When I was a kid I was a huge fan of Calvin and Hobbes and it drove me crazy there were no cartoons, video games or merch. I even sketched out a design document for a C&H game where Calvin's various alter egos were used as power ups.
Then I read the 10th anniversary book where Watterson lays out the reasons why he never licensed the character out...and it made perfect sense to me. I always appreciated Watterson sticking to his guns and I think it's one of the reasons the strip remains beloved.

you know if you said mallard, and you had a cold, it would sound like ballard

>>149275800 (OP)
As a child, I had to balance my appreciate for Watterson having clear standards for his characters and my selfish desire to see Calvin and Hobbes get a Saturday Morning Cartoon.
I wonder if Bill Amend had similar principles, because it amazes me that "FoxTrot" was never adapted to even a holiday special during it's height of popularity.

>>149276892
>As a child, I had to balance my appreciate for Watterson having clear standards for his characters and my selfish desire to see Calvin and Hobbes get a Saturday Morning Cartoon.

That's stupid. Why didn't you just give in to your selfish desire and screech at the top of your lungs until reality warps itself to give you everything you want?

>>149276892
>I wonder if Bill Amend had similar principles, because it amazes me that "FoxTrot" was never adapted to even a holiday special during it's height of popularity.
I could see FoxTrot be adapted to a short-lived animated sitcom during the late-90s or early-to-mid-00s

>>149275800 (OP)
>I even sketched out a design document for a C&H game where Calvin's various alter egos were used as power ups
That sounds like a fun concept.

>I think it's one of the reasons the strip remains beloved
In my opinion, it would probably be more beloved if Watterson had allowed some kind of merchandise to keep the comic accessible and recognisable. With the strip reaching its end decades ago and newspapers losing their relevance, I feel like C&H is slowly fading out of the public consciousness.

>>149277080
>It certainly could have lasted at least 2 seasons in the "Baby Blues"/"Dilbert" era of network comic adaptations.

>>149277420
>Baby Blues
didn't that show only last 13 episodes?

>>149276892
The Doonesbury and For Better Or For Worse specials were good

>>149276892
I think a special would have worked best; a lot of times even the better stories from the series probably wouldn’t work well animated (Jason waiting to render his Bugs Life ripoff in realtime would be hilarious though)

>>149277495
I mean For Better or For Worse got an entire 48 episode TV series

Honestly, indie animation seems like a better idea.
IE someone just adapting the strips 1-1

>>149275800 (OP)
Honestly even if he sold out to the normal cartoon strip degree, but kept the strip how it always was and shut it down when he wanted to it would have been fine and people would still jerk it off
Now full Jim Davis where he wasn't even involved anymore would obviously get embarrassing pretty fast, but normal sell out with Hobbes plushies for a few years in the '90s nah. It's not like Gary Larson or Berke Breathed had their lives destroyed by corporate evil.

I want to do things to Calvin.

>>149275800 (OP)
Maybe something about Watterson's views on the matter rubbed off on me, but even as a kid I never imagined any kind of adaptation for C&H. Just the idea of them being voice acted feels weird.

>>149278424
He probably felt he had to address it as people like you that didn't care were definitely in the minority. He also could be sort of a crank in general

>>149277805
Now say that in front of your whole family

I would've just milked the franchise into the ground.

>>149279505
Yeah man I would have just sold the rights to Dreamworks and let them run it into the ground. Cavlin voiced by Tom Holland, Idris Elba voicing Hobbes, fart jokes, a credits song by Jojo Siwa, a plot where Calvin and Hobbes have a fight and Hobbes turns into a doll permanently until Calvin learns the True Meaning of Friendship. And I'd laugh all the way to the bank.

>>149276892
I'm having a Mandela Effect moment, I swear there was a FoxTrot animated short.

>>149277025
Dangerous mode of thinking, speaking from experience that shit gets you in hot water pretty quickly.

>>149279480
Why would he need to do that?

>>149277788
Well why not just read the Calvin and Hobbes books at that point then?

>>149275800 (OP)
That might be my favorite book cover. Watterson was always so great at facial expressions

>>149275800 (OP)
Who asked?

