Line #17 YMMV/Babar


1	!!Original books include:
2	* AngstWhatAngst: In the original books, Babar gets over the death of his mother very quickly, in sharp contrast with the AnimatedAdaptation.
3	* ValuesDissonance: In the original books, Babar and Celeste are [[KissingCousins cousins.]] All the animated versions turn her into a childhood friend of Babar instead.
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6	!!Animated series include:
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8	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG3y04Xc2Uw The theme song is so relaxing...]] [[https://youtu.be/25t9PASpCmg?si=t4D0__3k68NRmSwi To say nothing of the flute and piano-rich beautiful closing credits theme.]]
9	* CompleteMonster: The unnamed [[AscendedExtra hunter]], the BigBad of the first five episodes, focusing on Babar's childhood, is the [[VileVillainSaccharineShow darkest and cruelest villain in this mostly lighthearted series]]. Initially seeming to be a simple EvilPoacher, who relentlessly hunts a herd of elephants, one of his successful kills was [[YouKilledMyFather Babar's own mother]]. The hunter continues this, even when he witnesses multiple instances of the animals being sapient, eventually calling in a bigger team of poachers to wage war on the animals. His only apparent motivations are greed and wounded pride over being beaten by a young Babar. This eventually comes to a head when he has the rhino village destroyed, and sets fire to the jungle to wipe out all its inhabitants. When the fire is beaten back, the hunter dies defiantly screaming how he'll stop at nothing to destroy the animals.
10	* CrossesTheLineTwice:
11	** The "children are on fire" gag from "Alexander the Great" counts for how sudden it is.
12	--->'''Fireman''': Okay, where's the fire?\
13	'''Cornelius''': There's no fire, it's more serious than that.\
14	'''Pompadour''': It's the children.\
15	'''Fireman''': The children are on fire?
16	** Zephir's pranks, as shown in a flashback from "Monkey Business"; one of which involves using Cornelius' undergarments as the Celesteville flag. When Cornelius realizes this, he blushes.
17	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Pompadour is quite popular for being AmbiguouslyGay.
18	* HilariousInHindsight: The episode "Conga the Terrible" is a ShoutOut to ''Film/KingKong'', but the whole episode takes place on Skull Island, there is no BeastAndBeauty plotline, the ape is big enough to grab an elephant and is hostile with the protagonists in the beginning but ends up helping them when he learns they mean no harm. All in all, it's much closer to ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', a movie released 3 decades later, than to any other ''King Kong'' film.
19	* MoralEventHorizon: The unnamed hunter can be excused for killing Babar's mother, as he's... well, a hunter, but he irrevocably crosses the Horizon in his attempt to burn down Celesteville for the sole sake of continuing to hunt.
20	* PeripheryDemographic: The show's primary target audience is children eight and under, but has surprisingly intelligent writing, dramatic and/or humorous stories, child-friendly but effectively funny gags, well-developed and likable characters, charming animation style, Creator/TaraStrong as the voice of Young Celeste, an AmbiguouslyGay character, {{Shout Out}}s to more adult works of fiction, and a handful of {{Parental Bonus}}es, all of which make it quite enjoyable for older viewers as well- this was likely due to airing on HBO and hence being able to get away with this type of stuff.
21	* SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel: The series wasn't afraid of getting dark sometimes, but it still qualifies as this, with its wonderful soundtrack, fun stories, lovable characters (even Rataxes had a heart most of the time), feel-good lessons, and beautiful adaptation of the original books' charming artstyle. The intro especially stands out, with its warm, cozy, inviting, and just plain comfy feel.
22	* TearJerker: When Babar discovers his dead mother (complete with a BigNo that sounds incredibly realistic for a child actor), and when all the other elephants join in mourning for her. Even more heartbreaking when you realize how TruthInTelevision this is.
23	** In "Special Delivery", Flora runs away from home after being berated and scolded by her parents for both her getting angry at being ignored by them in favor of Isabelle (who was just born in the episode's flashback) and for waking the latter up.
24	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: So the hunter returns in ''Babar's Triumph'', still wanting to hunt the animals in spite of his discovery that they are now civilized and intelligent and armed with more men and guns than ever. So how does he go about it? Does he invade Celesteville with his fellow hunters in a similar manner to Rataxes in ''Babar: The Movie''? No. Does he try to kidnap Madame as hostage in order to make the elephants surrender? No. Does he even try to capture them and sell them since circuses and zoos would probably pay through the nose for talking elephants? Not even. His attack merely consists of...starting a fire to burn the jungle down...''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard which ultimately kills himself]]''. Kind of a let down, isn't it?
25	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The FiveEpisodePilot ''alone'' features Babar's mother being shot (BloodlessCarnage, but still), The Old King succumbing to food poisoning (he re-appears in "Ghost for a Day" as, well, a ghost), and the hunter being burned alive by the fire ''he'' started, with Babar confirming in "Boys Will Be Boys" that the Hunter was KilledOffForReal. Even as the series grew LighterAndSofter, it still dealt with subject matter such as Babar and his friends being picked on because they look different, Cornelius and Pompadour believing an assassin is out to kill Babar (a plot recycled in two separate episodes no less), an elephant-hating general sending Celesteville and Rhinoland to war, and Flora nearly dying from being bitten by a poisonous snake. Owing to the fact that the series was produced by Creator/{{Nelvana}}, it aired in reruns on preschool-oriented networks owned by parent company Corus Entertainment, such as Qubo in the United States as well as Treehouse TV in Canada.
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28	!!Movies includes:
29	* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The reason for the 1999 film's huge failure. Besides the fact that it came out long after the brief renaissance in Babar's popularity that the TV series sparked (so most of its original fans had grown up and moved on), it was a completely new adaptation of the original books, with nothing for fans of the original series to experience nostalgia with.
30	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
31	** "The Best We Both Can Be", a song from the 1989 movie that showcases Babar and Celeste's relationship.
32	** "The Committee Song" as well. It's probably the only song in existence that makes bureaucracy sound ''fun'' (well that, and the "Bureaucrat Song" from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'').
33	** "When You Find Your Way", the song for the opening of the 1999 reboot film.
34	** "Madame's Lessons", also from the 1999 movie, showing Babar learning proper etiquette from Madame and growing up. Even if it's spoken in rhythm (Babar does sing the last line, though), it has a very catchy beat, and the chorus will get stuck in your head.
35	** "The Ancient Song of the Elephants", yet another song from the 1999 movie, is heard at several points throughout, sung by the birds, and has a nice African sound to it. The narrator notes that the elephants have long since forgotten what it means, but the birds haven't.
36	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The 1999 film ''Babar The King'' is filled with these, particularly the series of tragic accidents and Babar's resulting NightmareSequence towards the very end.

Context YMMV / Babar