The supernatural nature of inanimate objects in movies offers companionship and wisdom to many. They serve as the catalysts to love, friendship, doom, and power. While their abilities range from friendly to inhumane, it’s no wonder their form takes on spirit, as in most cases, someone’s survival depends on it.
From teapots to volleyballs, and magic board games, we see the lifelike experience of these magical entities and their influence on those that have taken care of them the most.
10 Cast Away (2000)
When his plane crashes over the Pacific Ocean, Chuck Noland, as played by Tom Hanks, is the one and only passenger to survive. That is until the titular Cast Away meets Wilson. After washing ashore on a deserted island, Chuck comes across a volleyball. With no human contact, electricity, or even a book to read, he quickly finds friendship in this volleyball, naming him Wilson. The two adventure through their survival with all that they have—each other. Learning new means of survival through their hardship of having essentially nothing, Wilson is able to serve as a soundboard for Chuck’s lonesome, starving self. Though the waters are rough, Chuck stays faithful to the tides, as they gave him both his life and friendship.
In an effort to find refuge for the two, Wilson wades across the water. Chuck emotionally cries out, “Wilson, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Wilson. Wilson, I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Wilson. I can’t. Wilson! Wilson!” Though the two cease to meet again, Chuck learns the greatest lessons of life, true companionship and the will to not only survive, but live.
9 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Tap your heels three times, and a Sméagol appears to steal the power of all denominations with the use of a magical ring. Used to control the will of beings, the ring serves as a supernatural entity that was needed in order to take the physicality of life out of the way so that spirituality may exist. When a wearer of the ring had it on, they would become invisible to others.
Sméagol, also known as Gollum, attempts to steal the ring and its mystical transparency, but he falls into an angry torturous rut when the ring is taken by Bilbo Baggins. When Bilbo finally gains possession of the ring, he runs back into the light. Seventeen years later, the ring is cared for by the selflessly brave Frodo who continues to protect the ring and its fellowship to the best of his ability.
That is until the return of Sméagol, of course.
8 Child’s Play (1988)
In the name of everything evil, a possessed Chucky doll takes on the murderous soul of a serial killer in Child’s Play. Gifted to a boy named Andy, the Chucky doll comes to life. In need of an exorcism that never comes, the doll attempts to wreak havoc on anyone he can. Andy tries to warn his family of the wicked powers of Chucky, but he ends up institutionalized, for his parents feared he was paranoid. Andy’s mom finally realizes her son is telling the truth and wants to save him before falling victim to Chucky. Though he causes a house fire in hopes of killing Andy, Chucky fails to do so. Andy survives, but the tale of a possessed doll lives on.
7 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Upon asking her magic mirror who is the fairest of them all, an evil Queen is faced with an answer that she has never before heard. It was her stepdaughter, Snow White, who was finally reigning in the glory of all her beauty. Being an innocent princess with no parents, this evil Queen ordered Snow White as a maiden to her home. Realizing she is in danger, Snow White escapes to a haunted, yet enchanted forest. Upon her journey, she meets 7 dwarfs of whom she quickly found peace in.
With hopes to kill her own family, the wicked Queen had no plan to stop. She brought a poisonous apple to Snow White and tricked her into thinking it was a “magic wishing apple,” promising that with one bite, “all your dreams will come true.” Wishing she had a Prince to love, the princess takes a bite. The seven dwarfs call upon their forest friends, and they seek to rescue Snow White before she eats the apple, but they were too late. Now, afflicted by a curse only a prince can break, Snow White lay asleep in a glass coffin within the forest.
Days go by, her evil stepmother is no longer alive, and finally, at last, the Prince arrives. With one kiss, her lucid dream turns into a reality of love and survival.
6 Ted (2012)
You may think that a human being is the ultimate friend, but when John Bennett was given a stuffed animal bear as a young boy, he soon found the joy of true friendship—and a lifelong one at that. Naming him Ted, the two grow inseparable. Thunder buddies for life, they fear nothing as they savagely take on the streets of Boston, MA.
Though life is fun and games for the two, Ted eventually has to face the fact that he isn’t a real person. He goes to trial to settle the unjust assumption and soon leaves with a win. After all, that’s all he was used to doing, so he wasn’t about to stop at the right for his life.
Bonding over comics, beer, women, and Flash Gordon, nothing could break John and Ted apart. That is until a freakishly odd man who is obsessed over Ted’s human abilities steals him away from John. Eventually, John risks his life for Ted. The two survive and continue to play hilarious jokes on one another. Finding love, success, and most importantly friendship, the pair share their brotherly love in all that they do, together, of course.
5 Aladdin (1992)
Upon selling local produce in the market to the dwellers of an enchanting Middle Eastern city called Agrabah, Aladdin meets a beautiful princess named Jasmine. A diamond in the rough, Aladdin seeks to find the love within, as it has been missing for what has felt like forever.