>>149275800 (OP)
I don't respect anyone who thinks that not selling out is the most noble act a person can do. It's just another form of spineless zero-effort virtuosity that's no par with putting trans/BLM/Ukraine flags in your Twitter bio.

Like yeah dude, you're such a hero for refusing to profit from your natural born talents. I'll be laughing 20 years later when you're struggling to make ends meet

>>149282996
There's a difference between getting compensated for your work and selling out. I agree that Watterson probably could've done some merchandising/licensing and been fine, but going full Garfield would've tarnished its reputation

>>149283051
No one says this about Peanuts though and it sold out just as much as Garfield.

>>149283069
I wonder if that has to do with the kinds of adaptations done. Peanuts is more merch based, whereas Garfield has had a bunch of slop tier media pumped out to sour people's attitudes to the fat cat

>>149275800 (OP)
>and it drove me crazy there were no cartoons, video games or merch.

Serious question, were these not licensed?
These fucking things were every fucking where.

>>149283069
Peanuts is endearing

Fat fuck abusive cat is not

>>149283151
I liked this movie.

>>149283276
Clearly not.

>>149283151
>had a bunch of slop tier media pumped out to sour people's attitudes to the fat cat
Again, so did Peanuts, such as Flash Beagle or the live action special with Spike and that woman in the red truck, or Snoopy the Musical. Or the Warner Bros. era of animated cartoons.

>>149283069
>>149283151
>>149283288
Peanuts isn't "despised" or anything but I think the saturation kind of sells an image of the series that's sort of dishonest to how it's actually written and reduces the characters to just one marketable trait.

>>149280676
So that they can also do things to him.

>>149277175
Calvin and Reddit is still in print.

>>149283276
All bootleg C&H merchandise that aren't printed on paper are legal because there is no loss of revenue. So every bootleg shirt, decal, and plushie is A-OK but if you made a C&H calendar for profit, that's a lawsuit.

>>149277483
There was meant be a second season that was "was ordered, produced and nearly complete. All that was left was to replace the temp music cues and sound effects and possibly some minor editing" but WB wrote it off for tax reasons. Also while looking this up I saw this bit from a negative review of the series:
>"That is, it's an animated show in which human beings engage in everyday activities – working, goofing off, sleeping, fighting and so on. At its best, this particular category of animated comedy gives you 'The Simpsons'. At its worst, it gives you 'Clerks' [The Animated Series]"
Which is funny in retrospect regarding how beloved Clerks is and what was beginning to happen to The Simpsons around that time

>Calvin and Hobbes theme
>No cartoons posted
>FailedAt4Chan.jpeg

>>149283289
same, my only real issue was the celebrity casting for freaking Odie of all characters

>>149275800 (OP)
lol stay mad

>>149275800 (OP)
true but him copyright striking fan made content (like that well animated fan made cartoon short that was around over a decade ago) leaves a sour taste in my mouth

>>149282996
>anon has no family or legacy he wants to leave behind

>>149286633
For what purpose and reason did he have to do that for?

>>149275800 (OP)
I just wanted a Calvin & Hobbes lunchbox...

>>149283288
Peanuts is just much simpler to adapt to animation than it's contemporaries. It's an ensemble. Garfield and C&H have very limited casts that make writing varied stories that stay true to strip's feel much more difficult. Most of the shit Garf does in his cartoons and movies don't even make sense since the whole gag about him is that he's a breathtakingly lazy feline that wouldn't want to do anything. Calvin, Hobbes and Susie are the only named characters of the main cast and it would be a mess attempting to convince a whole world outside of that bubble. I mean, Bill had a bitch of time writing a story about Calvin's uncle visiting because he never gave the parents names.

Though to immediately shoot my point in the foot, the Baby Blues cartoon was pretty good and I believe most of that cast were original.

>>149287803
>Though to immediately shoot my point in the foot, the Baby Blues cartoon was pretty good and I believe most of that cast were original.
Yeah but the problem there was the original cast were better than the Baby Blues cast.

I like Calvin and Hobbes.

