Top Twelve Animated Mounts That Are NOT A Horse by Teally Fox

1. Clifford the Big Red Dog

From his humble beginnings as a pint sized pup prancing along the pages of Norman Bridwell’s book series, to his 2021 CGI interpretation on the big screen, Clifford has been carrying his companion, Emily Elizabeth, across the cobblestone streets of Birdwell Island and into our hearts for the past 60 years.

2. Battle Cat

What started as a budget friendly way to add a “vehicle” into the fledgling figure franchise, turned into one of the most recognizable characters of one of the most popular toy lines in history. Battle Cat may have originally started out as a run of the mill orange tiger from Mattel’s Big Jim toy line, but paint him green, accent with yellow stripes and have him sport a horn covered saddle, and you have one of the fiercest mounts in animated history.

3. Feathers

Feathers provided transportation for Papa and the rest of his 99 little smurfs throughout the woods, mountains, and even across the ocean to exotic island locales over the course of the 9 original seasons. While not the only one of their animal friends to act as a trusted mount, Feathers was by far the most frequent, even appearing in their original big screen outing The Smurfs and the Magic Flute.

4. Toothless

Toothless the Night Fury may have started out as a stranded survivor of a dragon raid, but quickly became a trusted friend and ally to Hiccup. Their commonalities outshine their differences and make for an unlikely yet practical pairing in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.

5. Gorbash

Most of us are familiar with all the classic Bass Rankin stop motion Chirtmas classics like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, and The Year Without A Santa Claus, but what most don’t realize is they produced non-holiday themed, animated features as well (The Hobbit and The Last Unicorn probably being the most well known). One of the most beautifully illustrated of these lesser known features is The Flight of Dragons (1982). With a voice cast consisting of some heavy hitters for the time (James Earl Jones, John Ritter, Paul Frees, and Harry Morgan) The Flight of Dragons is packed to the clouds with dragons of every color, shape, and size, Gorbash being the most prominently featured.

6. Bagheera & Bahloo

Where would Mowgli be without his fiercely loyal furry friends Bagheera and Bahloo? My guess is tiger chow for the menacing Shere Khan. As a human child, Mowgli could hardly be equipped to outrun and outmaneuver a vengefully determined full grown tiger without help from a breezy bear and a pragmatic panther.

7. Magic Carpet

A genie can only grant three wishes, but a magic carpet is a friend for life. Speaking of which, Magic Carpet saved Aladdin’s on more than one occasion as well as added more than just a touch of flare to his grand entrances.

8. Swift

Swift accompanied David on countless quests to help the injured and sick, animal and gnome alike through perils too numerous to count. Whether trekking up a mountain during a snowstorm or escaping the grasps of a gang of trolls, Swift was by David’s side (or rather under it) from the very first episode of David the Gnome until the very last.

9. Belle

A 1980’s Japanese cartoon, based on a 1965 French novel, later translated into english. Belle and Sebastian follows the adventures of Sebastian with his cuddly companions, puppy Poochi, and Belle, the Great Pyrenees. They travel throughout the French Alps to escape torment and ridicule by its citizens because Sebastian has the audacity to lose his mother (seriously the story begins when Sebastian is run out of town for not having a mother).

10. Speed Buggy

Ever wish you could build a better friend? Well in 1973, that’s exactly what the crew of Hanna-Barbera's Speed Buggy did. It’s pretty much what would happen if Fred, Daphne, and Shaggy built Scooby Doo, but make him a car and run the occasional race while solving mysteries. I’m not even kidding, it’s 16 episodes of characters clearly recycled from 1969’s first run of Scooby, seriously check out that picture and tell me Debbie, Mark, and Tinker aren’t bizarro world’s Daphne, Fred, and Shaggy?

11. Tuk Tuk

Tuk Tuk and roll! Definitely one of the more interesting inclusions on this list, Tuk Tuk is voiced by the king of small parts and sidekicks, Alan Tudyk. Tudyk has taken what George Clooney did with Stan’s dog on Southpark back in 1997, and turned it into a prolific list of birds, cats, chipmunks, radios, and robots. A unique actor voicing an equally unique mode of transportation.

12. Wilbur & Orville

And finally, rounding out our list are the boys of Albatross Air, Wilbur and Orville of The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under, respectively. While not the only winged additions to the list, they definitely make the flight there just as interesting as anticipating the landing. Their gregarious nature and propensity for distraction make Bianca and Bernard’s journeys delightful with a twist of anxiety.