The 9 Best Dogs in Movie History

It’s been a big few years for movie animals, from Jenny the donkey from The Banshees of Inisherin to the titular shark from The Meg and Meg 2: The Trench. My own heart will always belong to Tilikum—the, uh, misunderstood orca whale from the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which I inexplicably rewatch once a year—but even I can admit to falling for Messi, the blue-eyed border collie from Justine Triet’s Oscar-nominated film Anatomy of a Fall. Messi’s turn as Snoop has been hailed as the best animal performance of the year, with Collider praising “Triet’s treatment of Snoop as a proper member of the family, for whom it was important that Sandra make amends with when the smoke settled.” While Messi is objectively the moral victor of this year’s Oscars (whether Anatomy of a Fall takes home the gold or not), there are plenty of canine cultural antecedents who’ve barked their way into our hearts; below, find the very best dogs in movie history, from Messi to Air Bud’s Buddy and Baxter from Anchorman.

Bruiser from Legally Blonde

Can a male dog be a bimbo? If so, Elle Woods’s treasured pet from this aughts rom-com classic set at Harvard Law most definitely qualifies; he’s got the best wardrobe of any cinematic dog I can think of, which should count for something.

Buddy from Air Bud

Is Air Bud the most ’90s movie of all time? Possibly, down to the titular golden retriever who’s really, really good at basketball.

Toto from The Wizard of Oz

A classic for a reason! Honestly, this is not my favorite dog breed (overexposed, IMO), but I must admit that Toto is still very cute.

Paris Hilton’s Chihuahua from The Bling Ring

One of this movie’s most laugh-out-loud moments comes when one of the thieving protagonists tries to make off with Hilton’s dog after robbing the reality star blind, insisting: “But she likes me…and I could probably get, like, $500 for her!” Obviously, the onscreen dog wasn’t Hilton’s real pup Tinkerbell (RIP), but it gave the proceedings a more-than-adequate sense of reality.

Baxter from Anchorman

Like pretty much every other millennial, I believe this 2004 film irrevocably shaped my sense of humor, and the scene of Will Ferrell aghast as Jack Black punts his beloved dog, Baxter, off a bridge will never fail to make me cringe-laugh.

The puppy from Apocalypse Now

I had to watch most of this movie through my fingers when my US history teacher screened it in high school, but I still remember this plot-central puppy’s performance. Talk about range!

Brinkley from You’ve Got Mail

Not to pit beautiful animals against each other, but I think Brinkley is the superior golden retriever to Buddy from Air Bud, and I’m not just saying that because of the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan of it all.

Marley from Marley & Me

This cute dog actor should not be penalized for how bad this movie was, hence his place on this list. I am, however, mad at all the human mammals involved.

The dogs in Tommy’s mom’s painting from Goodfellas

Are these real dogs? No. Do I think about them most days of my life? Maybe. (Fun fact: Tommy’s mom is played by Martin Scorsese’s real-life mother! The first nepo mom on the record, in many ways, and bless her for setting in motion the family lineage that led to Francesca Scorsese.)