This blog is pro-Porg.

Star Wars has not always made good non-Earth creatures (the Ewoks, Jar-Jar Binks) but this latest installment, The Last Jedi, has several good ones, most especially the Porg, who I immediately recognized for what they are: Space Puffins. 
(Really--they were filming on an island off Ireland that was covered in puffins.)

I was a little surprised that some people hate them.
 But then, some people feel strongly about Star Wars--I am not one of them. Star Trek, yes. Star Wars, eh. But I did like this movie a lot.

Looking for photos of porgs, I found this GIF:

They're cute for the same reason lots of stuffed animals are cute: they look like babies.

"The leading theory for why humans find certain animals cute is they remind us of young children. Baby-like characteristics, known as 'kindchenschema' (German for 'child form'), include a relatively large head compared to the body, a big cranium, round eyes and chubby cheeks. In studies where pictures of animals or babies have been artificially manipulated, participants prefer images with cuter facial features."

--Forbes, "Porgs Are Ugly But You Think They're Cute"

Well, if they're ugly, are babies ugly?