The Cutest Movie Monsters Ever

By Evan Saathoff

Everything is coming up monsters this week as Pixar's Monsters University hits theaters, both reacquainting us with the monsters we love from the first film and introducing us to many more we have not yet met. One thing's for certain, all these monsters are cute and lovable. Even the villains kind of cry out for big hugs and kisses. In honor of Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan, here are ten other super precious movie monsters.

Edward the Troll - Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Edward the Troll is new to movie history, and his film, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, unfortunately didn't get the respect it deserved. But that's no reason to keep him in the shadows. Both literally and figuratively, Edward has a huge heart, and he makes a very loyal friend. Plus, he's super strong. If anyone messes with you, Edward has no problem squashing that person's head into a gelatinous ooze.

Gizmo - Gremlins

Gizmo is a Mogwai, and while it's hard to call such a cute cuddly creature a monster, just try feeding one after midnight and see what happens. Besides, being a Mogwai doesn't automatically indicate virtuousness, as we learned from the Mogwai jerk in Gremlins 2. Gizmo is special. In fact, had Billy fed him after midnight he might have made the world's sweetest, most lovable Gremlin, too.

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man - Ghostbusters

A lot of people probably would have gone with Slimer as their cute Ghostbusters monster of choice, but he's only really cute in the cartoon. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, however, has adorable written all over him. Sure he's a giant walking wall of white death, but his smiling face is so precious. And you can totally take as many sweet-tasting bites out of him as you want!

Frankenstein's Monster - Frankenstein

Essentially just a collection of stitched together body parts, there's still something sweet and endearing about Boris Karloff's Monster that can't be denied. He's really more misunderstood than evil. Yes, he drowns a girl, but that was an accident. And in Bride of Frankenstein he's all about sadness and hurt feelings over his own ugliness. In both films, all you want to do is hug him and keep him safe from mobs of angry farmers.

Insectosaurus - Monsters vs. Aliens

It's unclear exactly what is going on with Insectosaurus. The gigantic grub seems soft and stupid enough to be considered cute. And despite being the only monster in the film without the power of speech, he/she/it totally steals the whole movie. And if it wasn't cute enough as a weird walking caterpillar thing, Insectosaurus ends the film turning into a beautiful butterfly. How much more lovable can you get than that?

Woola - John Carter

Woola is a "Calot" which is essentially a Martian dog. And just like a dog, Woola is 100% adorable thanks to his unwavering loyalty and eager joy to hang out with you even if you're just some surfer looking dude from Earth. But Woola is actually even better than a dog thanks to his larger brain and ability to run at superhuman speeds. For the few who saw John Carter, Woola totally stole the whole film along with our hearts.

King Kong - King Kong

The story of King Kong wouldn't be a tragedy if we were all horrified by this gigantic gorilla. We fall in love with King Kong just as his girlfriend, Ann Darrow, does because he's a sweetheart. He knows how to defend himself, but deep down he just wants to love and be loved by a pretty lady. On top of that, he's like a stuffed animal you can ride. The only monsters in King Kong are the humans who are able to shoot at such a creature.

Guiron - Gamera vs. Guiron

Most people don't even watch old Godzilla films, much less Gamera ones, so Guiron's obscurity makes sense. Basically, he is a Kaiju monster with a knife for a head. While that doesn't sound too cuddly, Guiron is cuter than you would think, partly because his design is silly, and partly because he sort of looks sad and embarrassed about having a knife for a face. In any case, he looks like he just wants a hug, but keeps accidentally stabbing everyone. Poor guy.

Harry - Harry and the Hendersons

Harry may smell bad and destroy everything around him, but deep down he really is a sweetheart. Even when the evil Bigfoot-obsessed hunter Lafleur comes to kill him, Harry doesn't take it personally and ends up making a new friend out of his biggest enemy.

No-Face - Spirited Away

Throughout Spirited Away we see a lot of No-Face but never totally understand what is going on with him/her/it. A totally magical being, No-Face has many abilities. It can eat people and absorb their physicality and personalities, but can spit them out with no harm done as well. While No-Face may have a difficult time expressing itself, it clearly has emotions and longs to be friends with Spirited Away's main character, Chihiro.