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Celesteville
Babar
- Voiced by: James Bradford (Babar and Father Christmas), Gordon Pinsent (1989-1991 series, Babar: The Movie, Babar and the Adventures of Badou), Gavin McGrath (as child; 1989-1991 series, Babar: The Movie), Dan Lett (Babar: King of the Elephants, 2000 revival), Kristin Fairlie (as child; Babar: King of the Elephants)
- Age Lift: Somewhat inverted. In the original books, Babar returned to the jungle with Celeste and Arthur when they were young adults and old enough to be married. In the tv series, Babar and Celeste appear near their adolesence when they return while Arthur appears about nine or ten, so naturally they didn't get married immediately upon returning.
- Break the Cutie: He was a playful and innocent little tyke in the twilight of his life, but the death of his mother made him a bit more formal and solemn.
- Childhood Friend Romance: With Celeste.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: In the animated series, he's crowned the king of elephants when he's still a pre-teen. Fortunately, he's a competent leader despite his age.
- Good Parents: Is a very loving father to his children, offering them advice in any way he can, and only being firm when it is absolutely necessary.
- Heroic BSoD: Babar has one after his mother is shot by the hunter.
- Interspecies Friendship: Babar's best friend is Zephir, a monkey.
- Limited Wardrobe: Seldom seen without his trademark green suit.
- Offered the Crown: Babar is not royalty by birth, but after the Old King dies, he is offered to become the King of Elephants because his human upbringing and experience with civilization makes him well-suited for the position.
- Raised by Humans: Babar was raised by Madame after his mother was killed.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Babar is largely a selfless and responsible king. He did have a few slip-ups when he was a child due to his young age and inexperience, but was always able to find a solution to them. He only uses more stern tactics when the situations demands it, such as being forced to arrest Arthur when evidence strongly suggests that he stole from Rataxes or putting his foot down on Arthur's disastrous inventions.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Babar wasn't initially this way, but his education from Madame in Paris made him so much of a child prodigy that he was appointed the new king of the elephants. In fact, more often than not, his solutions to problems turn out to be more efficient and wise than those of Cornelius and Pompadour.
- You Killed My Father: Babar's attitude towards the Hunter who killed his mother.
Celeste
- Voiced by: Louise Villeneuve (Babar and Father Christmas), Dawn Greenhalgh (1989-1991 series, Babar and the Adventures of Badou), Tara Strong (as child; 1989-1991 series), Elizabeth Hanna (Babar: The Movie), Sarah Polley (as child; Babar: The Movie), Janet-Laine Green (Babar: King of the Elephants, 2000 revival), Jennifer Martini (as child; Babar: King of the Elephants)
- Childhood Friend Romance: With Babar, in the animated adaptation.
- Kissing Cousins: In the book, she and Babar are cousins. This is changed for the animated series, where they are simply childhood friends.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: In all the animated versions, instead of being Babar's cousin, she is his childhood friend.
Pom, Flora and Alexander
L-R: Flora, Alexander, Pom
- Pom has been voiced by: Amie Charlebois (Babar and Father Christmas), Bobby Becken (Seasons 1 and 2 of 1989-1991 series, Babar: The Movie), Benjamin Barrett (Seasons 3,4, and 5 of 1989-1991 series), Cody Jones (Babar: King of the Elephants), Noah Reid (2000 revival), Dan Lett (as adult; Babar and the Adventures of Badou)Flora has been voiced by: Courtney Caroll (Babar and Father Christmas), Lisa Yamanaka (Seasons 1 and 2 of 1989-1991 series), Lea-Helen Weir (Seasons 3,4, and 5 of 1989-1991 series), Marsha Moreau (Babar: The Movie), Kristen Bone (Babar: King of the Elephants, 2000 revival)Alexander has been voiced by: Kai Engstad (Babar and Father Christmas), Amos Crawley (Seasons 1 and 2 of 1989-1991 series, Babar: The Movie), Stuart Stone (Seasons 3,4, and 5 of 1989-1991 series), Kyle Fairlie (Babar: King of the Elephants, 2000 revival)
- Audience Surrogate: In the first two seasons of the Nelvana series, they are the ones listening to the stories of Babar's adventures. Also, they are around the age of the show's primary target audience.
