a quick bark– err– buck.

Kinds of Kindness

For the 2nd year in a row, Yorgos Lanthimos takes his animal actors to some unexpected and hilarious heights. Cut in between his triptych of stories, Lanthimos uses a montage of a big group of dogs doing human activities– driving cars, drinking on the beach, eating pasta, and yes, having sex. It’s perfectly weird in the way Lanthimos has created a brand off of, and his Kinds of Kindness pack were awarded with the 2024 Palme Dog.

The Fall Guy

Ryan Gosling and David Leitch’s love letter to stunt work would not be complete– or as enjoyable– without multiple set pieces including dog character, Jean Claude. Played by two Australian Kelpies, Jean Claude is a stunt dog that Gosling’s character worked with in France, setting up a funny through-line of the lovable dog only taking commands in French. What at first seemed like a winning piece of screenwriting turned out to be inspired by reality, when Gosling revealed that he wanted a French-speaking pup in the film as an homage to his wife, Eva Mendes’, old pet, Hugo. The duo’s chemistry is genuinely strong, and leads to a few great line readings by Gosling– particularly when he tells Jean Claude to guard a cockatoo, and to engage his core as they go into a car jump. Look, mom, no paws!

A Quiet place: Day One

John Krasinski’s brain child hit franchise spins into the past to depict new characters trying to understand and survive his auditory alien invasion from the start and from within the loudest city in the world. What Krasinski’s first two films did to establish just how hard it would be for a family to survive these monsters over time, Day One director, Michael Sarnoski, takes it one step further by bringing a beloved pet into the mix. In almost every scene of the thriller, Lupita N’yongo’s Samira is accompanied by her pet cat, Frodo. Played by two cats, Nico and Schnitzel, Frodo is the third lead of the movie without any doubt, and has a litany of standout moments. It’s a solid film, especially for a franchise prequel no one was really asking for, and Sarnoski’s touch with actors extended seamlessly to the animals on set as well. To hear more about how they worked with Nico and Schnitzel, Paramount has posted this fun featurette.

Gladiator II

Within Ridley Scott’s ridiculous Gladiator sequel lies two standout performances. The first, of course, is Denzel Washington. The next, is female monkey, Sherry, in her film debut playing the scene stealer Dondus. Dressed in cute outfits by mentally unstable emperor Caracella (Fred Hechinger), Dondus hops around the Roman Empire enjoying the rich life minding his own business. After a dramatic turn late in the film, though, Dondus takes his rightful place in cinema history when Hechinger, in front of the entire Roman senate, names Dondus his First Counsel. Dondus celebrates by eating some gummy candies, as the entire senate, including Washington, pronounces, “Hail Dondus!” Taking our top spot of the year: Hail Dondus, indeed.