Top Ten Iconic Naughties Film Characters.

I once read that the 2000's only supplied us with one iconic film character. You know the kind of people I'm talking about. King Kong, Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, Godzilla, Freddy Krueger, Ellen Ripley, Snow White, Robocop, etc. I agreed with this instantly upon reading, as I often do. But then I realised, that's a load of shit. In fact, I can think of a bunch of memorable characters. That's why today I'm countin' down the Top Ten Iconic Naughties Film Chatacters.

10. Edward Cullen.

Debuting in the hit film Twilight, EdwardHEY WAIT! NO! Bad! Bad! Noooooo! We are not discussing him here.

9. Jake Sulley from Avatar.

Avatar was promised to be the next Star Wars in terms of epicness. And was it? Well, it sure didn't suck. Many people complained that it was too unoriginal and was too busy hammering the Humans are Bastards aesop. I don't agree, we saw that there were at least a few non bastards, even if most of them died. One good thing apart from the effects was the character of Jake Sully, which is fortunate seeing how he's the main character. He was portrayed by Sam Worthington.

In the future, the world is in a massive financial crisis, and we need Unobtainium, a valuable substance with a name ripped off from the film The Core, but don't worry, it was stupid there, and it's stupid here. Unobtainium is only found on the planet Pandora, which is full of beautiful, but dangerous wild life. Jake's twin brother is to be part of the Avatar Program, a special program that will allow him to mentally 'drive' the artificially grown body of one of the planet's natives, the Na'avi, effectivley making into super soldiers, so that they can survive the planet. Unfortunatley, his brother is killed, but since Jake is his twin, his 'Avatar' is perfectlty melded to his genetic structure, meaning he can take over the job. Others don't think it's such a good idea because Jake may be a marine, but he's inexperienced with the program and is paraplegic. However, he eventually gets into the whole thing, falls in love with the Na'avi and their culture, and helps toppled the humans who have been destroying the environment.

Jake is basically just going along with things at first, but early on we see him become a Na'avi for the first time, and he is pretty damn happy to be able to walk again. This attracts him to enjoy the use of the Avatar, and path his way to the Na'avi's side. He gets lost and is rescued by the beautiful Na'avi princess, Neytiri, who thinks he is an idiot. Well, after Terminator Salvation and Clash of the Titans...
Jake begins training to be a proper Na'avi, learning the language and the customs, so that the humans may peacefully remove the Unobtainium from their home. It goes bad, opting to make him hateful towards them and eventually become their champion, leading an assault with bows and arrows against gunships, and winning.

I didn't think Avatar was as good as it set out to be, but I definatlet think we'll remember it, especially for Jake, and his Na'avi form which I don't think we'll forget any time soon. His character is genuinley interesting and his interactions are pretty damn fun to watch, especially with the Na'avi.

I have also had it noted to me that the internet seems to hate Avatar because of the Humans are Bastards theme, but loves District 9. Avatar may have said that we were bastards, but at least Jake didn't kill goddamn babies.

8. Shrek


The film Shrek was a hilarious send up of fairy tales, that managed to give us the perfectly acceptable message that it's okay to be ugly. Shrek may be an ugly ogre, but if people didn't scream at the sight of him, they'd know he is a genuinley good person.

The character is frequently hunted by angry villagers, but often manages to intimidate them into leaving him alone. After making 'friends' with a talking Donkey, Shrek is forced to have a companion. When his swamp is infested with fairy tale characters, he goes to the kingdom of the villain Lord Farquad, who wants to marry a beautiful princess to become a proper king. He sends Shrek to do so, but the princess turns out to be cursed to become an ogress after sunset (pictured above). Before learning this, Shrek has fallen for Fiona, and they eventually wed, after Donkey's new girlfriend (a Dragon...yes, you read that right) kills Farquad. Shrek is now officially a nice person, even if most people still don't think he looks pleasant. Fiona's cursed form now becomes her permenant form, and he's fine with that.

Shrek was performed by Mike Myers, who did it with a scottish accent, a very nice touch. Part of his appeal is his memorable appearance, as well as his interactions with Donkey, who pretty much deserves to be in this list as well. Heck, half the cast belongs here. But Shrek's the big man, so he gets to sit at his place at number 8.