- Comic-Book Time: Averted. They started out only slightly older than Isabelle, but aged to about ten in later seasons.
- The Dutiful Son: Pom seems to be the most responsible and mature of the three.
- Infant Sibling Jealousy: None of them cared much for Isabelle when she was born, especially Flora. As far as they cared, she was just around to cry and stink and take up all their parents' attention. Thankfully, they learn their lesson about new babies and embrace her as their little sister.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Alexander in his older years. He has a very large ego and can be rather inconsiderate of others when he's out to achieve his goals, but he dearly cares about his family and willing to help them in any dilemna they're in at any cost, bet it in need of a snake venom antidote or just encouragement when they feel they are meaningless.
- Prone to Tears: Flora is rather prone to crying.
- Same-Sex Triplets: Averted, Flora is a girl while Pom and Alexander are boys.
Isabelle
- Voiced by: Lisa Yamanaka (1989-1991 series)
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Can cross into this territory at times, mainly to Alexander. In fact, her three older siblings were so fed up with having a new baby in the palace when she was born that they began to look for ways to get rid of her.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Babar and Celeste's youngest child, and the youngest member of the main cast.
- Baby Talk: She initially only babbled, squeaked, and cried. She eventually began to speak more coherently as she got older in later episodes.
- Girly Girl: A bit more-so than Flora, as she loves the color pink, playing girly pretend games like House and dress-up, and her "dollies". Understandable as she is still just a toddler.
Arthur
- Voiced by: Kemp Edwards (Babar and Father Christmas), Paul Haddad (1989-1991 series), Stuart Stone (as child; 1989-1991 series, Babar: The Movie), Amos Crawley (Babar: King of the Elephants), Kyle Fairlie (as child; Babar: King of the Elephants)
- Animal Gender-Bender: Like Pompadour, he's a male elephant who lacks tusks. What's more, he's supposed to be an African elephant which have tusks in both genders.
- Cool Uncle: To Babar and Celeste's kids.
- Fat Best Friend: He may be a chubby sailor, but he is one to Zephir.
- Limited Wardrobe: A red-and-white sailor suit.
- The Prankster: In the book The Travels of Babar, he ties a firecracker to the tail of Rataxes, which leads to a war between the elephants and the rhinos.
Zephir
- Voiced by: Rick Jones (Babar and Father Christmas), Jeff Pustil (1989-1991 series, Babar and the Adventures of Badou), John Stocker (Babar: The Movie), Philip Williams (Babar: King of the Elephants, 2000 revival)
- Interspecies Friendship: His best friend is Babar, an elephant.
- Interspecies Romance: He gets a bit of Ship Tease with Princess Midge, a gorilla.
- Mischief-Making Monkey: He is a bit of a prankster. This personality trait is the focus of the episode "Monkey Business".
- Silly Simian: He's the only major non-elephant character, mostly serving as comic relief.
Cornelius
- Voiced by: Chris Wiggins (1989-1991 series, Babar: The Movie, Babar: King of the Elephants, Babar and the Adventures of Badou)
- Blind Without 'Em: He can't see without his glasses.
- Catchphrase: "My tusks!"
- Cool Old Guy: Despite his old age, Cornelius is smart, brave and usually level-headed.
- Parental Substitute: When Babar was a child, he acted somewhat as a father figure to him.
Pompadour
- Voiced by: Stephen Ouimette (1989-1991 series, Babar: The Movie)
- Ambiguously Gay: Pompadour is an incredibly effeminate elephant with Louis XV-like attire, very proud of his wigs, and obsessed with protocol and cleanness.
- Animal Gender-Bender: He has no tusks, despite being a male elephant (and an African elephant at that).
- Canon Foreigner: He was created for the Nelvana cartoon series.
- High-Class Glass: He wears a fancy monocle.
- Meaningful Name: He wears a white pompadour wig, befitting his name.
