Fantasy discussion

What are your most memorable animal sidekicks from fantasy or fairy tales?

Puss in Boots and Donkey from the Shrek movies first came to my mind!
It maybe because of the cartoons. Martin - the farm goose from The Wonderful Adventures of Nils is the third animal, ok, bird I thought about. Hello childhood! Could it be because the stories we read as children are the ones we remember best?

First one that came to my mind was shippo from Inuyasha, but then thinking, I think all the characters there are part animal, including Inuyahsa himself.

I will go with Mushu the dragon from Mulan, cause dragon ;)

At first, I wanted to mention Smokey from Chimeras of Estmer because he's a talking cat. At the beginning of the book, he seems to be Tessa's sidekick and magical helper. But he isn't really a helper animal. In fact, he turns out to be one of the main characters. What's more, he's not actually a cat; he's just been temporarily turned into one by his enemy.
So I chose Hanuman from the Ramayana instead. He is definitely a monkey, and I really enjoyed reading about his adventures in Lanka and how he mocked the rakshasa.

P. Pherson wrote: "First one that came to my mind was shippo from Inuyasha, but then thinking, I think all the characters there are part animal, including Inuyahsa himself.

I will go with Mushu the dragon from Mulan..."

Dragon is a cool sidekick! Could Mushu change his size? I don't remember.
Luna in The Girl Who Drank the Moon also had a friend dragon, Fyrian. Perfectly Tiny Dragon. He learnt how to be big closer to the end of the book.

Jabotikaba wrote: "At first, I wanted to mention Smokey from Chimeras of Estmer because he's a talking cat. At the beginning of the book, he seems to be Tessa's sidekick and magical helper. But he isn't really a help..."
Hanuman, too, is not an ordinary monkey! He was son of the wind god and a nymph, some believe he was from a different tribe than Rama and had monkey features, tail included :) Well, it seems all animal helpers in fantasy and mythology are very special, talented, and magical. Or shapeshifters :)

I love Mushu!

More recently, I really enjoyed a sock-eating Irish wolfhound named Daisy in Light My Pyre (a sweet paranormal cozy mystery & romance).

I have to say Pascal from Tangled! He said so much without words...

Victor wrote: "I have to say Pascal from Tangled! He said so much without words..."
True :) I also liked Maximus. Tangled is my favorite Disney animation.

Kristina wrote: "I also liked Maximus. Tangled is my favorite Disney animation."
Oh god how could I forget about him! Those faces of his were amazing!

Kristina wrote: "Hanuman, too, is not an ordinary monkey! He was son of the wind god and a nymph, some believe he was from a different tribe than Rama and had monkey features, tail included :) Well, it seems all animal helpers in fantasy and mythology are very special, talented, and magical ..."
Of course, Hanuman was no ordinary monkey.
But if Hanuman doesn't count, maybe Rocket Raccoon will? He's not the son of a god, nor does he transform into a handsome magician at the end of the story. He's just a humble raccoon (albeit a bipedal and talking one).

I've kicking this one around a lot, but...even thought the limitation here is animal, I keep coming back to droids and robots. I think Artoo-Deetoo (or just Artoo) is the most memorable one for me. Moving past that, it would have be Robin, from Batman and Robin.

Robin was designed to be a side kick.

Most often, I find the animal ones are aimed at younger audiences, and are more comic relief than side kick.

I think, for animals, I will have to go with Appa and Momo from the last air bender. They pretty much fit the bill.

Jabotikaba wrote: "But if Hanuman doesn't count, maybe Rocket Raccoon will?"

Yes-yes, raccoon will do :) The most useful sidekick for frequent space flights!

The book I read last Six Crimson Cranes had an interesting companion - a bird, Kiki, that the heroine made out of paper and brought to life. They could communicate telepathically, which was very handy. Because of the curse, the heroine couldn't make a sound, otherwise one of her brothers would die. She had six :)

I also loved the idea of daemons in His Dark Materials. Children and adults alike had companions (manifestations of inner selves). "Daemons have human intelligence, are capable of human speech—regardless of the form they take—and usually behave as though they are independent of their humans."
You always have someone to talk to and I think you don't even have to feed them!

P. Pherson wrote: "I've kicking this one around a lot, but...even thought the limitation here is animal, I keep coming back to droids and robots. I think Artoo-Deetoo (or just Artoo) is the most memorable one for me...."
We had a toy Artoo :) He could move, turn his head and say some sounds.
I'm that adult who loves to read children's books and watch children's movies.
I haven't seen Avatar animation though. Momo and Appa look cute :)

If it came up, I would have bet real money that 100% of the people here have seen or are familiar with the last air bender. Glad I did not do that.

Avatar the last air bender is one of those tales that one generation grew up with, and Star Wars was another. I have seen many times the question of who had the greater redemption story, Darth Vader or Prince Zuku?

For me, it would bet I can guess you age depending on the answer to that question.

P. Pherson wrote: "If it came up, I would have bet real money that 100% of the people here have seen or are familiar with the last air bender. Glad I did not do that.

Avatar the last air bender is one of those tales..."
I'm not a fan of Star Wars either :) I watched some films because my husband liked them. I only know that Avatar was popular, and my daughter said it was good.

