12 cutest movie aliens

Ewoks, Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi

Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi's babyish, teddy-bear-like creatures from the forest moon of Endor are often condemned as a too-cute addition to a franchise on its way to Jar-Jar Binks. Still, there's no denying that their help was critical to defeating the empire—not to mention the aww-inducing power of a baby Ewok. —Jackson McHenry

Stitch, Lilo & Stitch

Also known as Experiment 626, Lilo & Stitch's Stitch is an aggressive blue creature designed to destroy everything in his path. But when little Hawaiian girl Lilo adopts Stitch, she ends up teaching him to be good: ''Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.'' —Jackson McHenry

E.T., E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial's titular character is peaceful, he can heal people with the touch of a finger, and all he wants is to go home again. Not to mention that he has adorable blue eyes and can fit in a bicycle basket. —Samantha Highfill

MAC, Mac and Me

Those eyes! Those ears! Whether communicating with his winsome whistle or whizzing down the streets in a miniature truck, Mac and Me's littlest alien just wanted to reunite with his family. —Lanford Beard

Squid Baby, Men in Black

The name might not sound all that appealing, but even Agent J can't deny that Men in Black's big-eyed, thumb-sucking Squid Baby is, as he puts it, "actually kind of cute." —Samantha Highfill

CJ7, CJ7

The cuddly, big-eyed extraterrestrial from Stephen Chow's (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) family film appears to have been designed in a lab for maximum cuteness. —Keith Staskiewicz

Echo, Earth to Echo

Who wouldn't be bowled over by this owlish little alien-bot? No one, that's who. —Lanford Beard

Little Green Men, Toy Story

Sure, their three-eyed faces, teeny-weeny antennae, and chubby little bodies are all adorable. However, what really sends Toy Story's claw game refugees over the top is the way they talk. Those chipper intergalactic chipmunk voices could make anything sound cute. Oooooooo. —Hillary Busis

Meathead, Meatballs 2

As one of the many parodies/ripoffs/clones of E.T., the mushy grey alien from camp-comedy Meatballs 2 may look like a three-week-old meatloaf found in the back of the mess hall. However, he's pretty darn cute. Still no replacement for Bill Murray, though. —Keith Staskiewicz

Trumpy, The Pod People

Unwatchable without the smartassery of MST3K, this boy-finds-an-alien rip-off of E.T. features a furry, vacuum-snouted ALF-esque creature who's all cute and such...until its mother goes on a murderous rampage! —Anthony Breznican

Aliens, Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Of the more traditional, big-headed alien ilk, these UFO-travelers from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg's follow-up to Jaws were definitely more viewer-friendly than that shark. Their friendly faces even helped snag the film an Oscar nom for Best Visual Effects. —Lanford Beard

Fix-Its, *batteries not included

Before bringing superheroes (The Incredibles) and rodents (Ratatouille) to Pixar, Brad Bird wrote this tale about otherworldly machines defending an elderly couple from street thugs. Cute and able to fly! —Lanford Beard