10 Movie Characters Who Would Be Great On A Road Trip

Inside Out is one of Pixar’s greatest films, and the fun interplay between the personifications of Joy (Amy Poehler) and Sadness (Phyliss Smith) on their roadtrip through Riley’s (Kaitlyn Dias) subconscious. Imagine driving along I-4, trying to reach Disney World, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for miles because someone tried to cut across six lanes of traffic to catch their exit; Joy would find the silver lining in the moment, Sadness would explain how horrible drivers are the moment they reach Florida, and between the two, it would all even out.

Most people hit the highway with Anger (Lewis Black) as their co-pilot, but he wouldn’t be any fun, especially not when an exit is suddenly on the left side of the highway instead of the right, where normal states keep them. Disgust (Mindy Kaling) would bail at the first gas top, having no desire to experiment with the vast array of energy drinks available at Bucee’s, while Fear (Bill Hader) would insist on driving in the right-hand lane the whole time and obeying the speed limit. Given the choices, take along Joy and Sadness.

John McClane (Bruce Willis) would be able to handle any situation that comes up on a road trip, from flat tires to Bucee’s being out of beaver nuggets, making him the ultimate co-pilot. Missed a turn? He’ll get you back on track. Spill a 7-11 Big Gulp? It still beats walking across broken glass in bare feet.

McClane started to mellow out by the time of Live Free and Die Hard, so he’d also appreciate taking it slow down the open road, stopping and literally smelling the flowers along the side of the road as well. Also, as a resident of Los Angeles, he’s able to navigate the Ventura Freeway, which means he could find his way down any other major road in the country. If Interstate 5 won’t phase him, he’s the ideal road trip buddy.

First off, this assumes that Regina George (Rachel McAdams), the Queen Bee of Mean Girls, likes you, but there’s an equally good chance she’s just using you for a ride. Either way, the sass and attitude of Regina will make the ride a blast; from mocking the other drivers on the road to sharing painfully accurate observations about why that third Mountain Dew is a bad idea, it won’t be boring. Being stuck in a car for a long-haul trip with someone that is both fabulous, yet evil, sure beats being stuck with that cousin you stopped seeing after middle school.

Best of all, if a state trooper pulls you over while Regina is in the car, she can handle it with all the grace and confidence of someone that thinks she never does anything wrong, and is very good at convincing others of the same thing. Using her manipulative nature to your advantage is what Regina would, oddly, respect.

Keep Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) away from boats, as he doesn’t have the best track record with keeping them on the surface, but the breakout character from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise would be a fun road trip companion, provided you have a lot of patience. Captain Jack would be distracted by every billboard and most other cars and want to see every roadside attraction, even the giant ball of yarn and those dinosaur statues featured in The Wizard.

Out of every character on this list, Captain Jack Sparrow is the most likely to decide that picking up a hitchhiker carrying a machete would be a great idea. Every stop would be an adventure, every few miles would bring something new, and even going down 1-40 between Nashville and Memphis would be exciting with the good Captain at your side. That’s impressive since the road is just pine trees, and it seems like you’re in the cold open to an episode of Criminal Minds.

Shrek (Mike Myers) is the ideal companion for the curmudgeon since Shrek won’t find the beauty in a giant ball of yarn and would likely wonder why the bathroom at the Gas’n’Go smells like his swamp. Halfway through, he’d likely warm up, and start revealing new layers to his personality, like an onion. Would he be as fun and adventurous as Jack Sparrow? Not at all, but he’d be inadvertently funny with his dour outlook on life.

The other possibility of Shrek as a road trip companion is he might bring along the family, stuffing Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and all their kids into a minivan, which would be a very different type of trip.

With unlimited confidence, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) would be another great co-pilot since he can navigate the stars, he could navigate I-880 in San Jose. Yet with all of his experience as a Space Ranger, the 610 loop in Houston might be beyond his capabilities, and you’ll be stuck in traffic anyways, alongside thousands of other people every day. Get stuck, and Buzz could spend hours sharing stories of his time in battle with Emperor Zurg as part of Star Command.

There’s no better way to forget that billions of hours are lost in traffic each day than listening to tales of a distant planet in a far-off system, being told by a small toy that takes up no room in the car. Buzz Lightyear wouldn’t have to stop to use the restroom or complain that none of the food is good enough to stop for, and that alone makes him an ideal road trip buddy.

Out of the three main characters from Harry Potter, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) would be the most effective road trip companion, she’s smart, resourceful, and, best of all, capable of performing feats of magic. With a flick of her wand, traffic can be avoided, roads can be lit, and a magical guide can help navigate confusing roads, but not rotaries, magic can’t perform miracles.

Notably, her eventual husband, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) would be a horrible road trip partner; look no further than the time he made a car fly and ended up destroying it in the process. Also, as part Muggle, Hermione would be better able to handle the use of a combustion engine, so long as her father-in-law isn’t allowed anywhere near it.

Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is the perfect road trip partner if you want to travel from Hoboken to Philadelphia but don’t mind winding up in Cabo. Captain Jack Sparrow is normal compared to the agent of chaos that is the Merc with a Mouth, which means that no one knows what might happen during the trip. Ask for jerky from the Sunoco, and he’ll come back with a live chicken.

As explained in both of his solo movies, Deadpool knows how to behave during a car ride, he’ll keep the driver motivated and even provide fantastic life advice that will absolutely not inspire kidnapping. The problem is that any trip is going to end in bloodshed, and most likely, with everyone on the run from the police. But if you need someone to handle Highway 11 between Lac du Bonnet and Traverse Bay in Manitoba, there’s no one better, especially if you don’t mind finishing the trip in Tijuana.

If you don’t mind living life a quarter mile at a time and being the passenger, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is the ideal road trip companion. The ultimate wheelman, Dom will make sure everyone in the car arrives safely and before the Coronoas in the backseat have a chance to warm up. There’s a chance for a firefight to break out as someone is out for revenge, but even then, the barbecue will still happen on time, though it might be in Los Angeles, Rio, or inexplicably New York at least one time that’s never mentioned again.

Imagine driving down the New Jersey Turnpike with Dominic Toretto; how fast the drive will be, and how he’ll avoid paying the toll that somehow costs as much as a meal for four at Denny’s. The only downside is having to hear about family, it’s always family, everything is about family, when really, sometimes, a pothole is just a pothole and not a reminder from the universe about how nothing lasts forever.

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is tops on the list because he managed to go back in time, meet his parents, go to the future, take down Biff, and even survive the Wild West. After all of that, how hard could it be to make it across Atlanta at 5:20 PM on a Thursday afternoon? Besides, he might come with the DeLeoren, and if you accidentally hit 88 MPH, you might arrive at your destination before you ever left….or were even born.

With a spirit of adventure and a tendency to try out new things, even if they don’t always work out like the hoverboard going over water, it’ll at least be a fun trip, and, compared to the rest of the list, perhaps the most normal. Best of all, Marty McFly has great taste in music, so experiencing the drive to Terra Haute, Indiana, from anywhere, since it’s not close to anything, will be much more tolerable with him in the car.