Movie, comic and character liveries: Pokémon jets, Star Wars, Disney and more

A bright yellow jumbo with Pikachu on the nose, a Dreamliner that looks like R2-D2, an Airbus covered in Smurfs: movie, comic and character liveries are the special paint schemes that make even people with no interest in aviation point at the apron. For spotters, they’re collector’s items with an expiration date – because behind every character there’s a license contract, and it runs out eventually. This guide shows you the most important series, from the Pokémon jets through Star Wars and Hello Kitty to Disney and Tintin, puts into context what still flies today and explains how to catch the aircraft deliberately.

What makes a character livery

A character livery is a licensed advertising paint job: an airline and a rights holder – a film studio, a games company, a comic publisher – jointly put characters on the fuselage. Unlike classic advertising liveries for products or regions, it lives from the recognizability of a character. The goal is almost always twofold: the airline gets attention and an emotional brand, and the rights holder gets a flying billboard that is photographed and shared at airports worldwide.

Three characteristics set character liveries apart from other special paint schemes:

• Fixed term: The license has a term. When it ends, the motif is removed – often without much announcement.
• Series logic: Successful motifs rarely come alone. Airlines build series, swap motifs or transfer them to newer aircraft.
• Complete package: Often headrest covers, cups, boarding passes or announcements are part of the concept, too. For spotters, though, mainly the outside counts.

The Pokémon jets: the classic since 1998

No world of characters is so closely tied to aviation as Pokémon. It began with All Nippon Airways – part of ANA Holdings. In 1998, a Boeing 747-400, in its domestic 747-400D version with the registration JA8965, received a Pokémon design, and in the same year two Boeing 767-300s followed. In 1999, two more 747s and two more 767s joined.

The Pikachu jumbo of 2004 became an icon: back then, two 747-400Ds (JA8956 and JA8957) received new Pokémon motifs, one of them in eye-catching yellow. Both motifs disappeared in 2013, shortly before the jumbos were retired at ANA. As early as 2011, a Boeing 777-300 (JA754A) had also joined with a Pokémon motif, which was removed in 2016. After that, things went quiet for a few years.

The comeback from 2023 and the new series in 2026

In 2023, the Pokémon returned to ANA: a Boeing 787-9 (JA894A) and a Boeing 777-300ER (JA784A) received new motifs. In 2026, ANA then launched a new series of three in red, green and blue: a Boeing 787-8 (JA819A) for domestic service from July 2026, a 787-9 (JA923A) for international routes from September 2026 and a Boeing 737-800 (JA56AN) for domestic service, whose entry into service is announced for December 2026 or later. The details on routes and schedule come from reports on the unveiling – always check the current status before a trip.

Pokémon at other airlines

Since 2020, the concept has spread beyond Japan. According to common overviews, these airlines, among others, carry or have carried Pokémon motifs:

Airline	Aircraft type	Registration	Introduced	Note
Solaseed Air	Boeing 737-800	JA812X / JA803X	2020 / 2023	first motif removed in 2022
Skymark Airlines	Boeing 737-800	JA73AB / JA73NG	2021 / 2022	limited term
Air Do	Boeing 767-300ER	JA607A	2021	domestic service from Hokkaido
Scoot	Boeing 787-9	9V-OJJ	2022	long-haul from Singapore
China Airlines	A321neo / A350-900	B-18101 / B-18916	2022 / 2026	Taiwan network
t’way Air	Boeing 737-800	HL8306	2022	motif removed in 2025
Garuda Indonesia	737-800 / A330-300	PK-GMU / PK-GPY	2024 / 2025	Indonesia network

The table is a snapshot as of fall 2026. With character liveries, the status changes faster than with any other special paint scheme – which is why the registration is always included.

Star Wars at ANA: a fleet from a galaxy far, far away

In 2015, ANA followed up with the next big license. In September, the airline unveiled its first Star Wars jet: a Boeing 787-9 (JA873A) in R2-D2 design. The campaign accompanied the new film trilogy and grew to four aircraft by 2016:

Motif	Aircraft type	Registration
R2-D2	Boeing 787-9	JA873A
BB-8	Boeing 777-300ER	JA789A
R2-D2 and BB-8	Boeing 767-300ER	JA604A
C-3PO	Boeing 777-200ER	JA743A

The golden C-3PO 777 is considered by spotters to be one of the most striking liveries of all. Several motifs of the series have since been removed, and there are conflicting reports on the status of the rest – if you’re looking for one of the jets, you should watch the registration rather than rely on old photos. All in all, the Star Wars fleet today is more a chapter for the collection than for day planning.

Hello Kitty at EVA Air

Taiwan’s EVA Air has built what is probably aviation’s longest-lasting character partnership with Sanrio. In October 2005, the first Hello Kitty jet took off, an Airbus A330-200. A second followed in 2006. Both flew to Japan and, from mid-2007, also between Taipei and Hong Kong.

