In Praise of all things CHUBBY

Totoro is chubby


Lately we have been reflecting on how much we like things that are chubby.

First of all, "chubby" is a great nom de plume for musicians. Fifties rocker Chubby Checker? Thrilling! Bluegrass great Chubby Wise? Yee haw! Dub master King Tubby? Honorable mention. Fat Joe? Not quite. Fatty Arbuckle? Wasn't he involved in some horrible Hollywood sex scandal? Fatboy Slim? Get out of my post, poseur! Ben & Jerry's "Chubby Hubby"? Not musical, but a pretty good ice cream flavor. "Chubb Chubbs" ? I never saw it but it looked like a really cute animated short on the Oscars a few years ago.

Second of all, chubbiness is an essential component of the ineffable sublime cuteness of many cartoon characters. Miyazaki's Totoro? His adorable tummy bulges all over, so little Mei can grab hold of his fluffy fur as she climbs all over him. On-time, off-balance Pekkle? A litle bit zaftig. Yogi Bear? Pleasantly plump. Need I say more?


Sanrio cutie Pekkle.

I love animals that are a little bit chubbier than breed-standard. There is a certain Lhasa Apso in Maryland whose owner feeds him plenty of bacon and sirloin steak and other tasty treats. Result: a belly so round and prodigious that it brushes the carpet whenever he waddles around. In our backyard there is a bluejay who has developed an overall roundness so profound that I start clapping my hands and squealing whenever I see him.

Yesterday, FF suggested a brilliant thought-experiment: try to think of an inanimate object that is not made cuter by prefacing it with the adjective "chubby." E.g.-- house. Yep, chubby house is cute. Fork? Yep, chubby fork is cute. Vaccuum cleaner? Roller skate? Harpsichord? You see where I am going with this.