Considering the unclassified report to the U.S. Congress that unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), more classically known as UFOs, are real, let’s take a look at some of the best movie aliens over the years. In the Movie Alien universe, there are two types: the cute, friendly ones that we all wish we could be friends with, and the grotesque, monstrous ones that will kill us without a second thought. It seems that more films aim for the terrifying extraterrestrial beings that make us question whether we actually want aliens to visit Earth at any given moment, but there are plenty of adorable ones that really just want to be our friends — in film, at least.
As we look into the stars and think about what other kinds of life are out there and wonder whether any have ever visited Earth, we’re left to think about the types of aliens we’ve seen on screen. If aliens ever decide to land on Earth in a very public manner, will they be peaceful and just want to build a beautiful connection with humans, or will they be hostile and threaten to kill us all? It’s a big question, so instead, here are 10 movie aliens we wish were real and 10 we hope never to meet, starting with the good guys.
One of the greatest movie aliens of all time is none other than E.T from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. E.T. and his species land on Earth at night to gather plant specimens. E.T. gets distracted by the distant city lights and ends up getting left behind and ends up in the tool shed of the Taylor family. He is discovered by the 10-year-old Elliott and the two become friends as well as become connected, as Elliott can “feel” the alien’s thoughts and emotions. E.T. is adorable and can even bring dying plants back to life. Who wouldn’t want this little guy as their friend?
Stitch — Lilo & Stitch
A classic Disney animated film, Lilo & Stitch provided a franchise that included three direct-to-video sequels, three television series, two spin-offs, and a live-action adaptation in development. The film follows a Hawaiian girl named Lilo Pelekai and the extraterrestrial creature Experiment 626, who Lilo adopted (thinking he was a dog) and named Stitch. Stitch was initially engineered to cause chaos and destruction, but eventually develops a close bond with Lilo and reconsiders his destructive nature in order to keep his new family together. Stitch is impossibly strong, quirky, and weird, but he is oh-so adorable.
Ewoks — Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi is the third installment in the Star Wars franchise and the sixth film in the chronological order. It follows the Galactic Empire as they construct a second Death Star to exterminate the Rebel Alliance as the latter launches a full-scale attack in hopes of destroying both the Death Star and the Emperor. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker is now a Jedi Knight struggling to bring his father, Darth Vader, back to the light side.
In the film, Han Solo leads a strike team with Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca on the forest moon of Endor. There, they encounter a tribe of Ewoks – a species of small, furry, bipeds that live in huts and other simple dwellings. They really look like teddy bears and are probably just as cuddly – though they can be dangerous if they’re not your allies.
MAC — MAC and Me
Released in 1988, MAC and Me is a science fiction film starring Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, and Tina Caspary. It’s similar to E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, which is namely why it tanked at the box office and was heavily criticized. It centers on a “Mysterious Alien Creature,” dubbed MAC, that escapes from NASA and befriends a young boy named Eric Cruise. Together, they look for MAC’s family. It is largely regarded as one of the worst films ever made, though it has since become a cult film. MAC is a little weird looking, and certainly not as adorable as E.T., but he does have the power to bring the dead back to life. That’s pretty neat, right?
Echo — Earth to Echo
Shot in a found footage style from several perspectives, Earth to Echo is a science fiction film released in 2014. The film follows four neighborhood friends who discover a telekinetic, robotic alien in the desert, who they dubbed Echo. They are soon hunted by outside forces who want to take the alien. Besides from being an absolute cutie, Echo also has some serious technological skills. Imagine having a little friend that can fix all your electronics. He can even help out with your car – by fully taking it apart and back together again. He’ll be nice to you if you’re nice to him.
CJ7 — CJ7
Released in 2008, CJ7 is a Hong Kong-Chinese comic science fiction film starring and directed by Stephen Chow. The film follows Chow Ti, a poor construction worker living in a partially demolished house with his son, Dicky. Both of them are down on their luck, with Ti struggling to save money and Dicky being harassed by other children and his teachers alike.
One day, when Dicky and Ti have an altercation at a department store, Ti finds a strange green orb in a junkyard and gives it to his son as a toy. The orb soon transforms into a cute and cuddly, dog-like creature that Dicky names CJ7. Not only is CJ7 adorable, it also has restorative powers, creates various gadgets, and can even bring the dead back to life.
Frank the Pug — Men in Black
The Men in Black film franchise comprises four sci-fi action-comedy films based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, starring Will Smith as Agent J and Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K in the first three films. In the first film, J and K question an informant named Frank. Frank appears as a talking pug dog, but is actually a Remoolian extraterrestrial in disguise. He has a bigger role in the second film, where he appears as an employee at the MIB HQ, known now as Agent F while wearing a MIB uniform. Frank’s a bit annoying – being that he never stops talking. But still, who wouldn’t want to be friends with a talking pug?
Goose — Captain Marvel
The Marvel Cinematic Universe gives plenty of aliens to choose from, both good and bad. But one that’s a definite must-meet is Goose the Cat. Goose first appeared in Captain Marvel, where she was brought to Earth by Mar-Vell. She’s actually a Flerken, an alien species that resembles Earth cats in appearance and behavior, except that they reproduce with eggs and possess many tentacles that extend from their mouths. Their bodies also hold bubbles of space and time that exist in other worlds. It’s thanks to Goose that Nick Fury was able to get ahold of the Tesseract in the first place, as well as the reason he wears a patch on his left eye, as Goose scratched him.
Q*Bert — Pixels
Pixels is a 2015 sci-fi comedy film starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, and Brian Cox. The film follows an alien race that attacks Earth after misinterpreting video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war. The aliens use technology inspired by 1980s games like Space Invaders, Galaga, and Donkey Kong. To counter the invaders, the United States hires former arcade champions to fight the aliens.
