Babar the Elephant

Babar the Elephant is a very popular French children's fictional character who first appeared in "L'Histoire de Babar" by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931, and enjoyed immediate success. English language versions, entitled "The Story of Babar", appeared in 1933 in Britain and the United States. The story is based on a tale that Brunhoff's wife, Cecile, had invented for their children. It tells of a young elephant called Babar who leaves the jungle, visits a big city, and returns to bring the benefits of civilization to his fellow elephants.

Jean de Brunhoff published 6 more stories before his premature death in 1937 at the age of 37. His son Laurent de Brunhoff was also a talented writer and illustrator and he carried on the series from 1946 with "Babar et Le Coquin d'Arthur" and many more.

An animated TV series was produced by Nelvana Limited and Clifford Ross Company, and originally ran from January 3, 1989 to June 5, 1991. There were 78 episodes.

tory synopsis

After Babar witnesses the slaughter of his beloved mother, he flees from the jungle and finds his way to Paris where he is befriended by the Old Lady. Babar eventually returns to the Elephant realm following the death of the previous King, who had eaten some poisonous mushrooms. Babar is crowned king, marries his 3rd cousin twice removed Celeste, and founds the city of Celesteville. Babar, who likes to wear a bright green suit, introduces a very French form of western civilization to the elephants, and causes them to dress in western attire.

Among Babar's other associates are the monkey Zephir, the old elephant counsellors Cornelius and Pompadour, his cousin Arthur, and his children, Pom, Flora and Alexander. Later, a second daughter, Isabelle, was introduced. The Old Lady comes to live in the Kingdom as an honoured guest. Despite the presence of these counsellors, Babar's rule seems to be totally independent of any elected body, and completely autocratic.

Besides his Westernizing policies, Babar engages in warfare with the warlike rhinoceroses, who are led by King Rataxes.

Pronunciation

Babar's name is pronEng|ˌbɑrːˈbɑːr. In North America, his name is most often pronounced IPA|/ˈbæbɑr/. Babar (pronounced IPA2|ˈbaːbər) was the name of the first Mughal emperor of medieval India.

Criticism

The books are written in a charming and appealing style with an attention to detail which captivates both children and adults. Underneath they could be seen as a justification for colonialism, with the benefits of French civilisation being visited on the rustic African elephant kingdom. Some writers, notably Herbert R. Kohl and Vivian Paley have argued that, although superficially delightful, the stories are politically and morally offensive. Others argue that the French civilisation described in the early books had already been destroyed by the Great War and the books were originally an exercise in nostalgia for pre 1914 France. Ariel Dorfman’s "The Empire’s Old Clothes" is another highly critical view, in which he concludes, "In imagining the independence of the land of the elephants, Jean de Brunhoff anticipates, more than a decade before history forced Europe to put it into practice, the theory of neocolonialism."

Books

Jean de Brunhoff wrote and illustrated seven "Babar" books; the series was continued by his son, Laurent de Brunhoff.

Jean de Brunhoff's Babar books were:

* "Histoire de Babar" (1931)
* "Le Voyage de Babar" (1932)
* "Le Roi Babar" (1933)
* "L'ABC de Babar" (1934)
* "Les vacances de Zéphir" (1936)
* "Babar en famille" (1938)
* "Babar et le père Noël" (1941)

Laurent de Brunhoff's books:

* "Babar et ce coquin d'Arthur" (1948)
* "Pique-nique chez Babar" (1949)
* "Babar dans l'Île aux oiseaux" (1952)
* "La fête à Celesteville" (1954)
* "Babar et le professeur Girafon" (1956)
* "Le château de Babar" (1961)
* "Je parle anglais avec Babar" (1963)
* "Je parle allemand avec Babar" (1966)
* "Je parle espagnol avec Babar" (1966)
* "Babar à New York" (1966)
* "Babar's Museum of Art" (2003)

Films and programmes

* "Babar (1960)" (1960) [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0215535/] Babar (1960) at IMDB]
* "Babar" (1969): broadcast in the UK on BBC1 weekdays from 29th September
* "The Adventures of Babar" (1985)
* "Babar and Father Christmas" (1986) [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0291029/] Babar and Father Christmas at IMDB]
* "Babar" (1989) [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0156200/] Babar the TV Series at IMDB] , [ [http://v1.nelvana.com/babar/] ]
* "" (1989) [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0096869/] Babar the Movie at IMDB]
* "" (1999) [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0166090/] Babar: King of the Elephants at IMDB]
* "The new Babar" (2006) [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0798694/] The new Babar at IMDB]

The Babar stories are popular around the world. They have inspired musical works by Francis Poulenc and Raphael Mostel, and an extremely popular animated television series by Ellipse (France) and Nelvana (Canada).

References

External links

* [http://www.babar.com Official publisher's Site]
* [http://www.treehousetv.com/parents/tvShows/babar/index.asp "Babar" web page at TreeHouseTV.com]
* [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17640 New York Review of Books]