12 Famous Animals From The 2000s That Touched Your Heart (14 Pictures)

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Jan 7, 2023 4:00 PM EST

We have some beautiful memories from the 2000s - Harry Potter, Britney Spears, pop mix cds, MTV, AIM…the list goes on and on. The sound of your computer connecting to the internet with the dial-up modem still kind of hurts us to this day, but also comforts us as memories from the past often do. Except low-rise jeans. Please, let's leave those in the past.

You may not remember all of them, but there were a lot of famous animals in popular media in the 2000s, and we're here to give them the spotlight once again. Take a trip with us down memory lane and flip open your razer phone one more time. Breathe in that Axe body spray and let's celebrate the famous animals that touched our hearts when we were kids.

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01
Wishbone, from the Wishbone TV series

via Anybody else watch Wishbone as a kid?

Wishbone is a popular doggie detective from his own series that aired from 1995 to 1997. He is known as the "little dog with a big imagination", where he often imagined himself as the main character of a tv series, often solving mysteries or teaching viewers about important historical icons.
02
Wishbone, from the Wishbone TV series

via Anybody else watch Wishbone as a kid?
03
Hedwig, from the Harry Potter series

via SW44

Hedwig, Harry Potter's famous owl rose to fame when the first movie came out in 2001. Hedwig was given to Harry by Hagrid for his 11th birthday after telling him that he's a wizard. One of Harry's best friends throughout the series, we love this adorable snowy owl. No spoilers here!
04
The dolphin from Flipper

via sphericaldust

Flipper came into the spotlight in 1996 after Sandy Ricks (Elijah Woods) befriends a dolphin and helps save the town's aquatic ecosystem from poisoning by toxic waste. The friendship the two form is not one often seen between a human and a sea animal, but we def remember crying in this movie.
05
Salem Saberhagen, from Sabrina the Teenage Witch

via Fandom

Salem is the sassy cat of Sabrina, except he's not a cat and actually a 500 year old wizard (or so he says). He was an iconic part of our childhood and his cheeky personality always made us laugh.
06
Marcel, from Friends

via HEATHER E. SCHWARTZ

Marcel is Ross's pet white-headed capuchin monkey during season 1 of Friends. The two formed a comical and loving bond that we remember fondly. We also distinctly remember asking our mother many times if we could have a pet monkey after this. Shocking, the answer was always no.
07
Harambe

via Remembering Harambe

Harambe rose to fame in 2016 after his unfortunate demise when a child fell into his enclosure in the Cincinnati zoo. The whole thing was recorded and uploaded to Youtube, and became immortalized as a meme with the slogan "Justice for Harambe". He will forever live on in our hearts.
08
Harambe

via Remembering Harambe
09
Grumpy Cat (featuring Stan Lee)

via ConstableIgor

Tarder Sauce, AKA Grumpy Cat, rose to fame in 2012 after she became an internet star for her permanently grumpy face. Her memes made a huge impact on the internet and she will live on forever on the internet for all those who are having a grumpy day.
10
April the giraffe

via Namemesomething

April became an internet celebrity in 2017 after giving live birth on Youtube. The livestream was watched by over 1.25 million (!) people. This was the first time anything like this had ever happened, and we're happy to say her baby calf is still alive and healthy.
11
Buddy, from the Air Bud movie series

via REBECCA MACATEE

Buddy was also a core part of our childhood. One of the most emotional dog stories we had, it perfectly captured the love between a young boy and his dog. Buddy reminded us of the pure heart of dogs and made us love ours even more.
12
Tilikum, the Killer Whale from the CNN documentary "Blackfish"

via sleyaa

Tilikum was the star of a documentary "exposing" the lives of the animals at SeaWorld. The documentary caused a lot of controversy, with a lot of backlash from SeaWorld calling the documentary "emotionally manipulative". We'll let you form your opinion, but we remember our trips to SeaWorld fondly from our childhood.
13
Beethoven, from the Beethoven movie series

via Fandom

Beethoven is the dog of the Newton family and had 5 movies made about him! He might even be the original floof, and who could forget his slobbery, loving appearance. This gentle giant was a staple of our childhood movie education.
14
The Geico Gecko

via Popdose

This little lizard needs no explanation - if you don't remember this gecko you must have been living under a rock. Did you know that you can save 15% by signing up with Geico today?