9 Movie Animals Who Outperformed Their Human Masters

By Dan Schindel /

The very first motion picture ever was Sallie Gardner at a Gallop, a series of 24 frames taken by photographer Eadward Muybridge in 1878. It depicts a jockey riding the eponymous horse (And proved that there are moments when a galloping horse has all four feet off the ground). From the very beginning of film, then, humans and animals have been linked in action. And over the century of cinematic history that's come since, there have been many memorable stories featuring great animals. And in order to tell these stories, productions have made use of specially trained animals. Some of these furry friends became celebrities in their own right, often outshining their two-legged co-stars. Here are nine movie animals who most of you probably remember better than any of the people who appeared in the films they're famous for. They're listed in chronological order.

9. Rin Tin Tin in all His Films

Rin Tin Tin wasn't the first movie star dog, but he was probably the biggest. How many other dogs have had bulletins about their deaths interrupt the regular radio broadcast? The German Shepherd was discovered as a puppy on a German battlefield during World War I, and brought to America by a soldier, Lee Duncan. Duncan discovered that the dog was exuberant, eager to train, and capable of impressive feats of physicality, such as being able to jump 11 feet. So Duncan got him into the pictures. From 1922 to 1931, Rin Tin Tin appeared in 23 Hollywood movies, as well as dozens of advertisements. His second film, Where the North Begins, has been said to have saved the then-struggling Warner Brothers company. The dog has a star on the Walk of Fame, was buried in the Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques, the most famous pet cemetery in the world, and his descendants have gone on to be actors and service dogs. In other words, this dog accomplished more than most people ever will.