Cuteness isn’t always the primary goal when designing Star Wars creatures. The franchise has visited dozens of alien worlds over the last few decades, delivering aliens of all kinds – from the adorable to the horrifying. But we’d like to take a few moments to celebrate the critters we just want to take home and cuddle.
Star Wars has given us plenty of fluffy aliens over the years, so we were spoiled for choice while picking through all of the Star Wars characters to put this list together. More than anything, it just made us jealous that the Star Wars cast got to meet these delightful creatures on set. Those guys get all the luck! With new Star Wars movies to come, we’re hoping that we’ll get our wish one day. Until now, all we can do is make lists and dream.
The 10 cutest Star Wars creatures:
- Salacious B Crumb
- Tauntauns
- Convorees
- Wookiees
- Ewoks
- Babu Frik
- Porgs
- Loth Cats
- Vulptices
- Grogu/Baby Yoda
10. Salacious B. Crumb
OK, so we know that Salacious B. Crumb doesn’t fit the textbook definition of cute. Creature designer Phil Tippett once said he was “a bit of a cast-off” in terms of puppets and revealed that his name came about because of a drunken pronunciation of the word “shoelaces”.
But the moment he laughed that delectably evil cackle, Jabba the Hutt’s pet wormed his way right into our hearts. He’s not the most impressive of the Star Wars aliens and he doesn’t seem to have any special powers, but he’s immediately memorable and, in his own way, totally lovable.
And of course, he gets extra bonus points for being part of the species with the coolest name in the Star Wars universe. He’s a Kowakian monkey-lizard.
9. Tauntauns
Just look at those little faces! Tauntauns are the perfect companion for anyone hoping to traverse the icy planet of Hoth and they’re as cute as they are useful. They certainly proved worthwhile buddies for Luke Skywalker and his Rebellion buddies at the start of Empire Strikes Back.
Unfortunately, they had layers and layers of heavy, fatty blubber to keep them warm and it smelled absolutely awful to humans. Best to admire them from a distance in that case.
Brought to life through a mixture of puppetry and stop-motion animation, the Star Wars crew needed to get full-size models built for the actors to ride around. That’s an impressive cinematic feat, but it also means there are full-size Tauntauns lurking around in a store room or a collection somewhere. How do we get one?
8. Convorees
There’s one very important Convor that we’ve met several times, including in the most recent Star Wars series Ahsoka. We’re talking, of course, about Morai – the white-and-green owl who has appeared throughout the animated shows as a companion for Ahsoka Tano.
Morai is an ethereal and elegant creature, both in animation and live-action. As it turns out, Convorees were once treasured and popular pets throughout the galaxy. Given how sweet they are, it’s understandable. Anybody would want one!
They’re made even more fascinating, though, due to their intimate connection with the Force. These are far more than just pretty birds.
7. Wookiees
One of the first alien creatures we had the chance to bond with in Star Wars was Chewbacca. As the loyal best friend to Han Solo and co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon, he was an invaluable member of our team of heroes throughout the best movies in the original trilogy. And as the resident “walking carpet”, he was pretty adorable too.
But if you’re ever on the fence about whether Wookiees really are cute, look at Gungi from the Clone Wars. He’s effortlessly adorable. Even when they aren’t cute at all – sorry, Black Krrsantan – they’re terrifying badasses. You just can’t go wrong with a Wookiee.
In truth, we’re a bit worried about the fact we’ve put Chewbacca and his kind so far down this list. We all know what happens when you don’t let the Wookiee win.
6. Ewoks
The Ewoks only exist because of how popular Chewbacca became, and it’s easy to see the link: Ewoks are effectively smaller and fluffier Wookiees. Native to the forest moon of Endor, they were a divisive part of Return of the Jedi. Some people love them, while some think they’re a cynical ploy to sell merch to kids.
We think it’s entirely possible to love them and think they’re designed to sell toys. You can’t convince us that a planet full of teddy bear critters is anything other than a paradise, as long as you can avoid their cooking pot for long enough to have a cuddle.
