Summary
- Famous skeletons in movies have been captivating audiences for decades, from the stop-motion skeleton army in Jason and the Argonauts to the cursed skeleton crew in Pirates of the Caribbean.
- Skeleton characters often steal the show with their memorable presence, whether they are protagonists or villains.
- Skeletons in movies come in various forms, from animated characters like Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before Christmas to terrifying sci-fi robots like the T-800 in the Terminator franchise.
Skeletons appear in all kinds of movies, from stop-motion beginnings in classics like Jason and the Argonauts to bad-to-the-bone villains such as in action-adventure or superhero genres. However, skeletons aren't always morally bad, with some characters following the path to redemption as heroes or those intending to do good deeds in a misguided way. Either way, they are often just plain cool with a fantastic and memorable on-screen presence.
Skeletons are often movie protagonists or in primary casting roles, with many creative and sometimes even futuristic depictions of the typical human skeleton form. However, some movie skeletons are undeniably more memorable and iconic than others.
Updated October 25, 2024 by Gemma Johnson: Famous skeletons in movies have grabbed audiences' attention for decades, from the days of early cinema and stop-motion animation to modern CGI technology today. Many of the most famous skeletons on-screen also appear across various facets of the morality spectrum, from funny skeletons to evil villains and everything in between. Some of the most memorable movies with skeletons also include those from other areas of pop culture, like video games, as well as characters that play supporting roles as well as protagonists.
Skeletons in movies also don't have to be spooky or scary and can provide audiences with memorable moments for many reasons. Whether it's a laugh-out-loud moment or pulling on an audience's heartstrings, skeletons on-screen have m ade their presence known throughout history. In no particular order, this list updates the existing entries and adds two new entries.
1 Dry Bones
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Movie Appearances:
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Dry Bones is an iconic supporting character from Nintendo's Super Mario franchise and is a skeletal variant from Bowser's Koopa Troopas. Already iconic in video games, Dry Bones appeared in 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where Luigi is chased by a swarm of Dry Bones enemies in the Dark Lands. The movie makes its Dry Bones antagonists super creepy, appearing as skeletons with yellow eyes that switch to bright red in a second, bust out of the ground, and relentlessly chase a terrified Luigi.
The movie's stunning visuals bring these famous skeletons to life brilliantly in a humorous scene that also has some fun nods to the way players defeat them in classic Super Mario video games. For instance, Luigi accidentally shatters one to pieces when bumping into a tree, only for it to resurrect moments later. Dry Bones also appeared in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoon and the Super Mario World TV series.
2 Skeleton Characters In Corpse Bride
Corpse Bride
Movie Appearances:
- Corpse Bride (2005)
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride follows protagonist Victor Van Dort, who must choose between two brides, one of the living and another of the dead. It features numerous skeleton characters, including Victor's deceased dog named Scraps, the singing Bonejangles, and Grandfather Everglot, to name a few examples. Like The Nightmare Before Christmas, 2005's Corpse Bride contains perhaps some of the most famous skeletons on screen in Burton's renowned stop-animation and musical style, as well as a host of vocal talents like Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, and more.
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One stand-out moment is Bonejangles' 'Remains of the Day' song in the Land of the Dead, which tells corpse bride Emily's tragic tale. This jazzy musical scene showcases many skeletons alongside the widely beloved reanimated corpse of Emily herself.
3 Skeleton Army
Jason And The Argonauts
Movie Appearances:
- Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
One of the most iconic and famous skeletons in movies that may come to mind for many audiences is the skeleton army in Don Chaffey's 1963 movie Jason and the Argonauts. In the movie, King Aeëtes summons a group of skeleton warriors to fight Jason and his companions. The skeletons are cleverly brought to life on screen using stop-motion animation.
The pre-battle tension builds as seven skeletons individually burst from the ground in battle-ready form with swords and shields, moving with genuinely creepy impact for their time, building up to a terrifying scream before an iconic and entertaining fight scene.
4 Horned King
Disney's The Black Cauldron
Movie Appearances:
- The Black Cauldron (1985)
- Once Upon A Halloween (2005)
The Horned King is the primary antagonist of the 1985 animated movie The Black Cauldron, which tells the story of a young man named Taran tasked with protecting a magical pig from the evil Horned King, who seeks the location of the Black Cauldron to summon an army of immortals.
