How many stories can you think of right now that have plush animals walking and talking? I bet you can name three right off the bat. For me, the first that comes to mind is Margery William's "The Velveteen Rabbit." Number two would be A. A. Milne's "Winnie-the-Pooh." Although I've never seen any from the series, "Toy Story" is such a huge phenomenon that I have to make it my number three. I've seen enough clips from it to notice a few plush characters seen within it. These three represent less than 1% of the collection of living plush stories.
When I was a child, I absolutely loved physically animating plush animals for my own amusement. Even though I was using my hands and voice, I sort of just ignored the extra limbs and imagined if the animal was really doing and saying those things. People complimented me a lot for how I did it too. I still might find myself doing it once in a while. It's fun!
When I do this sort of thing, it is no wonder so many stories were made of these inanimate objects coming to life. One of the things that often fascinates me is how life would actually be if I were to exist as a living plush animal. Would I feel pain when pricked? Would having fill inside me feel significantly different than flesh and blood? I mean... If we are going to give them life, we should wonder how they feel about it, right?
The concept of being a completely different type of living creature is something I think about a lot and often try and imagine. They aren't like us. They probably don't need to eat or even breathe. They would have other problems like avoiding getting their fabric snagged on things. Would getting unraveled or losing their fill kill them, or would they just lay there waiting for help?
All this is really fascinating to me. What do you think? Consider if you were a plush animal and could actually feel what it would be like to exist in that state. Tell me where your imagination takes you. What would it feel like? How would you feel? Just a little experiment. I wanna see what you all think on the matter.
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| The Velveteen Rabbit (2009) |
My fill would be my nature and the covering fabric would be my link to the world. Of course as a person I would behave according to my will, but my nature and skin would decide how my character manifests. I would rather be a cotton critter with cotton balls as fill. I would bounce around and take the seriousness of life lightly. I would counteract the harshness of the world with my softness.
ReplyDeleteI liked it. When bad things hit you, you just bounce off of it. It does remind me of you a bit.
DeleteIt is fun to imagine if stuffed animals were alive. However, they are not suited for the world we live in. Even if they did not lose their stuffing, they would soon be victims of decay.
ReplyDeleteI think the decay can just as easily be solved by a specialized hospital. Still, that's a pretty bad thing to happen while you are alive.
DeleteI find this to be a fascinating daydream, to be so fragile would be a hindrance for sure. In a world of living plush creatures I would do my best as one of them, probably invent new ways to protect my fellow creatures from harm. The idea of not needing to eat would actually free up some time for more creative endeavors.
ReplyDeleteI have found that it is difficult for a lot of people to imagine themselves as living as inorganic objects. I do it all the time and others do too. If you can achieve that mindset, it is very uncanny.
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