23 of the most iconic green characters in pop culture

Gumby has been rocking the green look since his official debut in the 1950s. He had a bit of a revival in the ‘80s, which led to 1995’s Gumby: The Movie. Around longer than most, Gumby is an OG, Original Green.

The Princess Bride’s Wallace Shawn helped bring Rex to the masses in the mid-90s as Toy Story knocked the world off its feet with what was, at the time, insane computer-animated graphics. Always a little scared, never really prepared, but always there when you need a friend, Rex is a prehistoric sweetheart.

One never wants to get on Gamora’s bad side.

Green, he is.

When it comes to iconic and green, it’s illegal to mention both and not mention Shrek’s name soon after. First, he taught a generation about having layers. Second, he starred in the first animated movie to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2002. The accolades are one thing, but Shrek has become a key figure in pop and internet culture — a favorite GIF and meme reaction for many.

Like Drake, Mike Wazowski started from the bottom. Unlike the Canadian rapper, though, Mike Wazowski would never start any sort of beef with any other monster because Mike is all about spreading joy with his comedy in Monsters, Inc . Not har,d considering he’s voiced by a legend, Billy Crystal.

Dr. Seuss introduced readers to The Grinch in 1957. Less than a decade later, the book became a holiday TV special that would catapult the character into the big leagues. Since then, The Grinch is most recognizable from the 2000 live-action remake in which Jim Carrey outdid himself as the curmudgeon whose heart grew three sizes.

It’s no surprise to see Kermit the Frog on a list of the best green characters because, to many, he’s the first one to pop into their heads when they think of this subject. The heart of The Muppets, Kermit can be a frantic mess at times when his friends drive him up a wall, but most of the time, he evokes nothing but pure joy.

If Disgust was ever in another movie aside from Inside Out, it’d be Clueless because it has the perfect attitude to say the inevitable, “As if!”

One of Nickelodeon’s strangest in the ‘00s, Invader Zim catered to the millennials who were more Hot Topic than Abercrombie & Fitch, with the titular character being plastered on every backpack, T-shirt, or school supply back in the day.  

In 1994, Jim Carrey made quite the first impression with three releases that included Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Dumb and Dumber, and The Mask. In the latter, he played a green-faced wise guy with some of the best one-liners in movie history. Smokin'!

The family that’s green together stays together.

Does anyone else feel like Slimer would be a good time to hang out with?

There have been quite a few Disney sidekicks who’ve been so good they sometimes outshine their leading besties, and Pascal is one of them. In Tangled, Pascal owned many scenes featuring him, Rapunzel, and Flynn.

Not a main character of Nickelodeon’s Rugrats, but still an integral part of the fabric of the show as the youngsters’ favorite character in their universe.

Both as herself in her signature green ensembles as well as when she’s in her amphibian state, Tiana is a green girlie through and through.

Oscar the Grouch may be a bit much at times, but he’s still considered a Sesame Street royalist.

A four-for-one deal, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a packaged deal as they are a “lean, green, ninja team.”

Who can resist a wise bad boy?

Has the Green Goblin been around since the ‘60s? Yes. Did Willem Dafoe body that role so hard it’s not his forever? Also yes.

Yoda spent years, decades, as the premiere green cutie in the Star Wars universe. Then, in waddled a character on The Mandalorian, fans instantly dubbed “baby Yoda.” It was love at first waddle for many.

Elphaba might be a witch in her world, but she’s a straight-up queen in this one.

Only made cuter when he got those itty-bitty butterfly wings.