Big mistake. These tales are as bad as Disney (full of evildoers and orphaned protaganists).
Did you know what happened to Babar's mother?
Yeah, that's right. Killed by an evil hunter. Perhaps so he can capture Babar? I'm unclear of the motive. Ivory was a pretty hot commodity in the early 1900s.
Then Babar moves to the city where he becomes aware of his nakedness and is taken in by a benefactor and civilized. How... colonial.
But Babar's cousins come into the city, giving him a reason to go back to the forest, where, just at that time the old king eats a bad mushroom and dies.
And I'm trying to encourage the eating of vegetables.
The kings untimely death is an opening for Babar because they figure he is the best because he has lived in the city. His condition? He will be marrying Celeste, his cousin.
Murder, racism, incest. All you want in a children's tale.
I try to skip over the part with the evil hunter, but they are obsessed. Want to go back and look at it. Ask me where Babar's momma is. I have hidden it.
And then there is Curious George. Which we watch in the a.m.s. There is no mention of this in the show.
His delightful yellow hat. Bait to capture George to bring him to the zoo.
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I KNOW!! My friend who lives in Paris sent Bea all the Babar books and in one of them, there are cannibals who are looking very much like they were in a minstel show, if you know what I mean. We don't read those books anymore. :) I too was stunned by the killing of the mother, and sort of glossed it over/read it reallyfast..
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