| Season 6 Episode 13 | |
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| Runaway Reptar | |
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"Runaway Reptar" was written by Ali Marie Matheson and John Cooksy based on an idea by Scott Gray and directed by John Holmquist and Jim Huffy. It became available for sale on the VHS on August 3, 1999.
Babar: King of the Elephants is a 1999 traditionally animated film directed by Raymond Jafelice and made by Nelvana Limited, Home Made Movies, and TMO-Loonland, in association with The Clifford Ross Company. The film was released in theaters in Canada by Alliance Communications and in the US by HBO Home Video. It is the second film based on Jean de Brunhoff's original book series, following Babar: The Movie. The story chronicles the events of the first four Babar books.[2]
Plot[]
The film opens with various birds singing "The Ancient Song of the Elephants". Marabou, a marabou stork, introduces the story that is about to unfold, beginning with a historically significant event: the birth of Babar the elephant.
In the Great Forest, Babar lives a happy childhood being cared for by his loving mother and playing with the other young elephants, including his friends Arthur and Celeste. One day Babar's mother is shot and killed by a poacher, and Babar is forced to flee as the poacher approaches;[3] after days of wandering, he eventually finds his way to an unnamed city in Paris.[4] Babar spends an eventful day exploring the city and engaging in human activities such as eating ice cream for the first time, all the while disturbing traffic and frightening the other citizens. He meets an older woman, Madame, who provides him with money to purchase proper clothing at a nearby store. Following an extensive fitting session, Babar emerges from the store wearing his signature bright green suit, red bow tie, and a bowler hat.[3] Madame invites Babar to live with her, and she raises him as if he is human, educating him on subjects including mathematics, etiquette, and how to drive a car on the roads. Although Babar enjoys his new life, he occasionally thinks back to his childhood in the Great Forest, missing his elephant friends and his deceased mother.
Two years later, while on a walk with Madame, Babar is shocked to discover Arthur and Celeste, who have left the Great Forest in search of him. The three friends spend the day in a fashion reminiscent of Babar's first day in the city, but they are interrupted by Celeste's mother and another adult elephant from the Great Forest, who have been searching for the runaway children. They inform him that the King of the Elephants has died from accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms, and that the rhinoceroses have waged war against the elephants due to Arthur and the other younger elephants playing pranks on them. That evening, Madame and Babar agree that it is time for him to return home.
Babar is welcomed back to the Great Forest, where he reunites with his old friend Cornelius and the rest of the elephants. Meanwhile, Lord Rataxes, the leader of the rhinoceroses, mobilizes his forces in preparation for war against the elephants. Babar devises a plan to stop the war: he paints monster faces on the backsides of elephants and has them walk backwards in their approach towards the enemy. The plan succeeds in forcing the rhinoceros troops to retreat in fear, and Babar then has Arthur apologize to the abandoned Rataxes for offending the rhinoceroses, thus restoring peace to the jungle. For his brilliant idea and bravery, Babar is asked to be the new King of the Elephants; he agrees on the condition that Celeste be his Queen, which she accepts.
As King, Babar is keen to introduce Western civilization to the elephants by building a City of the Elephants. He brings in Madame - along with loads of supplies on the backs of camels - to the Great Forest, and together with the rest of the elephants they build huts with thatched roofs for residences, as well as other common city buildings such as a hospital, a theatre, and a courthouse. As they are establishing roles for all of the animal citizens within their new city, Celeste reveals to Babar that she is pregnant; she later gives birth to triplets Flora, Pom, and Alexander. Problems eventually begin to arise in the City of the Elephants, including Madame being bitten by a snake while protecting Zephir and Cornelius being struck unconscious by a fallen beam when his hut catches fire. In hopes of distracting Babar from these events, Celeste plans a picnic for the family, Arthur, and Zephir; her efforts are successful until an unsupervised Alexander stows away in a basket that drifts away in the lake, almost eaten by a crocodile and nearly drowning before he is saved by his parents. That night, Babar's troubles manifest in a nightmare in which he is threatened by a visit from the Older Demon nun named Misfortune and a Alligator/Cow/Gazelle/Giraffe/Clydesdale horse/Brontosaurus/Tiger/Man's foot/Bull-like Monstrous Apatosaurus named Dino Beast, and other Beasts representing a Dalmatian/Caterpillar/Cheetah/Red Kangaroo-like hybrid creature name anger, Bat/Rabbit/Adélie penguin/Pteranodon-like hybrid creature named fear, Elf/Leopard seal/Pig-like creature name discouragement, a wild boar/Wolf/Parrot/Woodpecker/Monkey/Bullfrog-like hybrid creature named stupidity, Goat/T-Rex/Worm-like hybrid named Ignorance, a Python/Cat/Otter/Tiger-like hybrid creature name despair, and Aardvark/Bloodhound/Bear/Fossa/Brown Rat/Cattle/Warthog/Lion-like hybrid creature named sickness, and rescued by elephant angels representing, for instance, courage, happiness, and love. He dreams that Flora is the spirit of love ("I am Love, and I am here, to show you joy and peace. Now, good things will come to you, and bring you happiness..."). but he is awoken by Flora the next morning to discover that both Cornelius and Madame are well on their way to recovering from their respective ordeals. The elephants rejoice in the completion of their beautiful new city, for which Babar proposes a new name: Celesteville, named after Celeste.
