| Babar: The Movie | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alan Bunce |
| Produced by | Michael Hirsh Patrick Loubert Clive A. Smith |
| Written by | Original Babar 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 |
| Music by | Milan Kymlicka |
| Editing by | Evan Landis |
| Studio | Nelvana Limited Ellipse Programme |
| Distributed by | United States: New Line Cinema Canada: Astral Films United States VHS: Family Home Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | July 28, 1989 |
| Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | Canada France |
| Language | English-French |
| Box office | $1,305,187[1] |
Babar: The Movie is a 1989 drawn-animated film made by Canada's Nelvana Limited and France's Ellipse Programme, and distributed by New Line Cinema. It is based on the characters of Jean de Brunhoff's eponymous children's books, and was a follow-up to the first season of the HBO TV series. This is one of New Line Cinema's only two animated feature films; the next being 1994's The Swan Princess.
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On the night of Elephantland's Victory Parade, the king Babar tells to his 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 has to be set up before the idea can be 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 cannot be rushed, so he orders an elephant army to defeat the rhinos.
After some days, the army fails to arrive, and Babar tells Arthur, Celeste's 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 Elepantland 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. With this in mind, the Royal Court members discuss their "committee" procedure, the elephant army takes some action into their hands, and a giant elephant float, built by Babar and company, scares 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.
In May 1989, the Toronto-based animation studio Nelvana announced that Babar: The Movie would debut in over 800 U.S. theatres by July 28 of that year.[2] The film, however, opened at only 510 North American venues and grossed US$1,305,187;[3] the Chicago Tribune deemed it a box-office flop, although the film did regain its losses though the home video release.[4] It was the last animated feature production by Nelvana until 1997's Pippi Longstocking, and another Babar movie in 1999, King of the Elephants (which is ironically a remake of the Babar TV series). The long version of the 1985 Nelvana logo at the end of the film is also restored on the DVD release. The film in also referred to in the Babar and the Adventures of Badou episode Heropotamus, with a past photo of Babar showing him in the same 'adventurer' outfit he wears in the majority of the movie.
A book adaptation of the movie, written by Cathy East Dubowski and illustrated by Renzo Barto, was published by Random House in November 1989.
The film features 5 main songs, performed by the likes of Molly Johnson, Judy Tate, The Nylons and by cast members Stephen Ouimette, Chris Wiggins and John Stocker.[5] Although there has never been a official soundtrack released, certain songs can be found online on youtube and other streaming websites.
The songs are (In order of appearance):
1- Elephantland March - Written by Maribeth Solomon; Performed by The Nylons, Judy Tate, Debbie Fleming (as Debbie Flemming), John Rutledge, & Neil Donell
2- The Committee Song - Written by Philip Balsam (creditied as Phil Balsam); Performed by Stephen Ouimette, Chris Wiggins, & The Nylons
3- The Best We Both Can Be - Written by Maribeth Solomon; Performed by Molly Johnson
4- Monkey Business - Written by Maribeth Solomon; Performed by John Stocker, Judy Tate, Debbie Fleming (as Debbie Flemming), John Rutledge, Neil Donell, & The Nylons
5- Rataxes - Song Written by Kevan Staples, Marvin Dolgay, & Carol Pope for Tambre Productions; Performed by Charles Kerr
The film was given mixed reviews from critics.[6][7]
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