![]() Gonzo’s extraterrestrial origins, for instance, were established in Muppets From Space, in which the hook-nosed blue guy with a poultry fetish finally became the lead character after 20 years of supporting roles. You’ll see that fictional universes that tell dozens or hundreds of discrete stories- The Muppets, Animorphs, Star Trek-tend to have better-developed sidekicks. So to celebrate this genre of character, I’ve placed 20 alien sidekicks within one of The Ringer’s traditional matrices, sorted left-to-right by how closely they resemble a human (are they just an actor with makeup? Or are they a robot, or a pile of rocks, or a sapient planetwide network of fungus, worms, and insects?), and top-to-bottom by how integral they are to the story. ‘The Thing’ and ‘Blade Runner’ at 40: The Day Sci-fi Hit Its Peak It’s Time to Let Aliens Lead, Once and for All There’s wonder in a character so foreign to terrestrial audiences, and that’s why Chewbacca has become one of Star Wars’ most enduring characters. But most of all, the 7-foot bear-man-mechanical-engineer hybrid who speaks in grunts and growls renders the “galaxy far, far away” title card unnecessary. ![]() He watches Han’s back, copilots the Millennium Falcon, and performs numerous tasks essential to the plot-like ferrying Rey around the galaxy and assisting in Han’s rescue from Jabba the Hutt. Chewie is the impulsive Han Solo’s more emotionally grounded companion. But when the sidekick is literally of a different species, it serves as a reminder to the audience that the story is in the strange, unknown hinterlands of science fiction.Ĭonsider the greatest of alien sidekicks, Chewbacca. Heroes and sidekicks often differ in form and attitude, which generates the sort of screwball opposites-attract dynamic-common to all great romantic comedies and buddy cop movies. The appeal of the alien sidekick, though, is different. For every Robin Hood, there’s a Little John. This type of character not only assists the hero in achieving their objective, but also complements the hero, and through action and dialogue reveal the hero’s true nature to the audience. The sidekick is a well-established literary convention dating back to ancient times. ![]() Forty years later, we’re celebrating their legacies. the Extra-Terrestrial and John Carpenter’s The Thing. In June 1982, moviegoers were charmed and terrified, respectively, by two of the most celebrated alien movies ever: Steven Spielberg’s E.T. ![]()
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