Whoever wins gets a trophy — the aliens abduct humans as trophies and the humans receive one of their soldiers when they win. One of the trophies the humans win is Q*Bert, the playable character from the arcade game of the same name. The character is known for his “swearing” and “Q*bertese sound” made of synthesized speech contained in a speech balloon. He's also a pretty fun sidekick in the film.
Neytiri — Avatar
The last alien we wish was real is Neytiri from James Cameron’s Avatar. She is one of the Na’vi, a species of aliens that are 10-feet-tall, blue humanoids that live in harmony with nature on the moon Pandora. She is the daughter of the clan’s spiritual leader and the love interest of Jake Sully. She is brave, fiercely loyal, strong-willed, and fully devoted to her people. She teaches Jake the way of the Na’vi and ends up mating with him for life. She would be an awesome friend to have – especially when navigating Pandora.
Now, on to those we're happy aren't real.
The Xenomorph — Alien
Starting off the list of the aliens we never want to meet is none other than the Xenomorph from the Alien film series. They are primal, predatory creatures that seek only to preserve and propagate their own species by any means necessary – which includes eliminating any other lifeforms that pose a threat. There are various strains in the Xenomorph genealogy, with a single fertile queen breeding the caste. Regardless of which strain you come across – the Queen, Facehugger, Chestbuster, or any of the alternative forms – you’d be lucky to come out of it alive.
Edgar the Bug — Men in Black
While Frank the Pug is one alien we’d love to be real, there are plenty of other aliens in the Men in Black film series that are definitely not worth meeting. One of them is Edgar the Bug from the first Men in Black film. The bug is part of a cockroach-like alien species that kills a farmer named Edgar and wears his skin to search for the Galaxy and destroy the Arquillians. Cockroaches are already freaky when you find a normal one in your home – imagine finding a giant one.
Alien Race — Pixels
Back in the world of Pixels, not all the aliens are as cute as Q*Bert. The alien race itself is actually incredibly advanced and dangerous. After misinterpreting a video feed as a declaration of war, the aliens send an army of arcade game-styled technology to attack Earth. While a real-life game of Pac-Man involving four Mini Cooper cars and an appropriately scaled Pac-Man inside of New York City sounds fun — it’s really a matter of life and death. When Pac-Man gets a power pellet, it’s all over for the “ghost” Mini Coopers.
Aliens — War of the Worlds
Released in 2005, War of the Worldsis a sci-fi action film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, and Tim Robbins, with Morgan Freeman narrating. The film follows a dockworker who must protect his children when aliens invade Earth and devastate cities with giant war machines. The tripod war machines emerged from the ground after a freak thunderstorm and earthquake. They use energy weapons to destroy the area and disintegrate people into gray ash. The strange roaring noise is how you know they’re close before you actually see them.
Killer Klowns — Killer Klowns from Outer Space
A classic in its own right, Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a sci-fi horror comedy film released in 1988. The film follows a clan of evil aliens who resemble clowns that invade a small town on Earth to capture, kill, and harvest the humans to drink their blood for sustenance. Clowns are already very creep — thanks to John Wayne Gacy and Stephen King’s It. But alien clowns that drink human blood to survive? No, thank you.
Boris the Animal — Men in Black 3
Back in the Men in Black universe, specifically, Men in Black 3, another alien you don’t want to meet is Boris the Animal. Boris is the last Boglodite who seeks to take revenge on Agent K after he shot off his left arm and captured him in 1969. Boris travels back in time to kill K’s younger self, thus altering history. He is an intelligent, ruthless, violent, cunning, cruel, selfish, short-fused psychopath that will kill anything that gets in his way.
Kaiju — Pacific Rim
Released in 2013, Pacific Rim is a sci-fi monster film starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Robert Kazinksy, Max Martini, and Ron Perlman. It follows the Earth at war with the Kaiju in the future. The Kaiju are colossal sea monsters that emerged from an interdimensional portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Hostile aliens are terrifying enough, but ones that are bigger than skyscrapers that easily destroy anything with a single step is terrifying enough. It’s not like the ones in Pacific Rim are as human friendly as Godzilla or Kong.
The Sarlacc — Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Back in the Star Wars universe, there are plenty of alien races that are nowhere near as cute and cuddly as the Ewoks. In Return of the Jedi, Luke arrives at crime lord Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine to bargain for his friends’ release, as Han Solo is frozen in carbonite and Leia and Chewbacca are enslaved. Jabba sentences Luke, Han, and Chewbacca to death by feeding them to the Sarlacc, a deadly beast in the desert floor. The Sarlacc possesses multiple tentacles with a massive, gaping mouth lined with several rows of sharp teeth. Meeting it is meeting a deadly end.
Silent Aliens — A Quiet Place
Directed by and starring John Krasinski, A Quiet Place is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror film released in 2018. It follows a father and mother who struggle to survive and raise their children after Earth becomes inhabited by blind extraterrestrial creatures with an acute sense of hearing. Any sound made will lead the aliens right to you where they will not hesitate to immediately kill you. How long could you go keeping silent with these aliens running around?
Yautja — Predator
The last alien on this list comes from the Predator franchise, which are a series of sci-fi action films centered on the human race’s encounters with a highly intelligent race of extraterrestrial trophy-seeking hunters called the Yautja. Yautjas are taller than humans, with arthropod-like mandables, and long-dreadlock-esque appendages set into their skulls. They are notoriously difficult to beat, as they are highly resilient to damage and can endure excruciating pain. The last thing you want to do is challenge one of these creatures.
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