In the Anniversary book Watterson subtley says that the reason he never licensed the strip is because he thinks pretending stuffed animals are alive is a common thing and the strip is supposed to hit close to home. I think that’s what he was saying, 'cause I have a stuffed dog named Spot that communicates by saying “wo” and you can understand him by how many times he says “wo” and how he says it. https://imgur.com/gallery/I84Mu. I used to take him everywhere with me.
It’s intuitively obvious, innit? 
It’s the way everyone should view their stuffed friends, not just kids!
I try not to listen to the stuffed dog next door. He wants me to shoot people.
Is that a question people are asking? I thought it was the concept of the strip.
He’s like Harvey, but different.
Mars is amazing!
ETA: Cripes! Was I a stuffed dog two days ago!
Yeah, I don’t think anyone is actually questioning the premise of Calvin and Hobbes. For those of you who don’t remember the OP, she likes starting threads to talk about her stuffed animals:
[ul]
[li]Orangestripes[/li][li]OC’s me and Shaan made when we were preteens[/li][li]OC’s me and my brother made when we were preteens[/li][li]Did you make up OCs in your toys like Calvin or did you have talking Companion Cubes like Susie?[/li][/ul]
Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson refuses to answer the main question: Does Hobbes come to life when only Calvin is around, or is his persona just in Calvin’s imagination?
He never answered the question because he doesn’t know either.
IMO, the comparison upthread to Harvey is how I’ve always viewed Calvin’s Hobbes- “Believing Is Seeing.”
Which I find charming.
And rather refreshingly unlike so many other threads here.
I think this captures it perfectly.
Tigger, the stuffed Tiger sitting on my laptop tray definitely thinks so. His friend Raffi, the stuffed giraffe, agrees.
I can’t get into Calvin’s mind, but I spend a fair amount of time observing my three-year-old (almost four, actually).
She talks to her stuff animals, and they talk back. I think she knows she’s pretending, but pretending is much, much more intense for little kids. The line is a bit blurry.
Another cartoonist writing about Calvin and Hobbes wrote “Anyone that’s spent time with a small child knows reality is fluid and situational.” I always liked that description.