Least you know of them ;)

Star Wars is damaged goods now. A lot of fans have walked away.

The shame of Star Wars was that they had good material to draw from. Instead, they decided to kill all that and make something else, which was terrible and full of ideology. I remember first hearing there was going to be new Star Wars and thinking it would be one of the incredible stories like the Swarm War or the Yuuzhang Vong invasion. But no, we got our heroes killed off and humiliated, new 2D characters shoved down our throats, and a disjointed story that was a poor rehash of the original trilogy. Truly, Disney has fallen to the dark side.

Speaking of Disney, Avatar was alright. Honestly just a sci-fi Pocahontas, right down to Grandmother Willow. Flashy, and seeing it in theatre when 3D was still new was wild. But not all that much substance, to be honest. And the less said about the sequel the better - I don't know what that was, other than maybe an ad for Greenpeace and Paul Watson.

But back to the original topic question:

A novel that's stuck with me since middle school is My Side of the Mountain. For those unfamiliar, it's a YA novel about a boy who decides to flee his parent's cramped New York apartment and live freely in the Catskills Mountains. Amazing tale of survival, ingenuity, and the human spirit.

There are two sidekicks in this story. The first is more of a neighbour - a weasel named "The Baron" - who is a familiar face throughout the story. But the real animal sidekick comes when the boy climbs a cliff to a falcon's nest, steals an egg, hatches the bird, and raises it as his companion and hunting aid.

I still dream of partaking in falconry because of it.

Mathew wrote: "The shame of Star Wars was that they had good material to draw from. Instead, they decided to kill all that and make something else, which was terrible and full of ideology. I remember first hearin..."
Birds are very curious creatures :) I believe they are watching us. My daughter had parrots, and they were amazing pets. Were flying all around her room. A falcon will require even more care and training, I guess :)

I'm not sure if he would be considered a sidekick or pet, but Marcellus from Remarkably Bright Creatures... loved him.

Dana wrote: "I'm not sure if he would be considered a sidekick or pet, but Marcellus from Remarkably Bright Creatures... loved him."
Added Marcellus to my TBR shelf. It should be a remarkable story )

Falkor, the luckdragon in "The NeverEnding Story," is a wonderful sidekick and guide to Atreyu, the young warrior. Loved the voice of Falkor by Alan Oppenheimer in the movie.

Mathew wrote: "The shame of Star Wars was that they had good material to draw from. Instead, they decided to kill all that and make something else, which was terrible and full of ideology. I remember first hearin..."
Kristina wrote: "The book I read last Six Crimson Cranes had an interesting companion - a bird, Kiki, that the heroine made out of paper and brought to life..."
I read this story a while back, and I remember enjoying it. But I wasn't sure whether to consider Kiki a pet or a magical object since she was made of paper. So, I chose to write about Rocket Raccoon instead.
As you can see, the line between living things and inanimate objects in fantasy is as thin as the line between humans and animals. But I still like it!
P. Pherson wrote: "I have seen many times the question of who had the greater redemption story, Darth Vader or Prince Zuku?..."
Prince Zuko, of course!
Mathew wrote: "Speaking of Disney, Avatar was alright. Honestly just a sci-fi Pocahontas, right down to Grandmother Willow. Flashy, and seeing it in theatre when 3D was still new was wild. But not all that much substance, to be honest. And the less said about the sequel the better - I don't know what that was, other than maybe an ad for Greenpeace and Paul Watson..."
I don't think we were talking about James Cameron's Avatar, but rather Avatar: The Last Airbender. In that one, Zuko and Aang were the main characters.
Mathew wrote: "There are two sidekicks in this story. The first is more of a neighbour - a weasel named "The Baron" - who is a familiar face throughout the story. But the real animal sidekick comes when the boy climbs a cliff to a falcon's nest, steals an egg, hatches the bird, and raises it as his companion and hunting aid.

I still dream of partaking in falconry because of it...."
I'm very glad to meet someone else who has read and liked this book.
Once, I was allowed to hold a bird like the one described in My Side of the Mountain on my hand. But this bird was very heavy, and I was afraid to move because it looked very carnivorous and aggressive. It also had huge claws, so I had to put on a special glove before holding it. I can't imagine how the main character in that book handled such an animal at such a young age.

Ah, my bad. I'm entirely ignorant of anime. Only one I know is Totoro. Which brings to mind, actually, the Cat Bus. What a sidekick!

Mathew wrote: "Ah, my bad. I'm entirely ignorant of anime. Only one I know is Totoro. Which brings to mind, actually, the Cat Bus. What a sidekick!"

Yeah!

Jabotikaba Said:
Prince Zuko, of course!

No agreement with you there, my friend. Sorry.


You know, Goodreads threads does a terrible job with quoting other threads. All these posts mashed together with italics and comments and more italics is very hard to read and sift through.

Maybe we can make more effort it spacing things out before hitting post.

Guenhwyvar of Drizzt Do'Urden fame.

I'm currently reading the Eternal Sky trilogy by Elizabeth Bear, and there's a character named Hrahima who looks like an upright tiger. She's a supporter of the main character and a warrior with a philosophical outlook on life, and I like her.

Charlton wrote: "Guenhwyvar of Drizzt Do'Urden fame."

A good choice!