Fuddles And Puddles Adorably Illustrates Age-Old Cat And Dog Dynamics

Fuddles and Puddles is the third in a series of picture books written and illustrated by Frans Vischer.

Fuddles and Puddles were inspired by Frans’s cat and dog, (their real names were changed to protect their innocence.) Frans’s background is in animation- he worked at the Disney studio, among other companies, for many years. (His credits include “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” “The Road To El Dorado,” “The Princess And The Frog,” and “Frozen.”) At Disney Frans learned to observe life, to infuse characters with realistic behavior that the audience could relate to. But animation is an art form of caricature, and Frans also learned to exaggerate characteristics. Fuddles is a wildly embellished, pampered, fat cat with sophisticated tastes. The books are fantasy, but readers can relate to Fuddles’s behavior. Frans’s real cat eats everything he can get his paws on; bread, lasagna, candy, it’s an endless list. At his peak he weighed twenty-eight pounds. (He’s currently on a diet, and slightly slimmed down.) But Fuddles carries a barrel-sized belly, yet struts around gracefully. Frans loves observing his cat, imagining his thought-process. He often sketched him, and gradually a story developed in his head. Applying what he learned in animation, Frans gave Fuddles a cultured taste for food and comfort, which his family appeases by spoiling him rotten. So Fuddles lounges on a velvet pillow with his name embroidered in gold. He eats fancy meals from silver dishes, and is carted around in a baby-stroller. Upsetting this delicate apple cart is Puddles, a rambunctious puppy who earns his name by peeing on the kitchen floor. After a challenging start, (including Puddles joining Fuddles in his litter box!) Fuddles learns to share and get along with the loud, slobbering, uncultured pooch.