>>149282996
>>149275800 (OP)
no you don't understand, we have to make sure that good things are spammed and peddled off then complain about why things are ruined later when we can't be nostalgic about something like star wars since it's been ruined by people who never gave a shit like i/we/you did

>>149280376
Or gets you elected as President of the United States.

>>149289332
Especially Melinda. She was so cute.

>>149286633
>we would not have bring me the head of charlie brown if watterson made peanuts
stupid bitter geezer

>>149283335
It's interesting cause people actually talk about the characters in Peanuts. With Calvin and hobbes, I keep seeing people just talk about Watterson not selling out, and maybe the art occasionally.

>>149275800 (OP)
Troon xisters... this thread isn't very reddit stories wholesome 100 keanu chungus creepypasta... what do we do?

>>149283276
https://youtu.be/-iylFX_TR9M

>>149291228
>With Calvin and hobbes, I keep seeing people just talk about Watterson not selling out,
You see on autistic retard spamming the same thread over and over

>>149283276
>were these not licensed?
no, and Watterson tried to sue/stop the people making these

>>149291228

>>149282996
You will never create any worthwhile art.
>>149283069
Peanuts ended 25 years ago. Garfield is still going. In fact, Peanuts' original run was 48 years. Garfield's current run is nearly 47 years. Next year Garfield will have officially run for as long as Peanuts did, and then it will surpass Peanuts in longevity.

>>149292046
Do you think Jim Davis will live to see Garfield surpass Peanuts

>>149282996
I think it's more no-one wanted the comic and less "I have too much integrity"

>>149291322
He is the autistic retard

>>149282996
you're forgetting the big upside though: calvin and hobbes remains out of reach of the widest market and therefore will be remembered as good by people that have good taste. legacy is not based on how many fans you have, its based on how quality those fans are.

thats the only way to make good art in a world where exposure leads to death. keep that gate shut!

>>149279619
It's probably be Chris Pratt as Hobbes, and of course Akwafina as Susie.

>>149292080
He will drop dead the day after it happens

>>149275800 (OP)
I love the C&E logo, it's so simple yet so effective and iconic

>>149275800 (OP)
>and I think it's one of the reasons the strip remains beloved.
By the decreasing number of people who know about it. Until eventually it fades away entirely.

>>149293995
you say that like it's a bad thing

>>149291150
Both of these bitches are ugly.

>>149290170
prove it

>>149275800 (OP)
I liked the comics and had a few of the official books. I also had the Calvin pissing stickers and a shirt with his unauthorized image from one of those mall kiosks.
It was a good comic.

>>149296269
Your mom, actually

>>149283276
What? No. Obviously not. What part of Calvin peeing on something feels in character to the strip?

>>149298307
Calvin and Hobbes!?!?!?

>>149298773
Are you saying you couldn't picture a scenario where Calvin pees on something?

>>149298773
EVERY part. Calvin's always been a little brat

>>149275800 (OP)
Lol what is Calvin even flexing? Boy ain't got NO muscles

>>149279474
>He also could be sort of a crank in general
Good. The world needs more cranks that won't betray their morals for money and fame. Some call that being a crank, some call it being principled.

>>149282996
>NOOO IF YOU'RE NOT PROFITMAXXING YOU'RE STUPID THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS MOOOONEEEEY
No wonder America is dying. I hope that when the American empire falls, other countries see what happens when you create a culture whose sole value system is greed.

>>149277025
Kids

>>149277788
True

>>149275800 (OP)
Calvin and cock

>>149275800 (OP)
I wonder the same, but then I imagine how any of the characters might've been voiced, and then I'm glad nothing was made.
>>149286633
Oh that sucks.

>>149275800 (OP)
>>149302737
Double posting, but another thing that would be lost if it were animated is the incredible composition of the panels and how the action's frozen in time perfectly. Watterson always lauded Krazy Kat for its changing backgrounds and the spontaneity, doing only what comics can. Animation requires careful planning, so no instant ink drawing, and the appreciating the entire page for the panel layout and posing is lost.

>>149275800 (OP)
So what are we get ourself into this time?