- Nervous Wreck: Pompadour is constantly worried about something.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: His obsession with protocol can get in the way of getting things done.
Troubadour
Pompadour's personal assistant, also exclusive to the animated series.
- Canon Foreigner: Like Pompadour, he does not appear in any of the books.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: He's far more intelligent and competent than the constantly nervous Pompadour.
- The Speechless: He never utters a word.
- Shorter Means Smarter: He's a lot shorter than Pompadour and far more competent than him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He's a prominent character in early seasons, but when the series gets more focused on Babar's kids, he disappears without any explanation.
Truffles
- Voiced by: Dan Hennessey (1989-1991 series)
- Edible Theme Naming: He's named after a type of edible mushroom.
Madame
- Voiced by: Elizabeth Hanna (1989-1991 series, Babar: The Movie, Babar: King of the Elephants)
- Demoted to Extra: She was extremely prominent in the episodes revolving around Babar's childhood, but only appears in a handful of the episodes where Babar is an adult now that her role in the series is more or less complete.
- Good Parents: Or rather, Good Parental Substitute. She genuinely cares for Babar and is there for him when he needs moral or emotional support.
- No Name Given: We never learn her actual name. Everyone refers to her as either "The Old Lady" or "Madame".
- Parental Substitute: After Babar's mother is killed, she adopts and raises the baby elephant.
- Token Human: She's the only human in Celesteville.
Rhinoland
Lord Rataxes
- Voiced by: Les Lye (Babar and Father Christmas), Allen Stewart-Coates (1989-1991 series, Babar: King of the Elephants), Charles Kerr (Babar: The Movie), Adrian Truss (Babar and the Adventures of Badou)
- Adaptational Villainy: In the movie he's a full-on villain rather than the Anti-Villain and Friendly Enemy he is in the series.
- Anti-Villain: Rataxes is more of a Jerkass rival to Babar than a straightforward villain. His "evil" plots are mostly to prove that rhinos are better than elephants or to troll the elephants for his own amusement, rather than anything that would actually hurt Babar or Celesteville. His few more threatening plots are done at the persuasion of another rhino, which he only reluctantly agrees to.
- Ascended Extra: Rataxes only appeared in one story in the original books, but gained a much larger role in the cartoon and the movie.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Rataxes is the king of Rhinoland because he's the toughest and strongest rhino of all. One of Rhinoland's customs is that other rhinos can claim the throne by beating the king in a wrestling match. When Rataxes and Babar switch kingdoms for a day, Babar is the one expected to wrestle the rhinos to defend "his" throne.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Rataxes is a loud-mouthed, larger-than-life rhinoceros, and plays up the stereotype of rhino aggression at all times.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Rataxes may be a crass, ill-tempered brute, but he genuinely cares about Lady Rataxes and their son.
- Evil Sounds Deep: He has a rather deep voice.
- Evil Overlord: In the movie, where he is an aggressive military leader who wants to conquer Elephantland, and his antics aren't played for laughs.
- Fantastic Racism: Rataxes' contempt for all things elephantine is a running gag.
- Friendly Enemy: He is generally an antagonist, but sometimes teams up with Babar against a greater threat. And even when he and Babar are enemies, he acts as more of a Sitcom Arch-Nemesis than someone seriously trying to destroy Babar.
- Heel–Face Turn: He used to be a full fledged Jerkass who saw Babar and his plans as king as nothing but an obstacles towards his own reign of Rhinoland and would sabotage him whenever he could. But he started to warm up to him as time went on, teaming up with Babar against an even bigger threat, such as the hunter or General Pameer, and even "The Gift", he outright rescues Babar from a quicksand trap because he can't stand the thought of him drowning, but then asks Babar to not tell anyone about the rescue because he's embarrassed about getting soft. He eventually signed a peace treaty with Babar agreeing not to do any more harm, and while still a bit of a Jerkass, he gets along much better with Babar and the other elephants when they're adults.
- Henpecked Husband: Rataxes won't admit it, but he knows his wife calls all the shots.
