Babar: The Movie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Babar: The Movie | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alan Bunce |
| Produced by | Michael Hirsh Patrick Loubert Clive A. Smith |
| Written by | Original Babar stories and characters: Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff Story: Peter Sauder Michael Hirsh Patrick Loubert Screenplay: Peter Sauder J.D. Smith John de Klein Raymond Jafelice Alan Bunce |
| Starring | See below |
| Music by | Milan Kymlicka |
| Editing by | Evan Landis |
| Distributed by | Theatrical: New Line Cinema Astral FilmsVHS: Family Home Entertainment DVD: Artisan Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | July 28, 1989 |
| Running time | 76 min. |
| Country | Canada / France |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Babar: The Movie is an animated film made by Canada's Nelvana Limited and France's Ellipse Programme, and distributed by New Line Cinema. It is based on Jean de Brunhoff's eponymous children's books, and was followed by a spin-off television series on the HBO network.
The film made only $1,300,000 at the U.S. box-office (out of 510 venues),[1] and was Nelvana's last feature production of the 1980s. It was the Canadian studio's last animated release in theatres until Pippi Longstocking in 1997.
A book adaptation of the movie, written by Cathy East Dubowski and illustrated by Renzo Barto, was published by Random House in November 1989 (ISBN 0-394-84528-5).
Contents |
[edit] Plot
On the night of Elephantland's Victory Parade, the old elephant Babar tells to his two children the story of his first days as King of the Elephants. On his first day at Royal Court, the young ruler suggests that Elephantland hold an Annual Parade, but hears that a committee and much bureaucratic procedure is needed before the idea can be even approved. Soon after, a girl elephant, Celeste, runs over to tell Babar that her home has been attacked by Rataxes, the rhinoceros, and his horde. Babar's assistants tell him that the affair, similar to the Parade, cannot be rushed before counsils and committees are set up, so he tries to override them and orders an elephant army to defeat the rhinos.
After some days, the army fails to arrive, and Babar tells Arthur, his brother, to take care of his job as King while he ventures off into Celeste's village to help her mother, amid dangerous jungle. Coming into the village, he encounters a raid brought forth by the rhinos, who are taking the elephants as slaves so that they can work on Rataxes' empire.
When the enemies have gone, Babar and Celeste set off to rescue the latter's mom, and the other pachyderms, from Rataxes' wrath. Along the way, they meet a monkey named Zephir, who gives them the location of the rhinos' empire. The two come face to face with Rataxes himself, who plans to invade Babar's kingdom by twilight, and are sent in jail; but they both escape successfully along with Zephir, and begin going back to Elephantland to save it.
Heading into the rhinos' tents, they disguise themselves as one of the warriors, asking for "special detail" of their plans for attack, but to no avail. They get away from Rataxes quickly, launching from a catapult and landing into a fountain, much to the surprise of Babar's advisors.
The evil rhino proclaims Elephantland will be destroyed in an hour, unless its residents know of some way to protect it. The Royal Court members purposely overwhelm Rataxes with their talk of committees and stall for time. Meanwhile, Babar and company build a giant elephant float that manages to scare off Rataxes and his soldiers.
At sunrise, the young King's friends congratulate him on saving the day and his town, but are surprised to learn that their very first Victory Parade will be held during the afternoon. It has gone by that name ever since, the old Babar recalls, because the committee could not find any other name for it.
As Babar finishes his tale, he finds that his children have all gone to sleep. Right after he closes the door, they re-enact scenes from the story, until their father tells them to get back to bed.
[edit] Voice cast
- Gordon Pinsent - Babar
- Elizabeth Hanna - Queen Celeste / The Old Lady
- Lisa Yamanaka - Isabelle
- Marsha Moreau - Flora
- Bobby Becken - Pom
- Amos Crawley - Alexander
- Gavin Magrath - Young Babar
- Sarah Polley - Young Celeste
- Stephen Ouimette - Pompadour
- Chris Wiggins - Cornelius
- John Stocker - Zephir
- Charles Kerr - Rataxes
- Stuart Stone - Arthur
- Carl Banas - Old Tusk
- Ray Landry - Croc
- Angela Fusco - Celeste's Mom
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Babar: The Movie at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 22, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Babar: The Movie at the Internet Movie Database
- Babar: The Movie at Rotten Tomatoes
- Babar: The Movie at Allmovie
- Babar: The Movie at the Keyframe - the Animation Resource
- Original Canadian trailer at VideoDetective
|
|||||||||||
