Aliens tend to fall into two distinct camps: those who want to zap us with lasers, and those who want to be our cool new intergalactic BFFs.
While the world-invasion types tend to grab the headlines with stunts like demolishing popular tourist destinations (“Independence Day”) and vaporising the populace with death rays (“Mars Attacks!”, “War of the Worlds”), the friendly aliens who come in peace are more likely to embrace humanity for all its flaws. Indeed, the 12 extra-terrestrials below have almost invariably left the world better than they found it, whether it’s by saving the day, being an entertaining house guest, or expanding the fundamental limits of human consciousness.
So, as the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” remake lands in cinemas, we celebrate a dozen of pop culture’s most memorable alien visitors, ordered by the date they first made contact with the people of Earth. And we also bring a warning from the cosmos — you may have a close encounter with a plot spoiler or two.
Superman (aka Kal-El)
Few alien visitors have embraced Earth culture quite as readily as the son of Jor-El, who’s spent a large chunk of his superhero career espousing values of “truth, justice, and a better tomorrow” (formerly “the American way”). Thanks to the effects of Earth’s yellow sun on his Kryptonian physiology, Superman’s enhanced strength, eye lasers, and ability to fly — not to mention his penchant for wearing his underwear outside his clothes — make him stand out from the crowd. Indeed, several recent stories (including the 2013 movie “Man of Steel”) have explored how the world regards an alien who acts as a self-appointed peacekeeper.
But despite his unwavering devotion to protecting those in need — ignoring that bit in “Superman III” when he grew designer stubble and went bad — you can’t help thinking he’d rather be settling down as Clark Kent, living out his happy-ever-after with Lois Lane.
Other friendly aliens from the DC stable include Supergirl, Martian Manhunter, and various members of the Green Lantern Corps.
Klaatu
- As seen in: “The Day the Earth Stood Still”
- Date of first contact: 1951
These days the poster for the original “The Day the Earth Stood Still” would probably be called out for false advertising. Giant robot Gort can be seen carrying a scantily clad woman while firing a laser from his eyes, recreating a scene that never actually happens in the movie.
Instead, Gort’s boss, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), really does come to Earth “in peace and with good will”, but ends up getting shot after a nervous soldier misunderstands his motives. In a highly topical move, Klaatu warns Earth’s governments that the development of nuclear weapons has made the galactic community antsy, and subsequently turns off everybody’s electricity for half an hour to prove he’s not playing games. Of course, his message doesn’t get across to everybody, and plenty see Klaatu as an interstellar busybody. Nobody can claim, however, that he didn’t have our best interests at heart.
Keanu Reeves played Klaatu in a disappointing 2008 remake. Klaatu’s famous catchphrase — “Klaatu barada nikto” — also inspired the names of several aliens in the “Star Wars” universe.
The Doctor
- As seen in: “Doctor Who”
- Date of first contact: 1963
Like Superman, the Doctor has devoted much of their professional life (or should that be lives?) to protecting the people of planet Earth. Every single one of the Time Lord’s regenerations has displayed an uncanny knack for tracking down trouble, and doing what’s necessary to sort it out — whether it involves a sonic screwdriver, reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, or some old-school monologuing. This modus operandi is a direct contravention of Gallifrey’s strict non-interference policies.
But, given the unlimited wonders accessible to the owner of a TARDIS that can traverse all of space and time, the Doctor’s ongoing obsession with Earth and its people (particularly the UK) seems slightly incongruous. Modern incarnations even manage to keep up with contemporary popular culture, particularly impressive for someone who’s well over a thousand years old.
Unnamed alien visitors (Close Encounters of the Third Kind)
- As seen in: “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”
- Date of first contact: 1977
The most famous friendly alien to debut on the big screen in 1977 was undoubtedly Chewbacca but, seeing as everybody in “Star Wars”‘ galaxy far, far away is technically an extra-terrestrial, he doesn’t really warrant a place on this list. The aliens from that year’s other timeless sci-fi classic most definitely do, however, because this unnamed race of interstellar travellers arrive on Earth with an agenda of friendship, and a natural instinct for the theatrical.
Over the course of Steven Spielberg’s movie, UFO sightings, toys coming to life, and visions of Devils Tower in Wyoming (subsequently recreated in mashed potato) gradually evolve into something more spectacular. The aliens’ perfectly choreographed introduction culminates in a spectacular light show, accompanied by a musical symphony riffing on the most famous five notes in movie history. All in all, it’s an extremely memorable way to say hello.
- As seen in: “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial”
- Date of first contact: 1982
In the early stages of its development, “ET” was going to be alien visitation horror, but Steven Spielberg eventually changed tack to tell cinema’s most beloved tale of a friendly alien coming to stay.
The movie’s narrative drive comes from the marooned ET’s efforts to “phone home”, but it’s his relationship with 10-year-old Elliott (Henry Thomas) and siblings Gertie (Drew Barrymore) and Michael (Robert MacNaughton) that provides the emotional punch. ET throws himself into Earth culture, watching daytime TV and bingeing fizzy drinks, while also bringing alien superpowers like instant healing and bike levitation to the party. All good reasons why there’s not a dry eye in the house when he finally blasts off.
“Mac and Me” (1988) explored similar themes with more Happy Meal product placement, while John Carpenter’s “Starman” (1984) did “‘ET’ for grown-ups” when Jeff Bridges’ alien took the form of Karen Allen’s late husband.
