There's something special about animal movies and their ability to teach us lessons of love, courage and loyalty. They remind us of that unique connection between animals and humans. The best of animal movies tend to become kids' favorites but possess the ability to captivate adults as well. Here's a list of our favorite movies at NBC Washington, with four-legged stars that made us laugh, cry and everything in between.
NBC Washington's take on some of our own favorite animal movies:
Rio: “Such a great story. I fall in love with Blu every time and the love stories told in this movie are incredibly heart-warming!” ~ Kristin Wright
Chicken Run: “Great stop motion animation about a chicken farm and the high-jinks of saving themselves from becoming dinner.“ ~ Wendy Rieger
101 Dalmatians: “Loved it growing up so much that I got a tattoo of the puppy Lucky. Classic, timeless and fabulous!” ~ Beth Scott
Bambi: “Bambi, because it shows the full circle of life. Early on, a young Bambi learns a hard lesson about death when his mother is shot and killed. Then his friends pair off with their own mates, and eventually Bambi has twins of his own and takes his father’s place in the forest. Few cartoons teach kids so much about the realities of life.” ~ Chris Lawrence
Milo and Otis: “An excellent animal adventure.“ ~ Darcy Spencer
Hachi: “I’ve never seen it but a lot of people love [it].” ~ Tisha Thompson
Shiloh: "I remember crying a lot more than my kids at this one. We'd loved the Shiloh books series and the movie. The bond between children & dogs is remarkable and this movie powerfully portrays it. ~ Julie Carey
Babe: -- "That'll do pig." "One of my favorite movie lines & one of the all time best animal movies. Relationships between animals can be magical and this movie showcases that." ~ Julie Carey
Because of Winn Dixie: "It's not just about boys & their dogs, this one's a about a girl who essentially gets adopted by a dog when she moves to a new town. She learns like a lot of us, dogs are a great way to meet people!" ~ Julie Carey
The AristoCats: "Everybody wants to be a cat, because a cat's the only one who knows where it's at..." ~ Mary Manby
Charlotte’s Web: "But this was the best pig movie ever... "that’s some pig.'" ~ Rick Yarborough
Where The Red Fern Grows: "This movie broke my heart at a kid after reading the book in middle school. I even wrote a sequel for a school project because I was so upset how it ended."
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: “Alrighty, then!” ~ Both Melissa Mollet and Angie Goff love this movie.
Some more of our animal favorites here at NBC Washington:
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Best in Show (Lauren Dunn)
Finding Nemo (Heather O’hara)
Puss In Boots (Andrea Silva)
Dr. Dolittle (Andrea Silva)
Lady & The Tramp (Tisha Thompson)
The Black Stallion (Tisha Thompson)
That Darn Cat (Donna Weston)
Marley & Me (Donna Weston)
Homeward Bound
The Lion King
Marley and Me
Scooby Doo
Air Bud
Beethoven
Buddy
Lady and the Tramp
The Wizard of Oz
K-9
Benji
Lassie
Flipper
Turner and Hooch
Homeward Bound
The Adventures of Milo and Otis
Underdog
Bingo
Oliver And Company
What did we miss? What are your favorite animal movies?
