Jones (fictional cat)

Last updated
Jonesy
Alien character
Jones and Ellen Ripley.webp
Jonesy in the arms of Ellen Ripley
First appearance Alien (1979)
In-universe information
Species Cat
GenderMale
Occupation Ship's cat

Jonesy is a fictional ginger American Shorthair cat from the Alien franchise. He is the ship's cat on the Nostromo, the setting of the first film of the franchise.

Contents

In Alien, Jonesy was portrayed by four lookalike cat actors. [1]

Character biography

In Alien

Jonesy's small size allowed him to comfortably share a hypersleep capsule with one of the crew members during the Nostromo's long journeys. When the Alien began stalking the ship's occupants, Jonesy was apparently of little interest to the creature (most likely because his biology made him unsuitable for reproduction) and he survived the incident unscathed. However, he was inadvertently responsible for Brett's death. When the crew deployed motion trackers to locate the Alien, they detected and found Jonesy instead, who fled upon discovery. Brett was tasked with recovering and securing him; in the process, the Alien ambushed Brett and Jonesy watched as the Alien dragged Brett's body into the air shafts.

Ellen Ripley later found Jonesy and put him in a carry case. At one point, Ripley was forced to abandon Jonesy to the Alien, but, while the Xenomorph was notably distracted by the cat, it did not attack him. Jonesy was later recovered and put in hypersleep aboard the Narcissus after escaping with Ripley.

In Aliens

Jonesy is rescued along with Ripley, but remains behind when she travels with the Marines to investigate the colony. After featuring in a nightmare sequence, [2] he plays no further part in the story.

In books

Anne Billson's compilation Cats on Film includes her short story My Day by Jones: A Cat's Eye View of an Alien. [3]

Jonesy is also the protagonist of a book adaptation of Alien titled Jonesy: Nine Lives on the Nostromo. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Jonesy is mentioned in Alien: Out of the Shadows but is kept safely out of harm's way.

Reception

Jonesy has been described as "one of the most beloved cats in horror cinema" [8] and "one of the most famous felines of the screen" [9] by Screen Rant and Film School Rejects respectively.

Jonesy has been called "the true hero of Alien" due to his characterization as a survivor who teaches the human characters of the film valuable lessons. He is also appreciated by fans as he is the only significant character in the franchise that has lived a full and long life, having survived facing the Alien on multiple occasions. [10]

Insider listed Jonesy as one of the top 15 best movie cats of all time, calling him a "survivor". [11] The website Collider has also listed him as one of the best cats in cinema, as well as one of the best animal sidekicks in horror. [12] [13]

References

  1. ↑ McIntee, David (2005). Beautiful Monsters: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Alien and predator films. Tolworth, Surrey: Telos Publishing. ISBN   1-903889-94-4. OCLC   63202559.
  2. ↑ Kay, Linda (February 8, 2016). "Aliens (1986)". Cinema Cats. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
  3. ↑ Davis, Lauren (January 28, 2012). "Read Alien, retold from the cat's perspective". Gizmodo . Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  4. ↑ Squires, John (May 2, 2018). "Upcoming Book 'Jonesy' Tells the Story of 'Alien' Through the Eyes of Ripley's Cat". Bloody Disgusting! . Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Jonesy, the Cat from Alien, is Getting His Own Book". Nerdist. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  6. ↑ Matheson, Anna (October 21, 2018). "Jonesy, the cat from 'Alien', is getting his own spin-off". NME. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Jonesy From Alien Now Has His Own Illustrated Book, and We've Got Your First Look". Gizmodo. October 17, 2018. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  8. ↑ Flowers, Maisy (May 28, 2020). "Alien: Jones The Cat's Importance & Meaning Explained". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  9. ↑ Teti, Julia (March 31, 2019). "The Most Dangerous Feline in Space". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  10. ↑ Andrew Todd (May 2, 2017). "Jones The Cat, Alien's True Hero". Story Issues. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  11. ↑ Cook, Meghan. "RANKED: 15 of the best movie cats of all time". Insider. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  12. ↑ Farley, Lloyd (September 29, 2022). "Best Cats in Movies & TV: From Salem to Snowball". Collider. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  13. ↑ Neave, Grace (October 18, 2022). "Horror's Most Loyal Animal Sidekicks: From Jones to D'Artagnan". Collider. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
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