>>149302737
>but then I imagine how any of the characters might've been voiced, and then I'm glad nothing was made.
Why? Comic strip adaptations have a fairly stellar track record, especially back during the 80s and 90s. Garfield and Dilbert have some of the best casting I've ever heard, and to date I cannot see those characters without hearing their respective animated voices. Peanuts' decision to use actual kids turned out to be downright iconic. Even those random Cathy specials that aired like once a piece have great casting.

We should read more of it

>>149291064
>oil on the couch
What kind of goddamn bike did those people get their kid?

>>149305693
Red

>>149292124
You're a fucking moron. There was huge demand for C&H licensed merchandise/animations, etc. Despite Watterson refusing to go for it, the strip was still hugely popular in the 90s (and late 80s). You have no idea what you're talking about. Why are you even commenting here and making up your idiotic assumptions when you're clearly a zoomer that wasn't alive when the comic was going on? Stupid fucking infant faggot, shut the fuck up.
>>149299336
It never happened a single time in the comic

>>149305693
Bike chains are lubricated with oil, homie

>>149284340
>Calvin and Reddit
What's that?

>>149291064
Hilarious final punchline

>>149282956
rude

>>149295151
It is. Gen Alpha won't ever know the hilarity of Calvin messing with Susie or the excitement of Spaceman Spiff's otherworldly adventures.

I think this might have been the most disappointing book I've ever read. Bill must have needed the money.

>>149301035
Name one country that isn't propelled by greed and I guarantee that country is a dirt poor hellhole

>>149282996
They hated him because he was right.

>>149284514
Like Family Guy, no one realized Clerks TAS was going to be a hit on DVD.

>>149291228
We like diagnosing Charles Schulz here, don't we? We like untreated depression, yes we do.

With Calvin and Hobbes, what's to discuss? That the boy is used to say the opposite of what the author means and the tiger is his mouthpiece? Whether or not the parents are to blame for being woefully unprepared to deal with Calvin?

Moe and Miss Wormwood aren't exactly two dimensional and Suzie and the Babysitter just have female superiority energy like they were created by a weak man.

>>149282996
This is a reminder that the Simpsons only exist because Matt Groenig refused to put Life in Hell in the meat grinder. The Ren & Stimpy Show exists because John K refused to throw Jimmy the Idiot Boy into the meat grinder. Garfield was made by Jim Davis specifically for the meat grinder.

Does anyone have that MS Paint Calvin and Hobbes parody where Calvin says something like "I feel intellectually threatened by someone interpreting art in a way not specifically intended by the author"? I've been looking for that but can't find it.

>>149305988
I hate Hobbes and Bacon with a seething passion.

>>149309651
Incidentally, John K was quite the cunnyseur.

>>149309751
I'm unfamiliar

>>149284371
>bootleg C&H merchandise that aren't printed on paper are legal
BULLSHIT
The stupidity of you people here, especially when you try to comment on legal matters, never ceases to astound. Sure their are actual lawyers and actual judges who are also stupid and make mistakes but that's at least criminal or corrupt behavior, not plain and simple stupidity.

People get take down notices on shit like even stickers, decals and buttons, all the time, so stuff which is mass-marketed, like shirts and plushies, even marketed in small quantities like on an Etsy store, are fully illegal and often subject to take down notices. There's just way too much of this crap, so that even Steven King has to deal with fucking Crapzon having/allowing bootleg copies of his books listed for sale on their fucking e-commerce site.

And it has nothing to do with being a King 'printed on paper.' A "Here's Johnny" tee shirt would also be illegal, but likely more to Nicholson's estate or WB. A Christine plushie or a Carrie decal would also be illegal, 'printed paper' or not.

>>149312849
This pic go hard

>>149309948
Why?

>>149309948
lol no u dont

>>149309428
Too bad about the mid ass art.
I did like that it was essentially just 'fuck all people, life will go on after'
I get not liking it, but I enjoyed it.

>>149284514
Clerks TAS is probably the hardest i've laughed watching a cartoon. Why was it so unpopular when it came out? Did everybody hate Kevin Smith?

Whqt do you all like about this series?

