Sparkle Valley & Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin steps into a cardboard box and says, “This is a time machine.” The box doesn’t change, but he does. Sparkle Valley works the same way. Emily (and Abigail) don’t escape the real world, they just see it in a different way.

Both Sparkle Valley and Calvin and Hobbes start in the same place—the ordinary.  The backyard, a puddle, a slide, a sandbox, a bridge. Then something happens, usually something small, and a new world opens up.

How They’re Alike:

Imagination changes everything.

Calvin can change anything into anything else. A sled becomes a rocket ship, a box a time machine, the woods turns into a new planet. The world around him stems from his imagination. Similarly, Sparkle Valley is a world where anything is possible if you believe.

What’s real:

To Calvin, Hobbes is real. But to everyone else, he’s just a stuffed tiger. There’s a gap between what’s real and what’s pretend. Same with Emily & Abigail. They have their world, but does Sparkle Valley truly exist? And if so, in what sense? It certainly seems real to Abigail. But what about to Emily? is it something you remember, believe in, or forget?

Philosophy:

Calvin is funny but he can also be quietly deep and insightful.  For example, there’s a strip where he’s lying under a tree.  He and Hobbes are staring up at the sky and he says,

“If people could be more like animals, the world would be a better place.”

Hobbes asks,

“More savage?”

And Calvin says,

“More loyal.”

Abigail is the same way. Her refusal to take the Powder of Life, for example, saves Sparkle Valley and Emily’s imagination.  By turning away from her greatest desire to become real and fulfilling a greater purpose for Emily’s sake, Abigail makes the ultimate sacrifice. This hits at not just a philosophical but an emotional level.

Where They Split

The biggest difference is that Calvin and Hobbes never leaves Calvin’s world.

Everything happens in his imagination — he invents the adventures, the danger, the philosophy. When he’s done, he goes home for dinner.

Sparkle Valley goes further. It’s a real world, reached through a “thin place” — in a place like the Magic Garden — but it’s also alive, responsive. Emily doesn’t just imagine it; she interacts with it. Her emotions shape it, her neglect weakens it, and her belief sustains it. The Valley reflects her, but it also pushes back.

Abigail, her doll, is more than a sidekick. She’s Emily’s avatar of sorts— her courage, her conscience, her curiosity made real. When Abigail acts, Emily changes. When Emily loses faith, the world dims. The two are connected, but not identical. Abigail is real enough to make choices Emily can’t, to fight, to hold the line when Emily forgets.

That’s where the stories diverge. Calvin’s world ends when he stops pretending; Sparkle Valley continues even when Emily stops believing. Calvin’s imagination creates his adventures; Emily’s collaboration with Abigail keeps hers alive. The line between dreamer and dream disappears — and that’s where the magic lives.