WHY COULDN’T IT HAVE BEEN ME INSTEAD??????????

Those who knew Oscar knew that he was a bird of few words, namely “hello” and “cracker.”

However, the gravitas with which he uttered those words was the reason Home Alone 3 is held in the regard it is today. Without his avian presence, it would have just been a wildly disposable sequel that didn’t even have Macauley Culkin.

With Oscar’s contributions to cinema in mind (including his upcoming role in A Bird of the Air), we would like to take a moment and call attention to animal actors and the trails they have blazed. So join us on a journey as we examine the 9 most awesome animal actors in film and television.

(If you have “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” by Boyz II Men in your iTunes, please hit play now.)

9. Mel Gibskin

You may not recognize the awesome name, but you’ll know his work. Mr. Gibskin played the role of a creepy hairless cat so effortlessly that it hardly seemed like he was acting. He absolutely owned the role of Mr. Bigglesworth in the Austin Powers franchise, playing the character with such marked restraint that he kept audiences on the edge of their seat. Gibskin also played Rachel’s creepy cat on Friends and had the professional privilege of playing opposite Ms. Lindsay Lohan in the stripper saga I Know Who Killed Me.

8. Gidget

In the vein of Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry and Barbra Streisand in Yentl, Gidget defied gender conventions in her portrayal of the Taco Bell Chihuahua, a flawed character myopically focused on its want, need, or desire (depending on how you translate “querer”) for Taco Bell cuisine. Further, Gidget adopted a stereotypical Mexican accent so effortlessly, you would have thought the dog was played by a privileged teenager making fun of his family’s gardener.

7. Clyde

Clyde played Marley, the dog that dies at the end of Marley and Me.

Deal with it.