Onscreen pets deserve all the attention and treats

With Captain Marvel releasing this weekend, we thought it’d be a great time to look back at some of the best onscreen pets ever.

The Dog O’Day staff is very excited about Captain Marvel, the newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Yeah, it’s the first MCU film to have a female lead, which is important, and Carol Danvers is a great character, and the 1990s setting is cool. But the part we’re most excited for is Goose the cat.

Inspired by his role in the movie, we thought it would be good to look back at some of the best onscreen pets ever. (Movies only right now, we’ll probably do a separate story in the future on the best pets from TV shows.)

We’re also not going to count movies that are actually about animals, which are a totally different category. This rules out such obvious mentions as The Aristocats, Bolt, Charlotte’s Web, Homeward Bound or Lady and the Tramp. 

Cats of While You Were Sleeping (1995)

Lucy Moderatz’s (Sandra Bullock) lonely existence in Chicago is brightened by her cat Meowt, who is a faithful companion, even if he does take his time arriving at the dinner table (allowing Lucy to swipe some of his milk for dunking Oreos in).

Fluffy has a larger role to play in the story, as her need for food compels Lucy to go to Peter Callaghan’s (Peter Gallagher) apartment in the first place, where she begins her first date with his brother Jack (Bill Pullman).

Fluffy actually belongs to Peter’s (married) girlfriend Ashley Bartlett Bacon, paving the way for her introduction late into the plot.

Petey from The Little Rascals (1994)

Petey the Pit Bull is a loyal companion to the He-Man Woman Hater’s Club, and a smart one, too – delivering messages, serving as watchdog, and even helping collect supplies for the new go kart.

Plus his reactions to situations, particularly involving dismay or shame, are spectacular.

Sandy from Annie (all versions)

Sandy is a scruffy stray that the orphan Annie adopts, and he serves as her loyal companion throughout the rest of the movie.

He gets yelled at all through the “Dumb Dog” song from the 1982 version with Albert Finney, Carol Burnett and Bernadette Peters, which is by far the worst song in the movie.

The 1999 TV version includes Victor Garber, Kathy Bates and Kirstin Chenoweth, and streamlines the plot considerably, with a much happier ending as Miss Hannigan is put in a lunatic asylum. Sandy is again a blonde scruffy stray, but doesn’t have much impact on the plot.

In the 2014 version, Sandy is a girl, and a Shiba Inu. This version stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, and has a contemporary setting.

Hooch from Turner and Hooch (1987)

Hooch is a MASSIVE French Mastiff (technically a Bordeaux) who belongs to an elderly man, transferred into Tom Hanks’ custody after his owner is murdered. They become partners (Hanks plays a detective) and eventually solve a money laundering scheme.

It’s a thoroughly strange movie that leaves you with a lot of emotions from sadness to laughter to embarrassment, and in some of the lighter moments, Hooch falls in love with a veterinarian’s Collie.

For on all things Captain Marvel, especially Goose the cat, see our sister sites within the FanSided Network in Bam Smack Pow and Culturess.