Ranking the Best Comedies Where Humans Get Turned Into Animals

8 The Lobster

The only reason this wonderfully weird 2015 dark comedy about humans getting turned into animals because they suck at love isn’t ranked any higher is because, well, we don’t get to see these transformations happening. We do, however, see suggestions of them — one in the form of David’s (Colin Farrell) brother, who failed to find his proverbial soulmate at a swanky Couples Club and was subsequently turned into a sheepdog. Someone also gets turned into a Shetland pony, and we should probably mention that these animals were of the people’s own choice. Why no one chose whale is beyond us.

7 Hocus Pocus

Remember that scene where Sarah Jessica Parker sits on the horny bus driver’s lap while they run over a cat? Also, it wasn’t actually a cat but a boy who got turned into one. Yeah, this movie was a whole lot of things, wasn’t it? Hey, at least the cat/boy sprung back to life so it/he could live on with the trauma of knowing what it’s like to lick the poop off your own butthole.

6 Zombeavers

This 2014 comedy horror about beavers turning into zombie beavers and then turning humans into “zombeaver humans” is as ridiculous as it sounds. And yet, it’s a fun little flick with a lot of, uh, beaver jokes. It also features the great comedy chops of Peter Gilroy, as well as an incredible amount of absurd moments that are supposed to make you cringe before the laughter kicks in. 

This film went viral (in an ironic way) when the trailer hit everyone's eyeballs back in the day, but the movie turned out to be better than most of those water-lurking creature parodies we've seen over the years.

5 Tusk

Ah, yes, the Kevin Smith comedy horror inspired by a silly podcast moment that led to Justin Long being tortured as Michael Parks slowly turns him into a live walrus. The idea for the film came from a Gumtree ad where a person was looking for a roommate with one condition: Said roommate had to dress up as a walrus — because everyone has their fetish. Smith and his buddy Scott Mosier were discussing this ad on their pod when inspiration struck, and they asked their listeners to vote whether they’d like to see a movie based on the elaborate story Smith and Mosier came up with. 

You can guess how people voted.

4 The Emperor’s New Groove

Is it cheating to include an animated version of a person going all animal in this list? We don’t care, we’re mad with power right now — just like young Emperor Kuzco, who was a real ass and got turned into a llama for it. It’s a Walt Disney slapstick classic that has, surprisingly, stood the test of time. It also has David Spade voicing a man-llama opposite Disney’s most enduring character Pacha, voiced by Hollywood’s most enduring fella, John Goodman. That’s why this animation made the list. It’s the only one. We promise.

3 Turning Red

Haha, we lied! Never trust a jokester, and never trust a tween who has just discovered puberty and harbors a major obsession with a boy band. Turning Red is, without a doubt, one of the best animations of the year. The idea of turning a young adolescent into a red panda — to signify what “hormonal beasts” young girls can be — made for great comedy, and even greater representation. It’s also the first Pixar movie solely directed by a woman, Domee Shi.

2 Sorry to Bother You

One of the most creative movies to come out of 2018, Boots Riley’s surreal black comedy about life as a Black working-class citizen of the United States under capitalism was as good as it was wild. Spoiler incoming — the real kicker of the movie happens during its final act when it’s revealed that the arms-dealing corporation WorryFree is secretly turning their cheap labor workers into “Equisapiens,” which basically means super strong half-human, half-horse hybrids. At least they didn’t go full Shetland pony.

It’s also worth pointing out that not only did Armie Hammer play the diabolical rich boy CEO of WorryFree, but the movie originally featured the line “WorryFree is making America great again” long before Donald Trump used that latter part during his presidential campaign. This movie nailed a lot of things, is what we’re saying.

1 Werewolves Within

Josh Ruben’s very funny 2021 comedy horror about a divided town having to bunker up during a snowstorm — and oh, there’s also a werewolf lurking among them — is a hoot (and a howl). Since it plays out as a whodunnit, we won’t spoil it for those who still need to watch it (but like, get on that), but let’s just say that the transformation is unexpected in a most delightful and satisfying way. 

Sure, we could add all the werewolf comedies here — you know, the ones everyone always talks about — but we choose to subvert the usual and give you the cream of the crop — with a dash of dog hair to boot.