Our favourite tiny characters from literature and film

Tom Thumb
No larger than his father’s most dexterous digit, Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore who has been involved in a number of size-related accidents. As well as falling into his mother’s Christmas batter and being boiled into a pudding, the unlucky little boy was swallowed by a cow, stolen by a raven and made seriously ill by an unfortunate nose-blowing incident.

Thumbelina
Much like Tom, Thumbelina is equal in stature to the average human thumb which causes her all manner of problems with the local wildlife, including the overly-friendly toad and mole who both wish to take her for a wife.

Read More: Thumbelina by Hans Christian Anderson

Tinkerbell
Now widely recognised as an icon of the Disney Corporation, little Tink has come a long way from her humble beginnings as a spoilt, vengeful fairy in J.M Barrie’s childhood classic, Peter Pan.

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Read More: Peter Pan by J. M Barrie and Minalima Ltd.

The Borrowers
Although some might argue that their borrowing missions are akin to robbery, it is difficult to hold this minor criminal offence against the tiny, loveable Clock family. After being forced to leave their home, feisty teenager Arietty and her family set off on an outdoor adventure, showing remarkable bravery for ones so very small.

Read More: The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Hobbits
There are few journeys more epic than the one taken by J.R.R Tolkien’s hairy protagonist, Frodo Baggins when he sets off in search of the fires of Mount Doom, except maybe that of the person who attempts to watch all of the Lord Of The Rings films in one sitting. The hobbit’s valiant quest taught us that height is no barrier to heroism.

Read More: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Smurfs
The blue, Belgian community-dwelling cartoon characters can only reach a maximum height the equivalent of three crab apples but have made an enormous cultural impact with their own comic books, television series, music career, films and computer games.