Shrek's adventures have continued in three sequels, one yet to be released. The first sequel dealt with Shrek meeting Fiona's parents and dealing with the real Prince Charming, who was SUPPOSED to rescue and marry her. It was pretty good. Shrek the Third was fun, but by far inferior, dealing with Shrek becoming a father and finding a new king for the kingdom of Far Far Away. The villainous plot in it was a bit weird. While in theory, Prince Charming rallying the villains into taking over the kingdom could work, that's more suiting for a TV special or a Two Parter in a TV series. I think the fourth film has promise, going about the series as Shrek visits an alternate history of how things may have transpired. For example, his wife Fiona is now a warrior Princess. The promotion for this film actually seems to want the fandom to hate it. The character Puss in Boots would occasionally say 'Fear me, if you Dare.' Here, he's become morbidly obese, which is funny. They show pictures of him with the subtitle, 'Feed me, if you dare.' You fail.

7. Harry Potter

Technically, Harry debuted in the first Harry Potter novel, but Daniel Radcliff's portrayal was enough tp convince us he was a god of an actor, and helped make the Harry Potter franchise the most successful film franchise of all time. I personally believe this position rightfully belongs to Star Wars, but Harry would be a close second.

Harry is an orphan who lives with his horrible Aunt and Uncle, who treat him like crap, but I wouldn't go as far as to say are abusive. Well, they are a bit rough with him, but they bothered to buy him glasses, so I guess there is something close to humanity in them. After an unusual event at a zoo, Harry starts getting letters from a school called Hogwarts, but his Uncle keeps disposing of them. Eventually, after a massive flood of letters, they move, but are tracked down by a man named Hagrid, who tells Harry he is actually a wizard, and if he chooses, may attend Hogwarts, a school for wizards. So, Jerkass Relatives, or Magic and Adventure? Jerkass Relatives, or Magic and Adventure? Jerkass Relatives, or Magic and Adventure? Jerkass Relatives, or Magic and Adventure? Well, it's close, but family is family, so...no wait, he chooses Magic and Adventure.

First of all, he's easy to draw. The only thing really odd about his appearance is a scar shaped like a lightning bolt on his forehead.
His popularity is in no small part due to the films he stars in, but another is his personality. While he is nice to people, stands up to bad guys, gets decent grades and is a generally good person, he can't help but constantly break rules. Namley, sneaking around the school to fight evil. It usually works out for the best in the end though.

But here's the thing that really cemented the series for me. The original film didn't set up that many rules of the universe. What we usually did see was hugley whimsical and left hundreds of possibilities. It opened a world of make believe for children like me that we had never imagined. And that was awesome. What helped greatly was the DVD, which was a tour of Hogwarts with an actual goal, making you feel like a student. You even got to go to the bank, buy your wand, and all the while being given new information from the universe, which still left us with hundreds of possibilities, such as telling us that the longest recorded Quidditch Match lasted about three months.

I'd put Harry further down the list, but I can't say I've enjoyed the latest films as much. Don't get me wrong, I think they're perfectly good films, I just don't get the same vibe that I recieved from the first two.

6. Coraline Jones

When I originally saw the posters for Cora;ine, I'll admit it looked silly. By what I could tell, it was about a little girl who made a wish and now had two families. Yeah, weird. Then the trailer came on. I still thought it was kinda dumb. I went and saw the film anyway. It. Was. Great.

Coraline is a charming family film that REALLY shouldn't be a family film. The book it was adapted from was written by Neil Nightmare Fuel Gaiman. And the places I've researched it, the book is classified as a Horror/Fantasy. Notice something? It's not Childrens Horror/Fantasy, just a Horror/Fantasy. That'll tell you all you need to know really.
Coraline Jones has been moved into a house with a number of highly eccentric people by her parents. These range from the dorky and annoying Wyborne 'Wybie' Lovat to the jumping mouse training circus perfroming Mr. Bobinski. Apparently it is physically impossible to get her name right. She is hugley bored, and while her parents are by no means abusive, they are much too preoccupied with their work to pay her too much attention. One day, she discovers a magical mirror world within the house, with much more interesting and fun versions of her parents and neighbours. Though she is tempted to stay there forever, the moment she realises that she'll have to sew buttons over her eyes, she realises somethings up. After fleeing the Other Mother, who is a villain worthy of Villain Spotlight, kidnaps her parents, forcing young Coraline to gather her courage and save them, as well as the ghosts of the Other Mother's previous victims.