Voice cast[]
- Jim Henson as King Babar
- Kristin Fairlie as Young Babar
- Anna Chlumsky as Queen Celeste
- Jennifer Martini as Young Celeste
- Chris Wiggins as Cornelius
- Philip Williams as Zephir
- Tony Anselmo as Uncle Arthur
- Kyle Fairlie as Young Arthur/Alexander
- Kristen Bone as Flora
- Cody Jones as Pom
- Elizabeth Hanna as Madame
- Allen Stewart-Coates as Rataxes
- Wayne Robson as Marabou/Sales Manager
- Ellen-Ray Hennessy as Babar's Mother
- Kath Soucie as Misfortune the Witch
- Peter Cullen as Demonic Dragon
- Paul Haddad as Elevator Boy/Tailor
Trivia[]
- This film was closer the stories than the tv show as the stories are very different.
- Rather than being pronounced "BAH-bar" like in the show and the other movie, Babar's name is pronounced the original way "Buh-BAR" (NOTE: With pronunciation, some syllables are in all-caps because of emphasis.).
- This movie shows when Flora, Pom, and Alexander are born.
- Madame gets bitten by a snake in this movie, and then passes out, it's unknown what kind of snake it is (though it resembles a cobra), but it's similar to when Flora gets bitten by a snake in "Witch's Potion."
- Isabelle is absent from this movie, this might be because she wasn't born yet.
- Victor is also absent from this movie, it's possible that he's never met Flora, Pom, and Alexander until school.
- It is stated that this film is a sequel to Babar: The Movie, but this film has a completely different look, feel, and storyline, in fact, this film is based on the book series itself, instead of the TV series. This would explain why Pompadour and Basil are not present in this film.
- Of all those from the TV series and the other movie, only Elizabeth Hanna, the late Allen Stewart-Coates, and the late Chris Wiggins reprise their roles (as the Old Lady, Rataxes, and Cornelius, respectively).
- Amos Crawley, the voice of older Arthur in this movie, had previously voiced Alexander in the TV series.
- Kristin Fairlie (Young Babar), Jennifer Martini (Young Celeste), Amos Crawley (Adult Arthur), Janet-Laine Green (Adult Celeste), and Elizabeth Hanna (Madame) were all previously and later involved in Little Bear (as Little Bear, Emily, Owl, Mother Bear, and Hen, respectively).
- Kyle Fairlie, the voice of Young Arthur and Alexander in this movie, co-starred with his sister as the voice of Cub (a bear cub like Little Bear) in The Little Bear Movie.
- Additionally, Kristen Bone (the voice of Flora) and Kyle Fairlie (the voice of Alexander and their maternal uncle as a child) were involved in voicing Snail and Rabbit from Franklin.
- Kristen Bone and Kyle Fairlie were also involved in Rolie Polie Olie as the voices of Zowie Polie (Bone) and, later in the show, the voices of both Dad as a boy and as Space Boy (both for Kyle Fairlie). Additionally, the late Paul Haddad was also, at one point, the second voice of Gloomius Maximus (replacing veteran American voice actor James Woods).
- Previously, the late Paul Haddad was the voice of the older Arthur in the original Babar TV series.
- Kristen Bone would later star with Stephen Ouimitte (the voice of Pompadour) in Maggie and the Ferocious Beasts as the the title characters respectively.
- When a rhino approaches the shade where the other rhinos are resting, he loudly farts making them leave for him having the whole shady spot to himself.
