| Babar's First Step | |
|---|---|
| Season 1, Episode 1 | |
| |
| Air date | April 2, 1989 |
| Written by | Peter Sauder
Jean De Brunhoff & Laurent De Brunhoff (characters) |
| Directed by | Raymond Jafelice |
| Episode guide | |
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Next City Ways |
Episode 1 is Babar's First Step is the pilot that aired April 2, 1989.
Synopsis[]
This story begins to tell the classic tale of Babar's early life with his mother and all the other elephants in the jungle, until his life got shattered when a wicked hunter killed his mother and he must cope on his own.
Plot[]
It is the anniversary of Celesteville and all the citizens of Celesteville are coming to celebrate and hear Babar's speech. Madame puts on a marching band outfit on Pom, and because he fidgets when she does so, she comments that he reminds him of his father, which is true as Babar fidgets too when Celeste gets him ready too. Suddenly, Alexander enters the room with his soccer ball, mentioning that because he is captain of the team he gets a self-claimed day off. He asks Babar if he would like to play, but Babar tells him that he has a speech to give. Alexander doesn't understand, as Babar is a king and kings can get days off too, but Babar states that everyone, even him, has responsibilities to take care of no matter how much they don't want to do them.
He begins a story regarding this that takes place a long time ago before the Celesteville was built, and Babar was just a newborn baby. The herd of elephants around him think of a name, one suggestion being "Pierre" from Pompadour, but when Babar says his first words, "babar", which his mother says is perfect , the elephants vote on that name instead. Babar gets startled when he hears the elephants blow their trunks, but his mother tells him that it is the traditional family welcome just for him. As he got older, he figured that nothing could stand in his way. He tries to move a giant stump in the ground but his mother tells him otherwise. Babar is still sure he will move it someday. As a younger Celeste and Arthur try to get pears off a tree, Babar comes stomping over and does a belly flop by accident. He sees Zephir laughing and jumping on a tree, so Babar tries replicating it and causes the fruit to fall. All of a sudden, a loud noise occurs and the elephants are startled. Pompadour believes it is just thunder, but Cornelius is sure a new beast entered their land.
The Elephant King himself, vows that they all must move away from their home. Babar steps in and doesn't want to, and his mother steps in with him and agrees. All the elephants decide to vote that they stay until they know what they've got going against them. The elephants reside at a river and Babar and Celeste play around and shoot water at each other, soon Arthur joins in. That horrible sound is a shotgun belonging to a hunter, and it gets ready to load. The elephants can sense danger, so everyone quickly gathers and runs for cover. Babar is picked up by his mother, but she ends up getting shot to death by the hunter. Soon she collapses. Babar looks around for his mother, so Cornelius shows him where she was. The family decided to move on, leaving Babar all alone. Babar however steps out of their elephant line and runs over to the bark, and pulls it right out of the ground.
Later on, Babar is still sadden and doesn't play that is until Celeste cheers him up and he feels better, sadly though the Hunter is moving closer and as the elephants gather to discuss a place where to go that not even the hunter knows about. Babar wants to stay, however he is the only one who wants to. Cornelius and the King tell Babar that they love their home and want to stay but this is a matter of survival. Pompadour points out to Babar he still has much to learn as he is still young. The hunter begins shooting again, and elephants begin falling over. Babar takes action and runs into the hunter, a few times, causing him to fall just the same. Soon enough, the hunter begins shooting at Babar, but he keeps running until the hunter trips over the dismantled bark, and his shotgun flies out of his hands. He is more or less defeated, and Babar runs off, all alone. Concluding the story, Babar says to his children that he was lost and alone but he was all right and knew on the inside the heard was okay, but it would be a long time until he saw them again. It is now time for Babar's speech to begin, but Alexander figures to go kick his ball once more.
Characters[]
Trivia[]
- This is the first and only time we ever see Babar's mother.
- Not only was it the first episode of the series, but it is also the highest rated episode of the series overall. It scored a rating of 7.5 out of 10, no other episode in the series has gotten higher ratings than this episode.
- The elephants are more than just a herd, they are one big family.
Goofs[]
- The Hunter's Hammerless Side-by-Side Double barreled shotgun has two front sights on top of both barrels and a rear sight in the middle from front sight in the middle. However a few seconds later it has a front sight in the middle and still a rear sight in the middle.
- The Hunter's Hammerless SIde-by-Side Double barreled shotgun stock has changed from pistol grip to straight grip. However, it still is a pistol grip.
- The Hunter's Hammerless Side-by-Side Double barreled shotgun's barrel has changed from long to short. However, it is still long now.
- In both this episode and the next one, Alexander wears black shorts, his brother does the same in the next episode.
Gallery[]