Coraline herself probably wouldn't be so memorable if it weren't for her interactions with the characters around her, particulerly the Other World, and that cat, voiced by Keith David. Best Movie Cat Ever. But her appearance is also pretty memorable. The blue hair, yellow raincoat (not pictured) and general character shape will help bore the character into your memory.

But here's a weird thing. I actually liked the film so much (even going so far as deciding it was one of my favorites) that I decided to read the book. The book is good, but I've gotta say the film is actually much better in my opinion. The book had the Other World be different. Not 'better' but different, which sort of made the Other Mother seem less effective in her role. Don't get me wrong, she was still freaky, and the vagueness of some of the descriptions was freaky in many ways, but the film just held the whole thing much better. In fact, the only complaint I can genuinley give is that some of the dialogue isn't very good, such as Coraline's second piece of dialogue, to the cat, "You nearly scared me to death, you mangy thing!" It just came off as forced, unlike the rest of the characters voice acting, which was pretty believable.
Oh, and the Other Father's Coraline song was a bit grating, but then I decided it wasn't that bad. Now it is an Ear Worm.

5. Gollum

Alright, now you're pissed, aren't you? Gollum was a famous character BEFORE the Lord of the Rings movies, so he dosn't count, right? Well, I've gotta disagree. Though he was arguable famous amongst the fandom, the world finally got exposed to the creature when he was brought to life using motion capture, and voiced by Andy Serkis.

It's likely that you already know Gollum's story, but I know a lot of people downright HATE the Lord of the Rings, if only because it 'is' Lord of the Rings, but hey, I can't say I'm a huge fan myself, so I won't put too much effort into defending it. Anyway, just in case you didn't know, I'll explain it a little. It's been a while since I watched the movies, so I might not get all the facts right. Smeagol was a Hobbit who came across The One Ring, which forced him to become obsessed with it. The Ring gave him an extended lifespan, and slowly drove him insane. The Ring desired a new owner and left him. This upset him very much, and he spent a long time looking for his 'precious' before meeting up with Frodo Baggins and Samwise, who were currently in possession of The One Ring.

It's doubtful that you've gone your life without hearing someone hiss the words, 'My precious...' or, 'Come to Smeagol...' and that's with good reason. The character sticks into your mind probably more than any of the others. He's a pathetic little creature who wants nothing more than to be in possesion of his precious ring, and it is this obsession that splits his mind in half, Smeagle and Gollum. One wants to merely be friendly towards Sam and Frodo, who are showing him a fair bit of decency. The other half wants to kill them and take The Ring. This leads to the well known argument between the two personalities which had no little part us remembering him.

There was also wen Serkis did an in-character message for I think MTV, where he chewed out the audience for making them go through all the hard work it took to ake the movie and how nothing could ever make up for it.

4. Juno MacGuff

One thing all the characters here seem to have in common is at at least one stage they've been in a fight, or are generally built for adventure. Here's someone different, someone whose film had virtually no physical violence whatsoever. Juno MacGuff, portrayed by Ellen Page, is a sassy and kinda weird teenage girl who suddenly finds herself pregnant with the child of Paulie Bleeker, her 'Best Guy Friend,' a memorable character himself played by Michael Cera (apparently not doing any acting at all, according to my sources).

The first thing we notice about Juno is the way she looks. Part of what makes her so memorable is her pregnancy. This film was released about three years ago, and even now I am still going to DVD stores and seeing her cardboard cutout advertising the movie. If you saw it, you cannot tell me you forgot about those orange stripes wrapped around that swollen abdomen. If I see any pregnant woman in an orange striped shirt, I'm instantly going to think, 'She's dressed like Juno.' She did where several other shirts, but like with Coraline, you remember this one the most. Hey, I'm sure James Bond owns more than just a bunch of tuxedos.