- Hidden Depths: Despite his aggressive nature, Rataxes occasionally manages to excel at non-violent things, the standout example being when Lady Rataxes manipulated him into joining a ballet production, only for Rataxes to perform well enough to amaze her.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Moreso when Babar is an adult. He still lets his selfish tendencies get the better of him from time to time after signing the peace treaty with Celesteville, such as when he cheats at the Father-Son picnic games, or when he sets up an outrageous road toll for any elephant passing through Rhinoland, but he's quick to realize the error. In "Mango Madness" he comforts Flora as she apologizes to him for her Brutal Honesty.
- Large Ham: Ooooh, boy.
- Parents as People: In "Radio Riot", he admits to Babar that the reason why he was being so hard on Victor is that he wants him to be ready when he becomes ruler of Rhinoland which he knows is a difficult job.
- Rhino Rampage: He fits the stereotype of the bad-tempered, aggressive, and unfriendly rhinoceros.
Lady Rataxes
- Voiced by: Corrine Koslo (1989-1991 series), Jayne Eastwood (Babar and the Adventures of Badou)
- Lady Macbeth: Most of the time, Lady Rataxes plays the Only Sane Man to Lord Rataxes, acting to persuade (or outright bully) him into being less of a barbarian. But there are occasions, such as the "Rhino Rampage" episode, where she instead pushes him to cause more havoc than he and his henchmen would have on their own.
- Only Sane Woman: She's much more level-headed than her husband (which isn't saying a lot).
- My Beloved Smother: "The Diaperman Cometh" shows she is this with her son Victor, with the episode starting with her constantly worrying for his safety as he goes for an overnight camping trip.
- Tsundere: Lady Rataxes is prone to mood swings. At moments she's all lovey-dovey with Rataxes, other times she yells at him at the top of her lung.
Victor
- Voiced by: Noah Godfrey (1989-1991 series)
- Big Eater: And how!
- Bully Turned Buddy: Initially disliked Babar's children and wasn't interested in being friends with them due to the rivalry between Celesteville and Rhinoland. He eventually grew past this and became friends with them (somewhat, see Toxic Friend Influence below).
- Calling the Old Man Out: Twice in the show. The first is in "Fathers and Sons" when his father constantly cheats at the Father-Son races, and the second is in "Radio Riot" after Zephir convinces him to stand up to his father.
- Heroic BSoD: In "Fathers and Sons", he is absolutely demoralized when his father constantly cheats at the Father Son races, losing all respect for him. It's up to Babar and Alexander to make things right.
- Hidden Depths: "Radio Riot" shows that he feels his father pushes him around and pressures him with royal duties when he just wants to have fun with his friends.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: It's clear his father's jerkish and arrogant tendencies rubbed off on him, but he's still good friends with Pom, Alexander and Flora, and is always willing to do the right thing in the end.
- Miles Gloriosus: Brags about what accomplishments he and / or his father Rataxes can do, though these usually end up being mere exaggerations or tall tales.
- Paper Tiger: Often acts rough and tough and like he's the baddest guy in the room that can take on anything, but usually tucks tail and runs at the first sign of actual danger.
- Royal Brat: Occasionally shows shades of this. Let's just say he's pretty proud to be born into royalty.
- Toxic Friend Influence: He isn't always the best influence on the triplets. In "My Dinner With Rataxes" he encourages them to go exploring with him in a dark tunnel they discovered behind Rataxes trophy case, only to find that it's a complete labyrinth and they're completely lost in it. Or in "Witch's Potion" when he encourages Pom and Alexander to go cross the gorge to find out if the old lady Mildred is really witch, even though they are not allowed to do so since it's dangerous. This backfires when Flora follows them to try and stop them, only to get bitten by an incredibly poisonous snake.
Basil
- Voiced by: John Stocker (1989-1991 series)
- Beleaguered Bureaucrat: He's the one actually running the country while also putting up with Rataxes' schemes.
- Canon Foreigner: Created for the Nelvana animated series.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Since Rataxes is not a particularly competent ruler, Basil is the one who actually keeps the country running.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Whenever he's not helping Rataxes in his schemes against the elephants, Basil is a pretty Nice Guy and one episode shows he's a stage director in his free time.
