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Dear Mr. Watterson- A documentary about Calvin & Hobbes. Out Nov 15th

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FoxSpirit

Junior Member
That's a problem I have with people worshiping his anti-consumerism, anti-technology message and developing this cult of personality around him. He's not doing it because he thinks corporations hurt artists and wants folks to wake up and live free of name brands dominating their lives, but likely because he hates people and thinks he's the only sane man on the planet
That was never the message of Calvin & Hobbes.

If anything can be said as a message for it is, life is weird, complicated and wonderful. Life is misery and happiness. Life is confusion.

There are misanthropist undertones because there is a lot about humanity as a whole that is a letdown. I am sure he feels he is more sane than the average, a more awake and aware person. From my point of view, the way he speaks through Calvin & Hobbes, he is. I live in a big city and I see so much misery brought on by our culture when from a materialistic standpoint, most are at least adequately off. But mentally, most people are sick. So am I.

To break free of the cycle of needless want and the incessant advertising of values that are not necessary to achieve happiness is nowadays a much bigger task than any career could be.
 
Hope this isn't as terrible as that recent JD Salinger documentary. It seriously looks to be a film with random talking heads and celebrities discussing their love for Watterson which doesn't sound very appealing to me.
 

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
Of course he has no obligation. I have no obligation to be happy with that, though.

There is such a thing as human decency. When somebody makes a movie about you, it'd be nice of you to tell someone to tell everyone "hey, thanks." You're not obligated to do that, no, but it'd sure be courteous.

Did he ASK them to make a movie about him? I can make a documentary about Mila Kunis. Doesn't mean anyone would expect her to come see me for it.
 

element

Member
My favorite cartoon strip. :D

I love this tribute someone did:
This one makes be bawl.

e747a128-c55b-4b3f-a62d-0fd26aa86838.jpg
 

ЯAW

Banned
Hope this isn't as terrible as that recent JD Salinger documentary. It seriously looks to be a film with random talking heads and celebrities discussing their love for Watterson which doesn't sound very appealing to me.

I hate that kind of "documentaries". Why would I want to hear what Seth Green thinks of Calvin & Hobbes? Obviously it's interesting to see how his work has influenced other people but if that's all, then I'm not interested.
 
motivational poster
we will explain the thing you're looking at, and be repetitive while we do it.

It's made worse by the fact that Hobbes looks like he really does not want to be with Calvin's daughter and Calvin looks like he doesn't give a fuck what Hobbes thinks.
 

DaciaJC

Gold Member
A delightful surprise. What I would give to be able to meet the man himself in person and offer him my gratitude for his work.
 

Andrew.

Banned
I'm all over this. C & H is my favorite strip of all time for various reasons and really influenced my cartooning. Watterson's final Sunday strip is framed in my bedroom.

The Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs beanie episode was the best.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
My favorite cartoon strip. :D

I love this tribute someone did:

These...always really bother me. More then other fan-art. Then again, as much respect as I have for the man and his care about his own art I also don't worship Calvin and Hobbes quite as much as other people, so I don't know
 

Yaboosh

Super Sleuth
These...always really bother me. More then other fan-art. Then again, as much respect as I have for the man and his care about his own art I also don't worship Calvin and Hobbes quite as much as other people, so I don't know


Because they always think they are being so damn clever.
 

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
Very cool. I remember reading attack of the mutant snow goons and I couldn't stop laughing back in my day. Good times....

I remember the first time I picked up a C&H collection at the library. Probably was 9 or 10. I couldn't put it down. I introduced my brothers to C&H and we would go to the library down the block, pick out the different collections and spend the afternoon reading them and passing them around.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
I remember the first time I picked up a C&H collection at the library. Probably was 9 or 10. I couldn't put it down. I introduced my brothers to C&H and we would go to the library down the block, pick out the different collections and spend the afternoon reading them and passing them around.

Yeah, there were a lot of comics like that for me as a kid. I think the ones that have stuck with me the most are Far Side, Fox Trot, Calvin and Hobbes and my favorite strip ever Bloom County
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Terrible comic. Makes no sense. Is the tiger real or what? Wake me when there's a Hagar documentary.
 

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
Movie comes out in 15 days. They are having screenings of the movie.

11/15/13

Laemmle NoHo 7 - Los Angeles, CA
Cinema Village - New York City, NY
Cineplex Odeon - Toronto, Ontario
Center for Contemporary Arts - Santa Fe, NM

11/16/13 & 11/17/13

Laemmle Monica 4 - Santa Monica, CA
Laemmle Playhouse 7 - Pasadena, CA
Laemmle Claremont 5 - Claremont, CA

More cities/dates at the link.
 

Macmanus

Member
Is the 10th anniversary book the only one where he has an extensive forward? I remember reading one that talks about his early struggles for syndication, how he coughed up licensing rights initially to reach a larger audience, fought tooth and nail to get them back, and wrote about the pains of having your creation in the hands of others. He also wrote about character development and his inspiration for them.

It was really just an awesome read. If you like C&H you really need to read about the history and characters in Watterson's own words.

Calvin and Hobbes goes beyond simply being the greatest comic strip of all time. I think it's absolutely quintessential Americana media that should be consumed by all. It will forever be beautiful and poignant.
 

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
It is out today!

Dear Mr. Watterson at times feels a bit shallow. While Schroeder touches on many different topics, he rarely drills down deeply into any of them. He hints at some of the struggles between Watterson and his syndicate but doesn’t get into the details. Some of the artists he interviews discuss the ways in which Watterson’s groundbreaking visual style shattered expectations of what a Sunday strip could be. But Schroeder doesn’t get into why Watterson had to fight for his work or how his strip changed the medium.

But this isn’t an exposé, and you shouldn’t go into it expecting deep examinations of “Calvin and Hobbes’s” philosophical underpinnings—of which there are many. This is an appreciation steeped in nostalgia, something for fans of the strip to sit back and simply enjoy.

From here.

As its affectionate title would suggest, Joel Allen Schroeder’s documentary Dear Mr. Watterson is no attempt at an expose a la the recent Salinger. The filmmaker made no attempt to contact the cartoonist, and imparts virtually no information about him. Rather, the film is a deeply personal examination of the strip’s apparently vast popularity and cultural impact, especially the one it had on Schroeder himself, who at one point shows us his childhood bedroom which he says used to be generously festooned with Calvin & Hobbes strips on its walls.

THR.

Fortunately, many of these fans are also comic strip artists, who can at least share some insights into their profession. (Most compelling is “Bloom County’s” Berkeley Breathed, Watterson’s friend and closest competitor in the late ’80s.) Even so, your money would be better used — and Schroeder’s points better made — if you spent it on any “Calvin and Hobbes” collection instead.

NYDN.

Some quick google reviews.
 

way more

Member
I don't mean to be all cynical, Bill Watterson is a personal icon, but if I want to see dozens of people suck another man's dick I'll just watch porn.


I guess the better way to say that is that Calvin and Hobbes has always been a personal thing. I love him and the comic and to hear others describe how much they also love it adds nothing. The way an older gang-affiliated cousin took took to the comic, or my new step-nephew did and it allowed us to talk about more things than we ever could, that's personal. My own discovery, everyones in this thread, can't be captured by a movie.
 
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