- The Hunter's face isn't shown after he kills Babar's mother. In fact, the death of Babar's mother is different to how she died in the TV series premiere Babar's First Step.
- The appearance of the demon, Misfortune, is the original appearance of her being portrayed as a postulant/teacher/bride/nun/goddess/handmaid/witch-alike demon women-riding loch ness monster/antelope/donkey/bull/giraffe/dragon/apatosaurus/monster-like demon dinosaur and donkey/gazelle/lion/monster-alike demon and giraffe/hippo/monster-alike and snake/genie/monster-alike demon and bat/penguin/monster-alike demon and gecko/frog/llama/monster-alike demon and fossa/warthog/aardvark/cow/factory/monster-alike demon and bear/koala/traffic light/monster-alike demon and rabbit/hamster/cow/donkey/monster-alike demon and caterpillar/dog/monster-alike demon and shark/ladybug-alike demon and rhino/horse/minotaur/monster-alike demon and parrot/pig/woodpecker/frog/wolf/owl/monster-alike demon and rock/beetle/monster-alike demon and walrus/bear/monster-alike demon and pig/elf/monster-alike demon and giraffe/t-rex/monster-alike demon and beaver/monstsr-alike demon and goat/worm/monster-alike demon and hyena/fossa/monster-alike demon and lemur/monster-like demon and penguin/orca/monster-alike demon and hummingbird/monster-alike demon and squirrel/cat/monster-alike demon and ostrich/alligator/kangaroo/gorilla/monster-alike demon and boar/wolf/donkey/t-rex/monster-alike demon and elephant-like demon and fox/werewolf/cape buffalo/monster-alike demon and aardvark/shrew/monster-alike demon and dog/monster-like demon and seal/giraffe/duck/monster-alike demon monkey/elf/monster-alike and rat/cat/monster-alike demon and narwhal/porcupine/monster-alike demon jellyfish/snail/toad-alike and bat/monster-like demon and armadillo/bulldog/monster-alike demon and blod/monster-like demon and chimpanzee/otter/monster-alike demon and hyena/cow/monster-alike demon and weasel/lizard/dragon/monster-alike demon grundo/rabbit/monster-alike demon and snail/kangaroo/monster-alike demon and eagle/bee/mongoose/monster-alike demon and plant/octopus/monster-alike demon and boar/water buffalo/bison/bear/lion/wolf/bull/monster-alike demon and crocodile/giraffe/frog/penguin/fox/monster-alike demon and yak/flamingo/penguin/turtle/monster-alike demon and koala/mower/monster-alike demon and horse/tiger/giraffe/monster-alike demon and toucan/porcupine/monster-alike demon and ankylosaurus/monster-like demon and moose/horse/tiger/lion/monster-alike demon and godzilla/moose/bull/rooster/kangaroo/tiger/donkey/monster-alike demon and dog/goat/deer/monster-alike demon and bull/lion/alligator/monster-alike demon and llama/apatosaurus/giraffe/duck/monster-alike demon mouse/spider/monster-alike demon and cow/oryx/goose/fox/lion/rat/monster-alike demon and plorgonarian/vulture/zebra/monster-like demon and human/donkey/dragon/hippo/fox/elephant/monster-alike demon and snake/turtle/okapi/monster-alike demon and minotaur/lion/bull/rabbit/monster-alike demon and walrus/spring/monster-alike demon and fossa/tiger/bull/monster-alike demon and fox/cat/monster-alike demon and centaur/kangaroo/deer/monster-alike demon and rat/duck/penguin/bat/monster-alike demon and horse/giraffe/monster-alike demon and lion/fossa/rat/dog/yak/monster-alike demon and warthog/boar/pig/bull/monster-alike demon and all of the demonic animal/monster-like creatures and demonic dinosaur/monster-alike creatures and demonic beast/monster-alike creatures and demonic alien/monster-like creatures and demonic dragon/monster-alike creatures and demonic monster-like creatures. And the Betty-riding Elliot and the flying animals (the fat women-riding dragon and the animals and who saved Babar in his dream and city) are more angelic since they were majestically seen defeating the witch and dragon and the demonic monsters away, and when they sang their part of the song, and choir their voices were very beautiful.
- Just like in the tv show, Babar Celeste and Arthur are not cousins, in fact in the film, Arthur and Celeste have two different mothers, just like in the story.