Although The Black Cauldron is one of Disney's less popular and perhaps less widely known movies, the famous skeleton character of the Horned King is perhaps more known as one of Disney's most ruthless and evil animated villains and altogether, gruesome-looking characters, stopping at nothing to get the Cauldron by any means necessary.
5 Walter Donovan
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
Movie appearances:
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Played by actor Julian Glover, Walter Donovan is the main villain in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a character who seeks the Holy Grail, one of the most powerful Indiana Jones artifacts. Towards the end of the movie in the Grail temple, Donovan famously drinks from the wrong cup, causing him to temporarily turn into a skeleton as the mysterious cup ages him into a fast and early death, with his bones soon shattering to dust.
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As one of the most iconic movie franchises of all time, many fans will also recall a similar transformation with Nazi baddie Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark, as an honorable mention, whose face gruesomely melts before he explodes. Both scenes are memorable presentations of skeletal-like transformations on screen.
6 Skeleton Characters In Coco
Disney's Coco
Movie appearances:
- Coco (2017)
Disney's Coco introduced viewers to many endearing and often funny animated skeleton characters with heartwarming moments, as protagonist Miguel seeks to become a musician against his family's wishes. Set in the festive holiday of Día de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), Coco's skeletons bridge the gap between life and death as the characters recall and reflect on their previous lives in the Land of the Living.
While there are too many skeleton characters in the movie to list, some stand-out characters include the charismatic Hector, Mama Coco, and Ernesto de la Cruz, to name a few.
7 Deadites
Army Of Darkness
Movie appearances:
- Evil Dead (1981)
- Evil Dead II (1987)
- Army of Darkness (1992)
- Evil Dead (2013)
Some of the funniest famous skeletons in movies have to include the Deadites in the 1992 horror comedy movie Army of Darkness which stars Bruce Campbell as the infamous Ash Williams. Deadites are considered demonic spirits that can reanimate the dead or even possess the living, with the movie full of reanimated corpses and skeletons.
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While viewers encounter Deadites across the franchise, some stand-out moments in Army of Darkness include the March of the Dead fight scene, including the slapstick horror comedy the movies are known for.
8 Jack Skellington
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Movie appearances:
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- Various cameos appearances
One of the most iconic and widely recognized characters that many viewers think of when it comes to on-screen skeletons has to be Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas, one of the most celebrated and best Tim Burton characters. Jack sings many well-loved songs in this widely adored stop-motion animation movie, from "What's this?" As he discovers the delights of Christmas Town or the moonlit "Jack's Lament."
The Nightmare Before Christmas is enjoyed by many throughout Halloween, Thanksgiving, or the Christmas Holidays. Although Jack the Pumpkin King makes some mistakes, he realizes the error of his ways and becomes thankful for all he has and is, showing that he's also a skeleton with meat on his bones with a moral message about gratitude.
9 T-800
The Terminator Movies
Movie appearances:
- The Terminator (1984)
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
- Terminator Salvation (2009)
- Terminator Genisys (2015)
- Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
While there have been various Terminator models over the years, the original T-800 is the terrifying sci-fi robot from the classic 1984 movie The Terminator, a metal skeleton underneath material designed to replicate living human tissue. The T-800, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton. Its mission is to terminate Sarah before she can give birth to John Connor, the future leader of the resistance against the Skynet machines.
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The T-800 is the ultimate, iconic, and relentless killing machine with an incredible on-screen presence as the cybernetic organism, in both endoskeleton and "human" form when played by Schwarzenegger.
10 Baron Samedi
Live And Let Die
- Live and Let Die (1973)
Geoffrey Holder plays perhaps one of the most widely known portrayals of the iconic witch doctor Baron Samedi in the 1973 James Bond movie Live and Let Die, starring Sir Roger Moore as Bond. In Live and Let Die, Baron Samedi is a villainous character who wears the widely recognized skeleton face paint and a top hat and has mystical powers.
The character of Baron Samedi has Haitian-Vodou origins and appears in many different movies, TV series, and video games. Baron Samedi even appears as a playable character in Smite and as a playable multiplayer character in Goldeneye 007, such as with its Egyptian level.