>>149280159
I remember seeing commercials for a Calvin and Hobbes animated special on CBS that clearly never happened.

>>149314866
>Why was it so unpopular when it came out? Did everybody hate Kevin Smith?
It wasn't that people hated it, it just wasn't aired on the right channel, at the right time, to the right audience. They also aired two random episodes out of order, which destroyed all of the running gags. Even critics couldn't come up with reasons to laugh at a punchline with no joke, so the show just looked bad.

And again, it aired on ABC, so all the test audiences were the biggest, dumbest, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire"-watchingest normies of all time. They probably didn't even know who Kevin Smith was.

>>149314972
Why would they air the episodes out of order?

>>149314972
Did you know it was supposed to be on UPN? UPN was actually going to make it one of their flagship shows, with a 12 episode order for the first season. Kevin Smith decide not to go with them though, and picked ABC because
>they’re a bigger channel (true, ABC was like the 4th biggest network at the time while UPN was lucky if it could crack the top 20)
>UPN was going to be dead in a year anyway (not true, UPN lasted for 6 more years but to be fair, it always felt like it was on the verge of death)
>Disney owned the rights to movie via Miramax at the time so really they were only company that could have made it anyway (not true, tv rights are a separate thing from movie rights but Kevin Smith didn’t know that so he got fucked here)
It’s a shame, it probably wouldn’t have gotten big with UPN but they were slightly more experimental channel with a demographic more likely to be in the show’s humor. Plus, unlike ABC, UPN’s deal GUARANTEED all 12 episodes would air.
>>149315192
Back in day the most tv comedies were made with the intention that you can watch any episode out of order and not really miss anything. In the case of Clerks though, ABC first aired episode 4, which is irritating but whatever, it was mostly standalone… but then they aired episode 2 which had main joke of being a clip show on the second episode so naturally has a fuck ton of callbacks to the 1st episode… which never aired so it didn’t make any sense at the time. After that they canceled the show and it never aired on ABC again and they burnt off the rest of the rest off the episode of Comedy Central (which also would’ve been a better home but oh well)

>>149315192
Because network executives are retarded and so are the test audiences they rely on.

If I had to guess, they aired episode 4 first because the ending is a big parody of anime, which was just starting to become popular, so it probably received the most positive responses from test audiences.

The next episode they aired was the second episode, production-wise, where the whole gag was that they were doing a flashback episode but all they had to flashback to was the first episode. But the first episode was never aired, so the entire gag fell pretty flat. If this episode was somehow the second favorite of test audiences, my guess would be that the fact the entire episode was made up for short clips helped hold their attention better.
>inb4 "but why did test audiences approve of an episode where they couldn't have gotten the joke?"
Never underestimate how dumb audiences are. Test audiences, specifically, are hand-picked from the dumbest of the dumb. Even if they didn't get the jokes, the format of the episode made it more fast-paced and dynamic, thus more enjoyable. Basically just jingling keys.

>>149315384
>network executives are retarded
every time I read about the early days of The Simpsons I realize how crucial it was to have someone with the clout of James L Brooks in their corner who could tell the network execs to fuck off and leave them alone. Every subsequent show created by Simpsons alums for networks (The Critic, Futurama, and to a lesser extent King of the Hill) constantly had their air dates and episode orders fucked with

>>149314873
It’s the Rick and Morty of newspaper comics.

The Jew probably wanted total control of Warterson's IP.

>>149315704
>nothing bad happens at all
>blame jews
This is why nobody takes you guys seriously.

>>149313419
NTA but it's like a coffee cup full of syrup compared to the carefully homemade dessert of C&H. It doesn't have the thoughtful and wry charm of the original, instead just going as hard on the nostalgia as possible. Calvin marries Susie! Hobbes and the new kid are playing pretend! Reference reference reference! It's not actually trying to say anything. It's like a family guy epic moments compilation on YouTube.

>>149286208
not OP, but you're a zoomer

>>149309560
Futurama was also a hit on DVD, though as huge as Family Guy, but still

>>149284340
>>149307352
is that you, redditbob poster?

