11 Movie Heroes Raised by Other Creatures

In 'The Boxtrolls,' an English orphan named Eggs is discovered – then raised by – the titular creatures. As he tries to find his bearings in the human world, Eggs would get some sympathy from these other interspecies oddballs.

The first of many Tarzan movies came out in 1918, six years after Edgar Rice Burroughs invented the character who was raised by apes. Interestingly, Tarzan's original birth name was John Clayton; in Disney's 'Tarzan' (1999), the villain is a fellow named... Clayton.

"Watch out for that tree!" Of all the Tarzan spoofs over the years, the clumsy 1960s animated character, George of the Jungle, remains the best-known. George made his live action debut in 1997, ably embodied by Brendan Fraser.

Nearly 20 years before anyone ever heard of Tarzan, Rudyard Kipling wrote of Mowgli, the feral Indian boy, in 'The Jungle Book.' Disney's 1967 adaptation may not be the most faithful version of Kipling's tale, but it is the most fun.

Though the title of the 1997 Japanese animated classic is 'Princess Mononoke,' its human heroine is really named San, a girl raised by the wolf goddess, Moro. ("Mononoke" is roughly translated as "spirit monster.")

It's true that Valka (voiced by Cate Blanchett) was fully grown when dragons abducted her from her village. Still, as detailed in 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' (2014), two decades in these creatures' company definitely changed her.

Now here's a movie you've probably never heard of: The failed 1987 comedy 'Walk Like a Man,' in which Howie Mandel – long before his stint as a TV host – literally chews the scenery as the dog-like Bobo, heir to a fortune. Not bad for a guy raised by wolves. 

As 1992's 'Batman Returns' opens, a deformed baby named Oswald Cobblepot is thrown into the Gotham City sewer by his parents, only to be rescued by penguins. Naturally, he grows into the villainous Penguin (Danny DeVito).

It's bad enough that the boy wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) should see his parents die at Voldemort's hand; he then has to be brought up by the Dursleys, possibly the meanest muggles – that's wizard slang for non-magical humans – in the UK.

Before the 'Twilight' movies made him famous, Taylor Lautner starred in Robert Rodriguez's 'The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D' (2005) as a young boy's imaginary superhero brought to life. Take a guess as to which undersea creature raised him. 

Humble farmers Ma and Pa Kent must have had some positive influence over their adopted alien son. As depicted in 1978's 'Superman,' the adult Kal-El (Christopher Reeve) is the nicest guy on this or any other planet.

And so we've come full-circle, from the ape-raised Tarzan to the human-raised Caesar (Andy Serkis) in 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes.' To be honest, we think Caesar would be a much more engaging dinner party guest.