The Antareans
- As seen in: “Cocoon”
- Date of first contact: 1985
If “ET” was the quintessential alien movie for kids, “Cocoon” put a senior-friendly spin on visitors from outer space. In Ron Howard’s film, a delegation from the planet of Antarea head to Florida to rescue some long-lost compatriots who’ve spent the last 10,000 years cocooned at the bottom of the Atlantic. Before heading home, they plan to replenish them in a swimming pool supercharged with special life force, but don’t bank on a bunch of residents from a nearby retirement home taking unauthorised dips and rediscovering their youth.
The Antareans — luminescent beings of light beneath their human disguises — are surprisingly tolerant of the trespassing, even though it completely messes up the cocoons’ recovery. They even agree to take the sprightly OAPs back to their homeworld for a shot at eternal life.
- As seen in: “Contact”
- Date of first contact: 1997
You’d expect a film based on a novel by Carl Sagan to take a thought-provoking approach to aliens, and “Back to the Future” director Robert Zemeckis’s adaptation does just that. SETI scientist Dr Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) picks up a radio signal from the star Vega, and realises it contains detailed instructions for building a machine that will allow one person to travel across the cosmos.
This being the Hollywood version of science — and despite the reservations of Matthew McConaughey’s preacher — Arroway is also the person chosen to represent humanity on the maiden voyage. After reaching her destination, she meets an alien who’s taken the form of her late father (David Morse), and tells her the sophisticated ETs got in touch to welcome humanity into the wider universe. Unfortunately, Arroway has no evidence of the meeting when she returns.
E 626 (aka Stitch)
- As seen in: “Lilo & Stitch”
- Date of first contact: 2002
Don’t let Experiment 626’s Disneyfied cuteness fool you. This alien was genetically engineered by morally dubious scientist Dr Jumba Jookiba as a super-intelligent weapon of mass destruction. When it escapes from exile, the creature crashes in Hawaii and goes incognito as a dog in an animal shelter — which is where he first meets a young orphan called Lilo.
Lilo names the creature Stitch and, realising that he’s no ordinary dog, she attempts to domesticate a “pet” who causes constant (but comedic) disruption at home. Before long, however, a growing friendship gradually overcomes Stitch’s more destructive instincts, and the titular duo form a tight partnership — which is for the best, seeing as Stitch remains a fugitive from the United Galactic Federation (not the one from “Star Trek”).
Prawns
- As seen in: “District 9”
- Date of first contact: 2009
The aliens in “District 9” — pejoratively described as “Prawns” by the humans in the film — possess space-faring technology way beyond our own. Even so, when their ship arrives over Johannesburg in the early 1980s, the South African government immediately decides they’re second-class citizens and relocates them to a camp called District 9. Lowly Department of Alien Affairs official Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is, like most humans, suspicious of the alien visitors, but forms an unlikely friendship with District 9 resident Christopher Johnson (Jason Cope) after he’s infected by some alien goop.
Johnson may look like the product of Seth Brundle’s experiments-gone-wrong in “The Fly” but he’s also a very relatable dad trying to do the right thing for his son — and arguably much more sympathetic than any of the humans in the movie.
Paul
- As seen in: “Paul”
- Date of first contact: 2011
From “The X-Files” and “Dark Skies” to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, plenty of TV shows and movies have riffed on the classic Roswell image of grey aliens with big black eyes. Few, however, have done it quite as successfully as “Paul” — the film even features a flashback to eponymous alien Paul (Seth Rogen) giving tips to a pre-“ET” Steven Spielberg, while sitting in an Area 51 warehouse that looks just like the one from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Essentially, he claims to be the inspiration for some of the biggest sci-fi properties of the last 50 years. He even invented Fox Mulder.
Pop culture influences aside, Paul has refused to turn bitter despite the US government holding him hostage since his spaceship crashed in 1947. All these decades later he just wants to go home, and at heart is just a really good guy.
Heptapods
- As seen in: “Arrival”
- Date of first contact: 2016
“Star Trek” (a franchise that has plenty of friendly aliens of its own) has popularised the idea that most extra-terrestrial species look like humans — there’s even an episode of “The Next Generation”, “The Chase“, that explains why Vulcans, Klingons, Cardassians and most other residents of the Alpha Quadrant look so alike. But in “Arrival” (based on Ted Chiang novella “Story of Your Life”), the heptapods who pay Earth a visit are so alien that we have to take a whole new approach to communication.
With governments and the military as sceptical as ever about the new visitors — have they learned nothing from “The Day the Earth Stood Still”? — linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) gradually cracks the heptapods’ pictogram-based code. The aliens’ language actually shifts the “speaker”‘s perception of time, giving Banks spookily realistic premonitions of a daughter who hasn’t yet been born, while offering the promise of a whole new frontier for humanity. Duolingo has a long way to go…
“Harry Vanderspeigle”
- As seen in: “Resident Alien”
- Date of first contact: 2021
It may not be immediately obvious, but “Harry Vanderspeigle” (his real alien name is tricky for humans to pronounce) has something in common with the aforementioned Stitch. Like the artist formerly known as Experiment 626, his original assignment involved destruction — namely, the elimination of the entire human race. But, after assuming the identity of a human doctor, getting some ad hoc medical training from “Law & Order”, and setting up shop in a small Colorado town, this would-be space invader gradually comes to realise that, just maybe, we aren’t so bad after all.
Harry’s natural bug-eyed form suggests he’s a fairly close relative of Paul, though he’s able to adopt the very convincing disguise of genre legend Alan Tudyk (“Firefly”, “I, Robot”, “Rogue One”).
If you want to meet a friendly alien yourself, the live-action “Lilo and Stitch” is in cinemas now, and Superman will be in theaters in July.