"In 1931 Jean de Brunhoff introduced French children to a little elephant by the name of Babar, a gentle, charming character
whose journey from orphaned forest dweller to dapper, convivial sophisticate is chronicled in L'Histoire de Babar, the first in a
series of stories that has captivated children the world over. In this book and the six that followed, de Brunhoff created an idyllic
world in which Babar, wearing spats and driving a little red convertible, marries, has children, travels extensively, and is
eventually crowned king of the elephants, all the while espousing a quintessentially French ideal--bonheur--and placing a high
premium on family affection, discipline, and benevolence. Laurent de Brunhoff finished some of the manuscripts left incomplete
on his father's death in 1937 and then wrote Babar stories of his own, continuing a storytelling legacy in which the perplexities of
modern living are always reconciled with traditional values. The rendering of situations in which aplomb and elegance occur
simultaneously with action and adventure is the hallmark of the de Brunhoffs' illustrations, so distinct with their bold lines and
primary colors."
- Extracted from the card catalog description of "The Legacy of Babar" at Amazon.com
From the day I first saw the animated series on television many years ago, I've always loved "Babar". The
characters always have such interesting adventures and there's usually a moral to every story.
The main characters include Babar (king of the elephants), Celeste (queen of the elephants and
after whom "Celesteville" is named), Babar's children - Flora, Alexander, Pom & Isabelle
and Babar's advisors Pompadour and Cornelius. There's also the kind old lady who taught Babar
much about human life (who appears mainly in the earlier t.v episodes), Babar's brother Arthur, Babar's best friend Zephir (a monkey) and
others. The animated tv stories nearly always have something to do with the king of Rhino land -
Rataxus, and his faithful assistant, Basil. The king of Rhino Land is a very self-opinionated and
egotistical fellow who believes he is a great ruler and should rule over all the animal world.
He never admits it, but he is jealous of Babar's popularity and is always plotting away to try and think of some scheme that will lead to the conquering of Celesteville.
He never succeeds though and this leads to many bursts of outrage which are really hilarious to
watch. His little assistant, Basil, is always there to comfort him and help him with his plots, but
in the end, Babar and Celeste's clever thinking always manages to out-wit them both.
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