Top 11 Huggable “Monsters”

Today is national Hug Day so our friend Hugless Douglas gets a lot of attention as is only fit and proper. However, we at HodderSilver feel like a lot of so-called “monsters” miss out on the love and affection that they deserve – after all, even monsters have feelings. So here is our list of the top eleven monsters from fictional universes, which we feel deserve some hugs …

11. Chewbacca (Star Wars)

picture © StompTokyo.com / Via stomptokyo.com

A little known fact about Wookies: when the time is right they love a good hug. Obviously you have to be on first-name terms with them beforehand or it might be the last hug that you have.

10. Various “huggable” vampires (True Blood, Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Various undead men

This is one for all the undead but really, really ridiculously good-looking monsters who – whether or not they’ve had a brain-control microchip, been “ensouled” or just have really big guilty consciences – deserve a hug. If you ever meet a vampire you like the look of, why not hug them? Whatever happens you’ll die happy – or maybe you’ll never truly die at all …

9. Shrek (Shrek)

Shrek © DreamWorks / Via img.gawkerassets.com

Shrek may be a bit of an ogre at first but really he’s just grumpy that an evil dictator has destroyed his homeland (swamp). We think that he needs a hug and some waffles.

8. Iorek Byrnison (His Dark Materials)

image © NewLine Cinema / Via hdm.wikia.com

Ah, the mighty and majestic Iorek Byrnision. He may have his problems when Lyra first meets him, but after they reclaim his armour (soul) from some bad villagers this armoured bear becomes an excellent companion/mode of transport, and friend. Also, despite being a monarch, he is also a fan of hugs.

7. Sully (Monsters Inc.)

© Disney Pixar / Via ollieblazejames.wordpress.com

Sully is monster who doesn’t really like the idea of scaring children … obviously he would much rather give them a friendly hug instead.

6. The Wild Things (Where the Wild Things Are)

© Warner Bros / Via gloaminganddawn.wordpress.com

We love the Wild Things and how actually they’re really, really huggable underneath all that fur. In the film version, anyway.

5. Clem (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer © Twentieth Century Fox / Via mrhankey.tumblr.com

Clem is a slightly unsung hero of the wonderful Buffy the Vampire Slayer series (no we are not going to talk about that highly controversial BuzzFeed list). Suffice to say that we firmly believe Clem should get lots of hugs for combatting his kitten problem and protecting Dawnie when Buffy couldn’t.

4. Ludo (Labyrinth)

Ludo from Labyrinth © Jim Henson Productions / Via acidemic.com

LUDO FRIEEEEEEND!? A resonant cultural “beast”, the gentle giant from Labyrinth manages to save the day by summoning his friends the rocks. Yep, not only does this guy give great hugs but he can protect you by controlling the ground – handy if you ever find yourself fighting a goblin horde or trying to reclaim a stolen sibling from a shape-shifting Goblin Prince.

3. The Cookie Monster (Sesame Street)

Cookie Monster © Jim Henson Company / Via muppet.wikia.com

‘Me want cookie’? No, Cookie, we know that what you really want are hugs (with cookies) – how could you resist those big eyes and that friendly grin?

2. Olaf (Frozen)

Disney’s Frozen © Disney 2013 / Via youtube.com

‘Hi I’m Olaf, I like warm hugs.’ Although a very recent creation of cinematic magic, Olaf the friendly snowman who wants to live in Summer and likes not just hugs, but warm hugs, is a solid contender for the number one spot.

1. Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon)

Illustration © Cressida Cowell / DreamWorks

Dragons are often misunderstood creatures, but we firmly believe that our favourite Toothless from the hilarious How To Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell should be the number one huggable monster. In both the books and the DreamWorks film series even the bravest Vikings realise that it’s important to remember to hug their dragon from time to time.

Well, that’s our list of the top eleven huggable monsters. Do you agree? Why not tell us what you think, along with who or what we’ve missed out, in the comments below?