Do you guys remember the first book? There was a scene in which the original king of the elephants (the one before Babar stepped in) died from eating a bad mushroom. While this could be possibly the hunter's doing, there are a few suspicious things.
It is said that Babar was the first civilized elephant. However, if he was actually the first civilized elephant, then the first Elephant King wouldn't be called an Elephant King - he would be called chief of an elephant tribe. Also, Cornelius had glasses before Babar appeared.
How... convenient it seems to be that Babar and his cousins arrived into the elephants' jungle moments after the king's death. Also, in the book, when they arrive, the elephants at the jungle greet them, complimenting their clothes and their car. If Babar was truly the first civilized elephant in his land, then the older elephants wouldn't know what the hell is a car. Suspicious, right?
You know how Rataxes, the lord of the warmongering, primitive rhinoceroses, told the animal rulers in the Episode 5 that he alone saved the jungle for the Hunter? Well, he might be not the only propaganda-telling king. After all, dearest king Babar once organized a world class ballet in Celesteville while he was still a child and while his kingdom was only forming. How he didn't ruin his economy? There might be a few poor regions in the kingdom....
And who knows? Cornelius and Pompadour could have did a few tricks "helping" Babar rule his kingdom....
- This theory relies on a heavy dose of Alternate Character Interpretation, most prominently for Cornelius, who is among the kindest, most benevolent characters in the show. So, for the theory to work, Cornelius has to be very good at acting to cover up his schemes.
To this day, he seems to be a very popular character among the fandom, so there is still a possibility of him being included in a future book or series.
