Babar the elephant

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the French classic, Babar the elephant, a popular character created by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931. Unfortunately Jean died at the age of 37 after only publishing 7 Babar books. His son, Laurent de Brunhoff, stepped into his father's shoes and continued with the series.

The story tells of a young elephant called Babar who leaves the jungle after seeing his mother killed by a hunter. He visits a big city (Paris), and befriends an old lady who clothes him and enrolls him in school. He later returns to the jungle and shows his herd the benefits of civilization and becomes King of the kingdom...

Having done a little research it seems this incredibly successful character sparked a lot of controversy in its time as many critics panned it for being politically incorrect and that it justified colonisation. For me, Babar is a childhood staple that I grew up reading and watching on television, and with a child's head on I can't say that I ever picked up on its supposed undercurrents.