5. Babu Frik
We can’t think of too many reasons to love The Rise of Skywalker, but the introduction of Babu Frik is certainly one. Voiced by the incomparable Shirley Henderson, who also played Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter cast, Babu is a genius mechanic who specializes in repairing Star Wars droids.
Babu instantly became a cult hero thanks to that signature cry of “hey hey” and so it was very welcome when we got to meet more Anzellans in The Mandalorian season 3. Anything that small and with such a silly voice can only ever be desperately cute.
In fact, Babu Frik is so fun that he managed to steal the show even in an incredibly emotional scene involving C-3PO and a noble sacrifice. Sorry, but we were looking at the little dude with the funny facial hair.
4. Porgs
The Last Jedi got a critical reaction entirely unlike any of the other new movies in the franchise. Some fans loved Rian Johnson’s revisionist approach to the series, while others were very upset at what they perceived as changes to canon. And, bizarrely, it was the Porgs that became one of the avatars for that division.
Much like the Ewoks before them, the Porgs were derided as a cynical way to make money from kids buying toys. And again like the Ewoks, that’s both true and irrelevant. In a franchise packed to the brim with weird and wonderful characters, it’s entirely OK for something to exist only to be cute.
We think about this tiny little fuzzball screaming with its massive, wide eyes all the time. It’s one of the most memorable images from the movie and, given how much we love the film as a whole, that’s saying something.
3. Loth-Cats
Animation allowed the Star Wars franchise to provide plenty of adorable critters, and now we’re seeing some of the move into live-action. Star Wars Rebels fans will be very familiar with Ezra Bridger’s home planet of Lothal and its native wildlife, so it was delightful in Ahsoka to see a live-action rendering of the Loth-cat.
They’re as fluffy as it’s possible for one of these alien races to get and they look like a slightly extra-terrestrial twist on your loyal pussycat pal. Of course, this is Star Wars and so they also have a dark and ferocious side, boasting super-sharp teeth.
We were promised that the Loth-cat would be Ahsoka’s own version of Baby Yoda and we have to say that we were not disappointed. They’re a furry, frolicking delight.
2. Vulptices
Maybe cute isn’t the right word for Vulptices, which are perhaps the most beautiful and impressive creatures we’ve ever seen in Star Wars. And we’ve watched the Star Wars movies in order plenty of times, so that means a heck of a lot. These fox-like animals lived on the planet Crait, which was the location of the final battle in The Last Jedi.
They have glass-like bristles on their bodies that make them look very impressive but also make a jingling sound to warn others of nearby predators. We didn’t get to see nearly enough of them in the movie, but they made an immediate impression even when we just got a brief glimpse in the trailer.
Not every Star Wars creature needs to have a complex storyline or multiple appearances in order to make an impact. Sometimes, they just add real texture to the world of this franchise, and that’s plenty good enough for us.
1. Grogu/Baby Yoda
Did you think we were going to spring a surprise at the top of this list? Absolutely no chance. Baby Yoda is one of the greatest pop culture creations of the 21st century and a perfect addition to the Star Wars canon. They don’t come cuter than Grogu, and we’re very glad that his truly horrific original design never made it to the screen.
Grogu has taken us through the entire range of emotions since we first met him. We love the slapstick sequences and his mischievous love for stealing food, but we can also feel the emotional heft of his affection for Din Djarin. His eyes are incredibly expressive and that tiny, quivering lip communicates so much. We can’t get enough.
Oh, there’s also a special version of the Baby Yoda puppet just for doing somersaults. Yep, that’s as adorable as it gets.
You’re probably done with cuddly critters for now, so it’s time to delve into the best Star Wars villains instead. And if you’re sick of cuteness, learn about the guy who had to punch Baby Yoda. You might enjoy it more than he did.
There’s also plenty of fresh Star Wars that’ll be new on Disney Plus very soon, so look ahead to the Andor season 2 release date and The Acolyte release date. And find out why Ahsoka’s biggest mystery should change the way we watch Star Wars forever.