With fall in full swing and the holiday season quickly approaching, I’m sure some people are dreading Thanksgiving dinner with that one weird uncle or annoying cousin. For me, my holidays are spent with just my parents and my dog, Garbanzo, so I’m looking for a way to spice things up a little bit this year (at least in my imagination). After (re)watching Madagascar with my friends and absolutely cracking up, I realized I have a running list of characters from animated movies that I think would be hilarious to hang out with IRL. Here is my compiled list of eight of my favorite animated characters and what I think their vibes would be like at a Thanksgiving dinner all together.
- Sid, ice age
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Sid takes the cake as my favorite animated character of all time. He’s often misunderstood, left behind, and overdramatic, but he still sees the light in things and tries to get others to see it, too. I would love to have him at Thanksgiving dinner, not just to make him feel appreciated, but for his impeccable comedic timing.
- Melman, madagascar
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They could not have picked anyone better to voice the hypochondriac giraffe in Madagascar than David Schwimmer. I think inviting Melman out for a nice dinner would help him lighten up and make some new friends. I’d put him next to Sid for relatability, and Oscar to help him get out of his shell (more on him later). I hope he doesn’t try to give anyone a rectal thermometer this time!
- Oscar, shark tale
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Shark Tale is my third favorite movie of all time, behind Titanic and Kill Bill. It has an absolutely electric soundtrack and cast, and nobody talks about how they got Robert De Niro to play the Godfather of the ocean, Don Edward — that’s just too good. I’m inviting Oscar to dinner because I think he could get a good vibe going and make friends with everybody there.
- sykes, shark tale
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I’m inviting Sykes to keep everyone, mostly Oscar, in check. I think we need a somewhat responsible character at dinner to make sure things run smoothly and Sykes, aka Martin Scorsese as a temperamental puffer fish, would make sure the food, drinks and supplies are handled so we can have a good Thanksgiving dinner. I think Sid could help him soften up a little bit, too.
- mike wazowski, Monsters, Inc.
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One time in a job interview, I was asked what Disney character I most related to and I said Mike Wazowski. Naturally, I didn’t get the job, but Mike is still hilarious. I chose him over Sully because I want to see how Mike would interact with Sykes — I feel like they both are a little high-strung and temperamental so this could go very badly, but I think they would get along great and possibly become lifelong friends.
- Dory, finding nemo
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Dory is just who we need to keep things classy at this dinner. She is an absolute gem who gets along with everyone, but I would keep her away from Sykes and Mike because they may lose patience with her short term memory. I think she’d get along great with Melman and Gunter (again, more on him later), so I’ll put her at the seat next to them. I’m glad she recently reconnected with her parents, though I think it would be nice if she also had more people to call family besides Nemo and Marlin.
- Donkey, shrek
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I haven’t seen Shrek in a long time, but Donkey has always been one of my favorites. Between Madagascar, Shark Tale, and Shrek, Dreamworks really has the best casting game out of all the animated movies. I admire Donkey for seeing Shrek for who he really was instead of judging a book by its cover, and also Eddie Murphy is absolutely hilarious.
- gunter, sing
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What would a Thanksgiving dinner be without an amazing performance? Gunter would absolutely smash it as our guest performer in his sparkly tracksuit and electric performance of “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift. He would definitely get everyone up and dancing and having a good time. I also just discovered he was played by Nick Kroll, and I would be disappointed if one of Nick Kroll’s character’s wasn’t at my Thanksgiving dinner.
Hopefully readers agree with my picks and fingers crossed the night goes well. Which characters would you have at your Thanksgiving dinner?
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