- Servile Snarker: He will snark at Rataxes's expense from time to time.
- Shorter Means Smarter: He's a diminutive rhinoceros who is far more intelligent and competent than his huge boss Rataxes.
- Yes-Man: As expected from the assistant of a villain. He often acts supportive to Rataxes's schemes, no matter how hare-brained they are.
Past characters
Babar's mother
Babar's birth mother who is killed by the hunter in the pilot episode.
- Adaptational Badass: When she is killed by the hunter in the books, she quickly goes down after one shot. In the series, she manages to charge at the hunter and destroy his gun despite being shot twice (the second being fatal).
- Bloodless Carnage: When Babar discovered his mother's corpse, she only appeared unconscious with no visible bullet wounds and her ivory tusks still intact. Though it made it look like the Hunter was killing elephants just for the sake of killing.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: She managed to charge the Hunter and destroy his weapon all while having withstood a gunshot wound before the second one takes her down.
- Good Parents: She adored her son, and wanted nothing more than for him to be happy.
- Heroic Sacrifice: After getting shot by the hunter, she makes a last ditch effort to charge at him to give the herd a chance to escape.
- Killed Off for Real: She's shot dead by the Hunter.
- Mama Bear: She was willing to die to protect her baby. Her last act is to carry Babar on her back to safety, then after being shot, charge at the Hunter and smash his gun.
- No Name Given: She was never given a name in the books or the series.
- Posthumous Character: She's long dead by the start of TV series, only appearing in flashbacks and in a nightmare of Babar's.
The Old King
The first king of the elephants who later dies after eating poisonous mushrooms.
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: An odd example, Despite only being seen as a quadrupedal wild elephant, he is depicted with a crown sitting on his head.
- Death by Origin Story: His death is the reason why Babar becomes king at a young age.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: In the original books, there's a drawing of him getting poisoned. He looks sickly green and appears to be withering away from the poison.
- The Good King: He was a bit older-fashioned than Babar, but the herd clearly loved and respected him.
- Killed Off for Real: He dies from eating a poisonous mushroom.
- No Name Given: Like Babar's mother, he was never given a real name.
The Hunter
A man who hunts elephants and kills Babar's mother.
- Adaptational Karma: In the Nelvana series, he dies in the fire he himself caused.
- Ascended Extra: In the books, he was merely an ordinary game hunter who killed Babar's mother simply because he noticed her passing by and disappeared from the story completely after failing to do the same to Babar. The series on the other hand made him the Big Bad of the Five-Episode Pilot, being there with the intent of poaching Babar's entire herd from the beginning, with Babar's mother merely being his first victim.
- Big Bad: Of the Five-Episode Pilot of the Nelvana series.
- Egomaniac Hunter: He kills Babar's mother and attempts to do this to every other animal in the forest.
- Evil Poacher: He's willing to continue terrorizing the herd after learning of their sapience and intelligence. He merely returns with more men and weapons.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: He burns to death.
- For the Evulz: He didn't even remove the tusks of Babar's mother after killing her.
- Hate Sink: His actions on killing Babar's mother was unforgiving, but at least he got what was coming to him in the end.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: In the Nelvana series, he dies in the fire he himself caused.
- Karma Houdini: In the book only, he receives no comeuppance (and vanishes from the story completely after killing Babar's mother).
- Killed Off for Real: He dies in the climax of the Five-Episode Pilot, burning in the fire he caused.
- Kill It with Fire: The Hunter attempts to do this to every animal in the forest.
- No Name Given: He's only known as the Hunter.
- Posthumous Character: He was dead, as since Babar is telling his past life, he was dead at this time
- Small Role, Big Impact: In the books, he appears only on one page - but on that one page he kills Babar's mother, forcing the little elephant to flee to the city.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: In a series that's mostly Slice of Life starring an adorable young elephant, he's a truly terrifying villain whose very first action is murdering the protagonist's mother.
- The Voiceless: The hunter, until right before his death.
- Would Hurt a Child: The hunter has no problem with killing young Babar, not even after discovering his sapience.
