What are your favourite fictional animals?

[AnimalToyForum]

What are your favourite made up animals!? 'Intelligent' humanoid aliens are not allowed, otherwise, it's all fair game - aliens, monsters, fantasy creatures. Here are my top 3.

1. My favourite is the Sarlacc from Star Wars (the original version without the Little Shop of Horrors head).


It is just so perfectly adapted for its environment. And so different from your usual movie monster fare. People have suggested it might have some symbolic meaning. I've no idea what they mean. 

2. The warrior xenomorphs from Aliens.


That Geiger design is iconic and unforgettable. Again, the adaptations win it for me - acidic blood. Genius. They are almost disqualified from contention but I think they can still be regarded as animals.

3. The thing, from The Thing.


What exactly is it, I don't know, but that's the point. A mass of replicating cells I suppose. Maybe it is a stretch to call it an animal, but it is a creepy freaky creature, and it could be standing right next to you.

That's my top 3, what are yours? I'm obviously a science fiction fan, all of my creatures have evolutionary innovations, and that's part of my reason for picking them. But other members may take this discussion in a completely different direction.

[brontodocus]

Great choices! Giger's aliens are probably the most menacing science fiction monsters ever! There are so many mythological creatures (especially in Greek mythology) that I'm quite unable to decide (although the Skylla was one of the most horrifying for me). But since you brought in Star Wars I'd have to say...

...the Exogorth!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s0MqYcOOjY
Although it's always a bit too slow...

[sbell]

It has to be the Bonnacon, which I just learned about. I will say nothing more. Other than I'm sorry in advance for anyone that looks it up.

[brontodocus]

It has to be the Bonnacon, which I just learned about. I will say nothing more. Other than I'm sorry in advance for anyone that looks it up.

Ouch! Never heard about that one before. Haven't I always said it's a really bad idea to feed your cattle exclusively on habaneros?

[bmathison1972]

Sharktopus!

[stargatedalek]

here's my top 3

3. "the creature" from The Host
not a whole lot to say about the creature itself, basically its the worst kind of fish you could possibly hope to not encounter, but that design is flawless in both its appearance and execution, it suits the atmosphere of the film perfectly, and that perfect fit between creature and film is what places it in #3
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468492/


2. the velociraptor from Jurassic park
I know I know, you guys are all thinking "but velociraptor isn't fictional!", with velociraptor being the genus name and with the intended species having never been given(?), it does leave the species of the animals in the film up to some level of personal interpretation, couple that with the canonical knowledge of their DNA being "impure" and I don't think this really qualifies as a representation of any known species anymore
I completely admit, velociraptor most likely only makes #2 because of nostalgia, after all I was apparently watching Jurassic Park before I could talk (or so my family says)


1. the varactyl from Star Wars
I'm not sure exactly what I love about it so much, I suppose I have always loved both birds and geckos, so its only natural that a giant feathered gecko would peak my interest
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Varactyl



honorable mentions;
-Mothra
Mothra has always held a personal soft spot for me, I like the design, and I like her character
-Ebirah
to me Ebirah feels a lot more like a real animal than most of the Godzilla daikaiju, that's not to say I think the giant lobster could really be out there, but it just feels like a thing that could really live
-Gojira(/Godzilla)
someone had to mention it sooner or later
-Zilla
Zilla (Godzilla 1998) tends to get A LOT of hate, but personally I think that's just carrying over from the film itself (which I agree with most in saying it was rather dismal), I like the design, and while it definitely still breaks the laws of physics its smaller size and theropod stance do make it feel a touch more "real" than its counterpart
-Tyrannosaurus (JP)
hands down one of the all time villains of the big screen
-Dilophosaurus (JP)
in my opinion no Jurassic Park design has been so extravagant as its dilophosaurus, from its adorable chirping to accentuated frill this creature is full of surprises
-Acklay
another from Star Wars, a giant mantis/crab hybrid? sign me up!
-Centaurian Slug
from Star Trek, Wrath of Khan, a fascinating creature to say the least, comparisons to ant lion larvae are inevitable
-"Dodo Parasite"
from Primeval, not to be confused with Goa'uld (Stargate), or Parasyte (Parasyte), both of which are sapient species and very similar in behavior

[WiseWolf]

Do werewolves count? I love werewolves! If not, dragons and unicorns are very cool. Though it infuriates me when dragons are depicted with big flappy mammalian ears - dragons are reptiles, so their ears should just be holes.

