# Hobbes: Real when nobody is around or just imagined to real by Calvin?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 9, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927 "2014-02-09T21:51:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/41 "2014-02-10T16:33:12Z")
“Real” doesn’t mean “flesh and blood”, does it? Hobbes can be real and think thoughts and have ethics way beyond Calvin’s capacity without being breathing flesh and blood.
Spaceman Spiff is imaginary.
And, oh, side note. I hate the way Red and Rover tries to rip off Calvin and Hobbes with the time machine.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/42 "2014-02-10T16:38:29Z")
C&H exist in an artificial universe. And I don’t mean on the comics page. There’s the “real world” and spun off via a mysterious, possibly psychotic, process from that is the C&H universe. So Hobbes is “real” in that alternate universe. But the rules of that universe are that only Calvin can see him “in action”. So the mother and others also are as “real” as Hobbes within that universe.
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### Author:  [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/43 "2014-02-10T17:52:06Z")
Watch the movie “Harvey” for an analagous situation. Hobbes, like Harvey, is a Pooka.
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### Author:  [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/44 "2014-02-10T18:02:01Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#):
>
> Let me make sure I understand this. Some people believe that Hobbes magically comes to life?
You almost sound like you’re personally offended that people might think Hobbes is real in a fictional, cartoon, comic strip.
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### Author:  [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/45 "2014-02-10T18:32:19Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> This has been around a while, but for those who haven’t seen it, it’s worth a look:
>
> [If Calvin Was Medicated, There’d Be No Hobbes – LOL Zombie's Funny Pictures](http://lolzombie.com/1951/calvin-medicated-no-hobbes/)
>
> It’s so sad!
>
> There’s also one, that I can’t find right now, where Calvin is a (actual) murdering psychopath that blames everything on Hobbes. It’s clever, but deranged!
>
> Oh, and I believe he is a figment of Calvin’s imagination, but that Calvin does not need to be medicated.
"They don't believe in me, Calvin. You know what you have to do. "
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### Author:  [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/46 "2014-02-10T18:40:24Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#):
>
> You almost sound like you’re personally offended that people might think Hobbes is real in a fictional, cartoon, comic strip.
I have no idea why you think my post sounded as though I was offended. That’s inane.
I just have never actually met anyone who didn’t realize Hobbes was Calvin’s stuffed animal imaginary friend and was looking for clarification.
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### Author:  [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/47 "2014-02-10T18:41:07Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#):
>
> Reading this thread really takes me back…specifically, to [May 30, 1989,](http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2010/07/08#.UviOSfZEAgE) when real!Hobbes and Calvin’s Mom appeared in the same shot.
>
> Authorial intent and the spirit of the story and it’s artistry are all well and good…but so is that one, golden, teeny little overlooked moment where the script overlooked a plot goof. 😃
>
> (For the record, I don’t consider that panel to be concrete, final evidence for or against any theory about Hobbes’ nature. I merely consider it hilarious. 😉 )
> [@Flywheel](#):
>
> “Real” Hobbes also appeared in the same shot as Susie Derkins [three years earlier](http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/05/31#.UvjNrfZRF10).
Neither of which is relevant, since Hobbes is clearly out of their field of vision.
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### Author:  [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/48 "2014-02-10T18:45:45Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#):
>
> You almost sound like you’re personally offended that people might think Hobbes is real in a fictional, cartoon, comic strip.
Well, to be fair, I think it takes a pretty willful disregard for the meaning/intent of the work (or lack of comprehension) to honestly ask the question “does Hobbes actually magically come to life?”
Of course Hobbes is “just” a stuffed tiger (and the transmogrifier is “just” a cardboard box, etc etc etc). That doesn’t mean any of the thoughts/stories/experiences that Calvin has are less honest or true than those that involve Mrs. Wormwood the teacher (as opposed to Mrs. Wormwood the monster).
That’s the blurred line in Calvin and Hobbes, not whether anything in it is actually real or not, but whether or not the imagination is important or frivolous; whether or not we can find value and truth in fantasy.
**ETA:** my first sentence sounds a little snarky, and it’s not meant personally . . . I just think that if one thinks that Hobbes actually comes to life than one is struggling with comprehension of the comic strip.
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/49 "2014-02-10T19:08:35Z")
It’s certainly ambiguous, but Hobbes does things like throw footballs to Calvin and throw snowballs at him. He hits baseballs as well.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/50 "2014-02-10T19:15:27Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#):
>
> Neither of which is relevant, since Hobbes is clearly out of their field of vision.
Unfortunately, I must agree.