>>149277025
Respect for the creator, I assume

>>149279619
>>149293412
even funnier
>Jack Black, Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Tyler Perry, Seth MacFarlane or Danny DeVito as Calvin or Hobbes (or just both)

>>149277080
>>149277420
FoxTrot as an adult animated show would've lasted 3 seasons. Longer than Baby Blue and Dilbert, but shorter (and at least less delayed in production) than Boondocks

If you were forced to pick a voice actor for Hobbes, who would you choose?

>>149291279
anon said LICENSED, not parodies, you illiterate

>>149316284
Hugh Laurie as Hobbes
(not because of just House MD memes, but given the voice roles he's in, he'd be perfect as Hobbes)

>>149314866
Because instead of showing the pilot and then the second episode (which was a clip show of the first episode) they showed the 4th episode first due to it being the best one and then showed the second episode. The third episode shown was going to be the Outbreak parody but it was cancelled last minute. Apparently boomers didn't like it in testing and the ratings didn't reflect that the test groups were retarded. On top of that, cartoons are expensive and as it turns out, ABC only wanted the show so UPN wouldn't have it. Which honestly is for the best because the only hit on UPN was WWE SmackDown.

>>149316327
I can see it, Hobbes is suited for a mature voice.

>>149316284
Steven Blum. I want Hobbes to have a soothing, calm voice that can easily ramp up when he's excited.

>>149316382
I always imagined him sounding soothing as well

>>149316358
>the only hit on UPN was WWE SmackDown.
but weren't their big hits also Star Trek shows DS9 and Enterprise?

>>149316382
>>149316405
you know, I could see Hobbes using that Spike Spiegel voice

>>149286208
At what?

>>149309613
>Suzie and the Babysitter just have female superiority energy like they were created by a weak man
Your insecurity is palpable

>>149286208
>implying you weren't mad when you were typing that out

>>149316031
If this was something official I'd get the frustration but if it's just a fan thing it's not a big deal. C&H fans take this comic too seriously

>>149316088
What the fuck is that?

>>149287055
How does making money negate having a legacy? And having money is better for raising a family.

>>149286633
This is interesting, and maybe it's just me want to make an excuse for a guy that I like, but don't you have to actively protect copywritten material? Or am I thinking of Trademarks?

>>149315606
Weirdly accurate

>>149316419
Enterprise wasn’t as huge as either Deep Space or Voyager. Voyager was popular amongst loyal Star Trek fans as with Deep Space, but were pale in ratings comparing to WWE SmackDown as that was the only reason to watch the network at the time

>>149320133
That's true, but there was a point where Dilbert has high ratings until the end of its first season

>>149315606
>t.zoomer who wants to feel included

>>149291116
This but unironically.

>>149316031
I agree that the charm is that it's fan service, and it's fairly innocuous. It doesn't have the breadth of longevity and history that the mainline strips had, for starters, so of course it's going to be purely referential.
Your complaining that a one page tribute that someone does to Spidey or Batgod isn't and wasn't as delicious as week after weeks worth of Snowmen Army on the Front Lawn were. I'm not saying you aren't correct - you are - I'm saying, context, pal.

>>149314873
I honestly can't say. My mom got me some of the Calvin and Hobbes books when I was a kid, and for some reason I just really liked reading them. I genuinely don't know why though. I still love them today too, but now I can appreciate the stories more than when I was a kid.

>>149323166
my critique was definitely overly passionate, but as a minor nitpick there are actually a handful of H&B strips, with adoring fans.

>>149286208
>>149315606
>t. sad, pathetic, underage kids wanting attention before their dads come home from work

>>149318702
anon hasn't been on /v/ boards

>>149315606
Does that make Peanuts the Venture Bros of strips?

>>149315606
>>149323752
that means Garfield would be considered the Family Guy of comic strips

>>149309428
I loved this book

>>149323769
I remember reading a xitter post from someone saying that the Family Guy animators would be a perfect fit for animating (not writing) the next Garfield cartoon because Family Guy's 3/4th perspective visual structure and camera layouts are just like Garfield's and I haven't stopped thinking about just how much of Family Guy is structured like a newspaper comic.

>>149286208
What's there to be mad about?