In the name of everything magical, the carpet that Aladdin befriended gifts him with a unique oil lamp that produces a whimsical Genie. After hearing of his wishes, Aladdin, out of the kindness of his heart, grants the wise Genie the right to freedom and denial, as he had asked. After all, Genie had made the wishes of many come true for a great deal of time, so he was deserving of such a gift.
Proving his royal dignity to Jasmine’s father by ascending the Genie to his free will, it becomes a whole new world for Aladdin. Without this magical oil lamp, he would have never been able to free the Genie in order to be granted the right to marry his beloved Jasmine. Everyone’s wishes faithfully come true, and Aladdin and Jasmine live happily ever after, just as they had hoped.
4 Pinocchio (1940)
After his hard work making a wooden Puppet, wood maker Geppetto wishes upon a star for his creation to come alive. In doing so, the puppet he named Pinocchio becomes lifelike and takes on the conscience of a kindhearted cricket named Jiminy. Though Jiminy has a loyal and honest heart, Pinocchio is still unaware of the world and its workings. Pinocchio soon falls to naivety due to his unwillingness to educate himself. He lies his way through many happenstances, but not because he was a liar—he just didn’t know better.
Geppetto passed as an old man with young Pinocchio by his side. Then, and only then, did Pinocchio finally learn a lesson of life: the meaning of friendship. He ventures into the world as a real boy, just as Geppetto wished he would, and the wooden boy with the borrowed soul remains human after all.
3 Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Where would Beauty and the Beast be if it hadn’t been for Mrs. Potts? When Belle cries in her chamber after her father is imprisoned for trespassing on the Beast’s domain, a delicate and caring teapot named Mrs. Potts arrives to save her aching heart. Though Belle is taken by surprise by her lifelike mannerisms, Mrs. Potts quickly gains her trust. Hopeless Belle needs more than Mrs. Potts’ help though. The beast who was holding her captive fell in love with Belle. Needing to love him in return to reverse the curse of being an animalistic Beast and turn him into a human man, Belle still stays focused on her will to save her father from his lonesome. However, the Beast knows just how important saving her father is, so he sets him free when Belle chooses to exchange her freedom for his.
When the Beast seemingly dies, Belle, again, cries in despair. Proving she loves him for the first time, the Beast turns into a human again. Both Belle and the Beast kiss under an enchanting moonlight with Mrs. Potts by their side. Belle’s father was saved, and no love was lost.
2 Jumanji (1995)
Though it may not have exactly come to life itself, the magical board game in Jumanji brought a heartbeat to the movie—and a fast one at that. In an attempt to pass time, two friends, Alan and Sarah, gather to play with what is our modern-day Ouija board. Spun with mystical powers and the ability to transform one’s circumstances by asking it a question, the pair had no idea where this game would take them. Upon reading the game’s instructions, “A game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind… The first player to reach the end, wins,” the two accidentally enter a portal full of instructions to follow. If they don’t follow them, obscure scenarios occur—like roaming zoo animals, monsoons, growing body hair, swarms of bats, and more.
To put an end to their jungle-based obstacles, they must finish the game and everything it tells them to do. Characters appear in an effort to throw them off, but the two find a way out. With the help of Peter and Judy, who found the game in the mansion where it was left 26 years earlier, the four play the game’s instructions until it has finally come to an end and reverses all of its damages, as that was the only way out of its madness.
1 Up (2009)
In an attempt to fulfill a promise to his late wife, 76-year-old Carl Fredrickson flies to South America in Up. This flight, though, was no normal flight. Tying a plethora of colorful balloons to his home, Carl soars through the sky to his destination. With his heart on his sleeve, he thinks he has done everything right to honor his wife’s wishes. That is until he realizes there’s more than just balloons tied to his home. To Carl’s surprise, he finds a young wilderness explorer named Russell as a stowaway. Though this was unanticipated, Carl accepts the affliction of his excited friend’s company.
The two take on their journey together and both Carl and Russell not only learn the value of trust but the significance of friendship. What’s more, Carl shows up for Russell upon their return home. He honors his friend as he accepts his wilderness badge saying, “Russell, for assisting the elderly and for performing above and beyond the call of duty, I would like to award you with the highest honor I can bestow—The Ellie Badge.” With this, the two continue their friendship having learned how to depend on someone, even when they didn’t think they could.
Though it may seem unreal, objects taking on the spirit of humans is not completely impractical. When you love someone, that energy is transferred to them in both emotional and physical feelings. Just as we as human beings can feel the warmth of affection, it could also be possible that something like a stuffed animal or your favorite coffee cup takes on the feelings you have for it and its presence. After all, it is yours for a reason.