Next is her actions. Her initial thought is to get an abortion, but she quickly gets a change of heart and decides that adoption would be the best option. She finds a family she deems sane and grows attached to them, but things don't go that well, but I won't spoil it for you. Her interactions are also really good, especially for the sheer amount of Hey it's that Guy! What I really like it that her dad is J. Jonah Jameson, and she's Kitty Pryde, making her not only suitable for the list, but with her owning of the Juggernaut, an unofficial Pregnant Badass.
My only problem with the story is that we didn't see enoughg of her time at school with her pregnancie, I know that isn't what the film is about, but there was probably some pretty good joke oppertunities. Also, some people complain that Bleeker wasn't involved enough, making him into a jerk, but my guess is that Juno wouldn't approve of him swooning other her and stuff. She dosn't seem to be the type.

Also, I know I'm gonna have to bring this up, but...the way she talks. Juno speaks a strange language comprised of...weird. Granted, I don't have a problem with it, and can usually understand her pretty well. It's just that everyone else seems to be grated by her sayings of 'Honest to Blog,' it needs a mention. It's part of her charater.

But here's a thing I feel personally. Juno is a pretty damn awesome character, and even if it;s anything BUT an action film, I've gotta say I'd classify her as a badass. In fact, I can imagine her on a lineup of Street Fighter characters. I'd genuinley like to play as her in a fighting game. Unfortunatley to get the whole 'character' into the game she'd need to be pregnant, and anything that gives you the option to hurt a pregnant woman probably shouldn't exist. Though I guess she could get an instant win for just being there.

Also, I want to buy an copy of Most Fruitful Yuki. We need MORE pregnant badasses!

3. Edward Cullen.


First appearing in, HEY NO!

3. B.O.B.

If you weren't remotley interested in Monsters vs. Aliens, you have abandoned your childhood. In case this was you, the film followed Susan Murphy, who is unfortunate enough to be crushed by a meteor on her wedding day. But she's okay, just a little radioactive...and giant. She is taken to Area...sorry, if I finish that word I get tranquilised. She is taken to a...research facility, where she meets fellow 'monsters' Dr. Cockroach Phd, The Missing Link, Insectosaurus, and B.O.B.

He. Is. Awesome.

Truth be told, he himself dosn't effect the plot so much as he and the actual monsters do on a whole, and while almost every character is pretty memorable themselves, B.O.B. is just the best of them. He has no brain, meaning his actions are likley to make little sense. At one stage he forgets how to breathe, despite the fact he has no lungs. He also plays with a ball and accidentally knocks his eye out, and eats ham by having it thrown at the side of his head. Even when he is accidentally sent flying into space by Susan, he remains a happy little camper, wheras we know anyone else would have been pretty pissed off about it. It's funnier than it sounds, trust me.

This also brings up a fact about his voice actor, Seth Rogen, and why I have so much respect for actors like him, Jack Black and Ben Stiller. You see them in films like Tropic Thunder, or in Rogen's case, Pineapple Express and Zach and Miri make a Porno, and then you have them in a film intended for families and they not only do it well, but are possibly the best damn thing in the movie! That takes skill my friends. That is proof that they are great actors.

My biggest regret regarding the film is seeing it in 2-D. After seeing Clash of the Titans in it's sactastic fest of non-3-D, I especially feel irritated.

2. The Joker
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You saw this coming. The end of the awesome Batman Begins was just a throwaway gag at first, but when the film was a massive success, they decided that little card merited the appearance of one of the greatest villains of all time. Personally, when I saw the image of Heath Ledger in that makeup, I wasn't really that interested. This changed of course after hearing all the things about his performance, I was swayed. But truly, a film with that much hype couldn't even come close to living up to it. My friends...

IT WENT BEYOND!

Admit it, no matter how evil he was, no matter what he did, Joker stole your attention. I mean, Batman is the Goddamn Batman, but he already stole the spotlight in his own film, no it's Jokers turn, and boy howdy does he steal that spotlight. And after stealing it, he beats it up, stabs it, and then set in on fire.

The Joker arrives in Gotham City to balance out Batman's heroics with a good dose of anarchy. And that's his story truth be told. Not much else to it. Okay, he is also responsible for Two-Face and destroying much of Gotham City. In fact it could be argued that he had a bigger impact on the city than Bats did. Except that Bats is the reason he's there, so...yeah.

