This is why 'Calvin and Hobbes' will never be animated

Calvin and Hobbes are popular characters that you'll never see anywhere other than the traditional comic strips, and the reason behind this is surprising.

Calvin and Hobbes comics accompany generations of people who identify with the friendship between the boy and his pet tiger.

In fact, the author's creation won the social networks and is in numerous proofs of public tenders, as they have a short and comic type of dialogue that manages to bring about reflection.

The work was created in 1985 and, even today, is a success, especially among the books that compile the strips published until 1995.

But, despite the popularity, the creator of the characters, Bill Waterson, decided not to sell the rights to his work and never allowed the brand to be marketed in different products. Understand the reasons!

Why don't Calvin and Hobbes have licensed products?

In an interview with the newspaper

The Comics Journal, made in 1989 and republished in 2013, the artist explained better the reasons for not selling products with the characters and the personal importance of his work.

At first, he never thought the strips would be popular and says, “I don't understand, as I never intended to make Calvin and Hobbes a popular strip. I just draw for myself. I think I have a gift for expressing common tastes. In a way, it's kind of depressing.” Therefore, he never allowed merchandising on products such as T-shirts, gamesor toys.

For Waterson, the comic effect and life reflections that are made in Calvin and Hobbes work from a situation and the development between the friends. If the work were commercialized in products, it would not be able to maintain its essence and characteristic humor.

Therefore, allowing the sale of products would be an attitude that goes against Waterson's philosophy of life and what he wants for his artistic life.

Will the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip be adapted into animation?

Unfortunately, Waterson's answer is no to this possibility as well. He believes that the animation universe it demands time and energy that he is not willing to give.

Furthermore, producing a film is a team effort and the author prefers to develop his works with little interference from people.

During the interview, he further said, “For all my admiration for art, I really can't decide if I want to see Calvin and Hobbes animated. I know I'd like to work with the visual opportunities that animation offers, but you change the world you've created when you change the medium in which it's presented.”

Finally, he points out that animation is a wonderful universe, but that it is an artistic process that is different from comic strips, just as it happens with books that are adapted for the cinema.

Most fans end up agreeing that the book is better than the movie version, because literature has one language and movies another.

So far, Waterson hasn't changed his mind and we can follow Calvin and Hobbes' adventures only in the comic strip series.