Guinea pigs, belonging to the rodent family, might be referred to as cavies. They resemble overgrown hamsters with compact, rounded bodies and no tail. Like other domesticated animals, guinea pigs were once wild herbivores, often found in herds. Interestingly, cavies were first domesticated back in 5,000 B.C, while Dutch explorers introduced guinea pigs to Europe in the 16th century. Originating from South America, specifically the Andes, there are indications that the inhabitants of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and the Andes were among the first humans to ever domesticate these wild rodents.Before becoming household pets, guinea pigs were often hunted for food, a tradition that some cultures still adhere to.
We’re not too sure how guinea pigs became such a popular addition to families, nor how so many entertainment mediums began featuring them, but since they’re so adorable, we aren’t complaining. Whether you own guinea pigs already, want to own some in the future, or you’re just in awe of their cuteness, you’ll be pleased to hear that they’ve been all over the media industry for decades.
G-Force (2009)
Without a doubt, at the forefront of cavy capers is Disney’s G-Force, an action-comedy about a group of anthropomorphic guinea pigs who are highly trained in espionage and set out on a mission to prevent a billionaire from using sentient household appliances to take over the world. G-Force was directed by Hoyt Yeatman in his directorial debut, but the American VFX supervisor has worked closely with Jerry Bruckheimer on a number of films, including Armageddon, Con Air, and The Rock. There’s two mains selling points for G-Force, those being the character design and the voice cast.
Not only are the pigs themselves each unique and personable, but the actors portraying them form an unstoppable ensemble cast. We have Sam Rockwell as Darwin, the fearless leader; Penélope Cruz as Juarez, the femme fatale; Tracy Morgan as Blaster, the weapons specialist; Nicholas Cage as Speckles, a star-nosed mole and gifted technician; Jon Favreau as Hurley, the unlikely tag-along; and Zach Galifianakis as Ben, the human founder of the G-Force squad.
Wonder Pets (2006-2016)
Ah, Wonder Pets! This Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon treasure began airing in 2006 and featured a trio of classroom pets — Linny the Guinea Pig, Turtle Tuck, and Ming-Ming the Duckling — who work together to save animals in peril. A lot of the dialogue in the show is sung in the style of operetta, which is a form of light opera. Something incredibly interesting that our youthful selves wouldn’t have known is that every episode of Wonder Pets! includes original music performed by a live 10-member orchestra.
Creator Josh Selig conceived the idea for Wonder Pets! while working on his other show, Oobi. Linny was at the center of two animated short films called “Linny the Guinea Pig,” which acted as both a pilot episode and pitch to Nickelodeon, then Tuck and Ming-Ming were added in later to round out the trio. Wonder Pets! produced three seasons of around 20 episodes each, concluding in October 2016 and going on to release DVD compilations and merchandise.
Tales of the Riverbank (1960-1963)
We know what you’re thinking: this looks downright creepy. But what else can you expect from a television series that aired in the ’60s? Technology wasn’t exactly on the rise, nor had animation exceeded expectations like it has in the 21st century. Actually, the image above is taken from 2008’s Tales of the Riverbank, which stars the eighth and ninth wonders of the world, Stephen Fry and Miranda Hart, and follows a similar premise to the ’60s show. The reason we chose an image from the 2008 reboot movie is because images from the classic children’s TV series are so grainy and poor quality that you’d be squinting for hours just trying to make out Hammy the Hamster’s outline.
The Tales of the Riverbank originally aired on the BBC, then later migrated to Animal Planet in the U.S. during the late ’90s and early 2000s. The story follows three friends — Hammy the Hamster, Roderick the Water Rat, and G.P. the Guinea Pig — who find themselves separated from their homes after a vicious storm and must work together to return from whence they came. The original series was shown on the BBC in black and white, plus the narration and voices were all provided by Johnny Morris.
The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
Now we’re getting to the more modern iterations of guinea pigs, starting with Chris Renaud’s portrayal of Norman, a cavy who keeps getting lost trying to find his apartment. He joins the likes of Max, Gidget, Chloe, Mel, Buddy, and Sweat Pea on adventures during the day, when their respective owners aren’t around. And there, you have the entire plot for The Secret Life of Pets in a nutshell. The Illumination production also stars the voices of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan, and Albert Brooks.
Director Chris Renaud, who is well known for the Despicable Me franchise, returned to direct the sequel, The Secret Life of Pets 2, three years later. Turning out to be a huge win in both Illumination and Renaud’s books, The Secret Life of Pets managed to gross a whopping $885.3 million against a $75 million budget at the global box office. In an interview on the podcast The Gary and Kenny Show, producer Chris Meledandri stated that a third film was in development, so if that isn’t a testament to the franchise’s popularity, nothing is.
DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
As it turns out, both Illumination and Warner Bros. both enjoy animated guinea pigs — just like us. Any DC fans will be wildly familiar with DC League of Super-Pets, which was heavily marketed around the time of its release. Obviously, the biggest draws for the animated project were the dynamic duo of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, who are becoming something of a consistent pairing in modern cinema. They provided the voices for Krypto the Superdog and Ace the Bat-Hound, respectively. In addition, as if Johnson and Hart weren’t enough star power, there’s also Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, and Diego Luna in the mix.
Speaking of Kate McKinnon, she’s the woman of the hour, excellently voicing Lulu, an evil hairless guinea pig who gains flight and telekinesis from exposure to the Orange Kryptonite and later becomes Mercy Grave’s pet. Warner Bros. really outdid themselves with this one, earning $207.5 million against a $90 million budget. Apparently, audiences have a real fascination with animated animals; just look at Disney’s Zootopia... or our last entry.
The Bad Guys (2022)
The most recent entry on the list, The Bad Guys, comes from Universal Pictures, rounding out our trio of animation studios with Warner Bros. and Illumination. Straight from Dreamworks, which brought us classics like Shrek, Kung-Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon, the heist-comedy follows a group of anthropomorphic animals known as the Bad Guys, infamous criminals known for their daring escapades and their life-long feud with the chief of police, Misty Luggins. After being insulted by the governess on live TV, the Bad Guys hatch a plan to steal a valuable award before it falls into the hands of a billionaire guinea pig called Professor Marmalade.
In the end, Professor Marmalade acts as the main antagonist of the film, finding himself at odds with the Bad Guys, who try to foil his scheme to use a powerful meteorite to hypnotize an army of guinea pigs into stealing his own charity funds. Richard Ayoade provides the voice for Professor Marmalade, joined by the stellar cast of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, and Lilly Singh. Look, Sam Rockwell’s back again. If I had a nickel for every film Sam Rockwell has featured in involving guinea pigs, I’d have two nickels… which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.