Hobbes does, however, moralize on Calvin’s actions to a point above Calvin’s social mores.
🙂
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/51 "2014-02-10T19:24:02Z")
See here for an example of something Calvin couldn’t do on his own:
[http://www.movoto.com/beverly-hills-ca/2850-benedict-canyon-dr-beverly-hills-ca-90210-204\_12-620631/](http://www.movoto.com/beverly-hills-ca/2850-benedict-canyon-dr-beverly-hills-ca-90210-204_12-620631/)
**Idle thoughts** – admit it, you posted this just to get some great comics posted.
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### Author:  [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/52 "2014-02-10T19:25:03Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> Calvin imagines him to be real, just like he does Spaceman Spiff, the transmorgrafier etc.
>
> Hobbes, as much as I wish it weren’t true, isn’t really real, IMHO.
I’m gonna need you to take that back.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/53 "2014-02-10T19:51:49Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> See here for an example of something Calvin couldn’t do on his own:
>
> [http://www.movoto.com/beverly-hills-ca/2850-benedict-canyon-dr-beverly-hills-ca-90210-204\_12-620631/](http://www.movoto.com/beverly-hills-ca/2850-benedict-canyon-dr-beverly-hills-ca-90210-204_12-620631/)
Yeah, you’re probably right. I don’t think Calvin would make a very good realtor, with or without Hobbes.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/54 "2014-02-10T20:11:02Z")
Yeah, I don’t think stufffed tigers can earn real estate licenses, even in California.
> [@Crotalus](#):
>
> …I’m still expecting to see Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs in the cereal aisle one day.
CFSBs is our generic household term for any sugary cereal.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/55 "2014-02-10T20:18:50Z")
> [@Munch](#):
>
> I see what you did there.
> That’s a great strip that shows that Hobbes is not real to the real world, but only to Calvin. When Calvin’s looking at him, he’s real. When Susie’s looking at him in panel 3, he’s not. (In fact, you can say that the first 2 panels are from Calvin’s perspective, the last 2 from Susie’s - and there we see that Susie doesn’t have much of an imagination, because Mr. Bun is still just a stuffed bunny.)
Then- _who ate the cookies_? Not Calvin.
As **TreacherousCretin** sez, Hobbes is a Phooka, who is seen as a stuffed tiger to everyone but Calvin. No one but Calvin can see him, but they can sometimes see the results, such as cookies eaten, Calvin messed up after a “tiger attack”. , etc
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### Author:  [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/56 "2014-02-10T20:37:45Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#):
>
> Let me make sure I understand this. Some people believe that Hobbes magically comes to life?
Just like Buzz and Woody in Toy Story. It’s not that hard of a stretch.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/57 "2014-02-10T20:38:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Then- _who ate the cookies_? Not Calvin.
A Most Excellent point, Sir. 🙂
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/58 "2014-02-10T20:43:19Z")
> [@mr.jp](#):
>
> So you people who say real, does that mean that all the other stuff is also real. Space monsters and such.
Nope.
> [@](#):
>
> And if not, what’s the difference?
It’s a _Harvey_-kinda thing.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/59 "2014-02-10T21:08:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Then- _who ate the cookies_? Not Calvin.
>
> As **TreacherousCretin** sez, Hobbes is a Phooka, who is seen as a stuffed tiger to everyone but Calvin. No one but Calvin can see him, but they can sometimes see the results, such as cookies eaten, Calvin messed up after a “tiger attack”. , etc
You know, I mentioned púca first in post 30. I guess I should have mentioned Harvey while I was at it.
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### Author:  [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobbes-real-when-nobody-is-around-or-just-imagined-to-real-by-calvin/680927/60 "2014-02-10T21:26:30Z")
Hobbes has an independent existence: while he and Calvin share a special friendship, Hobbes doesn’t seem to me to be a particularly credible imaginary friend. For one thing he’s a lot smarter than Calvin. He certainly doesn’t agree with Calvin all or even most of the time. They have _consistently_ different outlooks.
As noted upthread, Hobbes is cartoon-real: he’s as real as the falling anvils that (temporarily) turn Wile E Coyote into an accordion. The transmorgrifier and the planets where Calvin and Hobbes have their adventures are also real: they just aren’t accessible by the other characters in the strip, who perceive an odd kid playing with a stuffed animal. Nothing wrong with that: Watterson has stated that the strip is partly about differing perspectives.
Anyway, those are 2 of the main themes in Calvin and Hobbes: friendship and differing perceptions.
ETA: T-Rex in F-14. Not all that real, actually. [T-Rex Jet | Know Your Meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/t-rex-jet)
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