The development after that:

• 2009: The first motifs are removed.
• 2011: For the airline’s 20th anniversary, Hello Kitty returns, now on redesigned A330-300s.
• 2012: Two more A330s join, “Speed Puff” and “Happy Music.”
• 2013 and 2015: With “Hand in Hand” and “Shining Star,” two Boeing 777-300ERs carry Sanrio characters for the first time – so the motifs reach long-haul routes as well. “Hand in Hand” was repainted in 2021, “Shining Star” later redesigned as “Besties.”
• 2017: Several motifs are swapped, and an A321 gets another Sanrio character with Gudetama.
• 2024: In November, an A321 receives the Hello Kitty livery “Pinky.”

For you, that means: EVA Air remains the first address for Sanrio motifs, but the list of active aircraft keeps changing. In Europe, the Hello Kitty jets show up only rarely; the main territory is East Asia.

More characters from Japan

Besides Pokémon and Star Wars, ANA has tried further worlds of characters. As early as February 2001, the airline unveiled the “Woody Jet,” a Boeing 767-300 with Woody Woodpecker to promote Universal Studios Japan. In November 2021, ANA announced paint jobs for the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. They ran on several types: two 767-300ERs, a 777-200ER and three Dash 8-400s of the regional subsidiary ANA Wings. The turboprops in particular show that character liveries don’t only appear on widebodies.

A special case are ANA’s three A380s in the “Flying Honu” design. The sea turtles aren’t licensed characters but a motif of their own for the Hawaii route – but they stand in the same tradition of playful, figurative paint jobs and are a crowd magnet at airports such as Tokyo Narita.

Tintin, Smurfs and Middle-earth

Outside Asia, character liveries are rarer, but often with a strong local connection.

Brussels Airlines launched an A320 series with the “Belgian Icons” that puts Belgian culture on the fuselage. That includes two comic motifs: Tintin, on the A320 “Rackham” among others, and, from March 24, 2018, an A320 with the Smurfs. Other motifs of the series are devoted to artists such as René Magritte and Pieter Bruegel – more on that under Art on aircraft – or to the national soccer team, see Soccer and sports special liveries. In 2024, of the original Belgian Icons motifs only Tintin was still in service. Your best chances are at Brussels Airport, for example from the Steenokkerzeel spotter zone – further locations are named in the guide Plane spotting in Brussels; more about the airline is in the profile of Brussels Airlines.

Air New Zealand used the film adaptations of Tolkien’s works, which were shot in New Zealand. In 2002 and 2003, three aircraft carried large “Lord of the Rings” decorations. In November 2012, the Boeing 777-300ER ZK-OKP followed as the “Airline of Middle-earth” for the first Hobbit film, and in December 2013 the airline put two huge images of the dragon Smaug on a 777-300ER. All three campaigns are history. You’ll find the background on the airline at Air New Zealand.

Disney in North America

In North America, Disney was the most important partner. At WestJet, a Boeing 737-800 was repainted in December 2013 as the “Magic Plane” with Mickey Mouse in the Fantasia style. In 2015, a second aircraft followed with Elsa and Anna from “Frozen” on the vertical stabilizer, including a matching cabin design. In 2024, WestJet had both Disney aircraft returned to the standard livery. You’ll find more about the airline in the profile of WestJet.

Alaska Airlines has painted aircraft over the years with promotional motifs for Disneyland in California and in 2022 unveiled a paint job for the “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” themed land. Here, too: the motifs change, and a look at current sightings is worthwhile before every outing.

A related genre are animal characters from the leisure world. Southwest Airlines has painted Boeing 737s as orcas to advertise SeaWorld – an example of the fact that character liveries don’t always have to come from film or comics.

Paint or film?

How a character gets onto the fuselage depends on term and motif. Large-area, multicolor paint jobs like the Pokémon jets are usually painted, because they’re meant to last for years. For short campaigns, airlines more often turn to large decals – the “Lord of the Rings” characters at Air New Zealand, for example, were stuck on. Fine details, logos and lettering are often added as film even on painted motifs. The pros and cons of both methods are explained in the article Film or paint, and the process in the paint shop in the guide How an aircraft is painted.

For you as a spotter, this has a practical consequence: wrapped motifs can disappear faster than you think – one hangar stay is enough.

How to catch character jets

Character liveries aren’t rarer than other special paint schemes, but they’re less predictable. With this routine, you significantly raise your chances.

The general strategies – from livery databases to airline newsrooms – are summarized in the article Finding special liveries. How rare a specific sighting really is, you can put in context with the guide How rare is my sighting?.

Documenting character liveries

Because character liveries have a limited lifespan, clean documentation matters more than with standard liveries. For every picture, record the date, airport, registration and the name of the motif. With series, it’s worth looking at both sides of the fuselage: many paint jobs show different characters on the left and right. Tips on organizing your collection are provided by the article Collecting and documenting special liveries.

Conclusion

Movie, comic and character liveries are aviation’s popcorn cinema. Japan set the standard with ANA’s Pokémon jets from 1998, EVA Air shaped a whole fleet with Hello Kitty, and in Europe and North America, too, there were striking examples with Tintin, Smurfs, hobbits and Disney characters. What they all share is a limited lifespan: many of the most famous motifs have already disappeared, and new ones like the 2026 Pokémon series follow. If you want to catch them, you work with registrations, current information and good light.