Film Animals: Best Films with Animals in the Title Ranked

A movie title that names an animal sets an instant promise: this creature is the story. From The Bear (1988) to The Lion King (1994) to A Dog's Purpose (2017), filmmakers have leaned on animal names for over a century because they work — audiences immediately know the emotional register, whether it is a tearjerker, a family adventure, or a nature epic.

The tradition runs deep in cinema history. Lassie Come Home (1943) built an entire franchise on a named collie, while Old Yeller (1957) turned a scruffy yellow dog into one of Disney's most enduring live-action classics. Modern entries like The Jungle Book (2016) prove the formula still wins, blending photorealistic animals with blockbuster storytelling.

Dogs headline more animal-title films than any other species, and the range is remarkable. Marley & Me (2008) delivers comedy and devastation in equal measure across 14 years of family life. Beethoven (1992) built slapstick chaos around a Saint Bernard. Turner & Hooch (1989) paired Tom Hanks with a slobbering Dogue de Bordeaux in one of the great buddy-cop variations.

The tearjerker wing is just as strong. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009), starring Richard Gere, remade the 1987 Japanese film about an Akita who waited at a train station for his late owner for nearly a decade. A Dog's Purpose (2017) pushed the premise further with a reincarnation structure spanning multiple breeds and lives.

Wild-animal titles cover the broadest territory, from documentary to fantasy epic. The Bear (1988) remains a touchstone — a nearly wordless survival story starring Bart the Bear, who appeared in more than 20 films across his career. Free Willy (1993) made an orca a household name and sparked the real-life campaign that eventually freed Keiko, the whale who played Willy.

Big cats anchor the biggest hits. The Lion King (1994) became the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of its era and won two Academy Awards for its Elton John and Hans Zimmer soundtrack. The Jungle Book (2016) pushed photorealistic CG animals to feature-film scale, with an entirely digital animal cast opposite one human actor.

Documentaries deserve equal billing. March of the Penguins (2005) won the Academy Award for Best Documentary and proved that a title naming a real species could gross over $100 million worldwide.

Animal-title films have collected serious hardware. Zootopia (2016) won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Babe earned six nominations including Best Picture, and War Horse received six nominations. The PATSY Awards — the animal-actor equivalent of the Oscars — honored on-screen animals for decades, with Orangey the cat winning two for Breakfast at Tiffany's and Rhubarb.

The trivia runs deep. Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier from The Artist (2011), left paw prints in the cement of the TCL Chinese Theatre forecourt in 2012, shortly after the film won Best Picture. And Rin Tin Tin reportedly received the most votes for the first Best Actor Oscar before the Academy decided a human should win.