Now your probably really pissed off, cos let's face it, I could've put Hulk, Spider-Man, Tony Stark and even Bats himself on this list if I included this guy. Well, not really. You see, Ledger's Joker indeed follows the tradition of The Bat's arch enemy, but there's so much new to him that he's a character in his own right, yet at the same time, the Joker we know and love and fear.

The average Joker was forced into his mental state by a bathe in chemicals, making him somewhat innocent in all this. This Joker wears makeup, suggesting he simply chooses to be this person, granted he is definatley nuts. He does claim to have had a bad life, but I'm not trusting anything this guy says.

This Joker also has the characteristic of not caring. Often the old Joker would haul ass when faced with his own death, but this Joker uses it to his advantage. He is completley fine with getting shot in the head if it will make Harvey Dent into a killer. And who could forget the interogation scene, a moment I'm sure will end up on par with Kong falling off the Empire State Building, and 'No Luke, I AM your father.' Batman is beating him with as much fury as you can fathom, but Joker not only dosn't care, he finds it hilarious. Hilarious how Batman expects this to work when Joker knows that he won't, and that's not something he'll soon forget.

This Joker is on par with Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter and the many other great villains of cinema. Yet, despite all his differences, they chose all the right things to keep in. Unlike some Jokers, who want Batman out of the way, Ledger's Joker stays true to the core character who learns to define himself by Batman. He dosn't want him dead, in fact, he might even call them best friends. It is these things that make Heath Ledger's Joker the second most iconic film character of the 2000's.

I think it would also be bad to not mention that Ledger died shortly before the film was released. It's a shame that I could only discover his talent with this film, he was magnificent and worthy of his award.

And the Number One Iconic character is...

1. Jack Sparrow.

Johnny Depp is Jack Sparrow. He may not be the toughest pirate in the Caribbean, but by god, he's the trickiest.

Captain Jack Sparrow was the captain of the Black Pearl, the fastest ship on the water. The story isn't too clear, but one day disaster struck the Pearl. He had to make a deal with the Devil (or Devil Fish, in this case) to get it back and remain Captain for ten years. Unfortunatley, before long, his first mate led a mutiny against him and marooned him on an island. Sparrow survived on the island for three days, drinking Rum from a cellar, making it bearable. Even if he was doing well, he went mad with hate, and possibly sunstroke. The one bullet left in his pistol was now meant for his mutinous first mate, Hector Barbossa.
Then, it is said that Sparrow came across a group of sea turtle, and roped them into a raft, using hair from his own back, to escape. However, given his sunstroke and a tendency to exaggerate and downright lie, this is debatable.

Sparrow then proceeded to steal the boat of one Anna Maria, and came to Port Royal, giving himself one of the best character introductions of all time. Needless to say, Awesomeness ensued.

Sparrow is always one step ahead, and if that fails, he'll work with it. When others are pulling out their swords, Jack is in the corner thinking of how to turn this to his advantage, and even when he's got seconds to live, he's got the reputation and the charisma to talk his way out of it, and even use it to his advantage.

That's not to say that he's without his own skills. Jack can fight, but that's not his strong point. He's a badass thinker, and is in many ways, a walking Crowning Moment of Awesome. He starts out every film with one, and is likley to bring up a few more before the credits roll. Let's face it, if you were to get hijacked by a pirate, you'd want it to be him. And just be glad that even if he is a Magnificent Bastard, a scoundrel, a downright criminal and many other things, just be glad that generally he's on our side.

Besides, he's also a pretty good dresser.

And that's my top ten iconic character of the Naughties. I hope it's given you some minor insight, and I hope it was worth the free days it took me to type it.












OH FINE!

10. Edward Cullen

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He's a vampire in love with a human lady from the Twilight saga. He sparkles in the day time and girls don't shut up about him. I wouldn't even have a dislike for the films and books if it wasn't for the fanbase insisting that it was a messiah of a book. Robert Patterson, his actor, is fine by me as he apparently dons't like the movies and admits they aren't what people make them out to be. Seriously, what is with the sparkling? Honestly.