[Ana]

I like many of the animals and creatures painted by Hieronymus Bosch, so bizarre as they could be, I have never seen stranger creations of imagination
Some of the more normal ones:


Well?


Or on the painting "The Fall of rebel Angels" by Pieter Bruegel there is also many strange "hybrid" forms, some unthinkable combinations too 
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Pieter_Bruegel_I-Fall_of_rebel_Angels_(merge).jpg

But my very favourite is not from Bosch or Bruegel. It's the Forest Spirit from movie Princess Mononoke <3 <3 <3 Also one of my very favourite films

[AnimalToyForum]

Some great choices 

@Stargate, I'm with you on the Acklay. We could even do our top 10 Star Wars creatures in a separate thread.
The JP raptors just about count as fictional, I suppose, but I'm not so sure about the JP T. rex. 
Re: The Host, I enjoyed the film. Wasn't there a sequel planned?

@Wisewolf, yeah, I think werewolves count.

@Anna, Those Bosch creatures are mad, I've never seen them before!

[Yutyrannus]

Without a doubt the "Chiefest and Greatest of all Calamities"

[WiseWolf]

Smaug is cool, but it really annoyed me that they made him a wyvern in the movie. That seems to be the fashion these days - the "dragons" in Game Of Thrones are wyverns too, for example - but it's especially bad when the author himself provided descriptions and drawings of Smaug that they could've worked from.

[MariaEvri]

dragons and gryphons
every time a dragon dies in a movie my heart melts
they're just misunderstood like orcas were years ago X(

[MariaEvri]

ftp://

Smaug is cool, but it really annoyed me that they made him a wyvern in the movie. That seems to be the fashion these days - the "dragons" in Game Of Thrones are wyverns too, for example - but it's especially bad when the author himself provided descriptions and drawings of Smaug that they could've worked from.

I think they do it so that they are more "realistic" 4 limps and a tail

[stargatedalek]

I think they do it so that they are more "realistic" 4 limps and a tail

Agreed, I always prefer when they stick with four limbs but that's just me, probably because they feel that much more plausible and "real" to me when they have four limbs, or perhaps because of my adoration of pterosaurs. Of course, if they decided to go with expanded surfaces similar to real life flying lizards that would also be super cool.

I also understand the disappointment when a classic design is changed like that though. I like the design of 1998 Godzilla more than the original, because for me it feels more like real animals do, but I can totally see why some people hate it for changing the classic design.

[MariaEvri]

I like the design of 1998 Godzilla more than the original, because for me it feels more like real animals do

wow I never thought I found anyone else that likes the 1998 design than me. He's also cute hehe
back to dragons, personally i don't mind if they have two or four legs, I like them both

[AcroSauroTaurus]

My favorites:
1. Smaug the Magnificent. Portrait drawn by me

2. King Ghidorah
3. Hydras

[Takama]

This might be controversial due to the things i said about it. But part of me likes the Indominus Rex, and another part of me wishes it stayed in the bowls of Hollywood's Development Hell.

I like it for the fact that it introduced a mere monster in an otherwise Prehistoric movie.   To me, this Animal is King Kong, a Fictional beast living on a island of real Animals (im comparing it to the original 1930s film not the 2005 remake which was still a masterpiece)

I hate it for the fact that EVERYONE thats not into dinosaurs thinks it is one, and so we get moms begging animal toy makers to create one for there line of Real animals when there are PLENTY of Dinosaurs that deserve a toy more then this thing ever did.



Next would be Gorosaurus from The Godzilla Universe.
Really i see this as a basic theropod, and i like to imagine him as a Carcharadontosaur in modern times.  Sure his has no special ability's  and has very little screen time in his career. but i still think he deserves recognition for being so plain



I dont have a third one yet

[Owen Leo]

mine are the Kanimas from Teenwolf