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Babar, Continued

Babar makes a move that is surprising and inevitable: He has his elephants paint large monster eyes on their rumps, to frighten a hostile group of rhinos.

(This makes me think of the Trojan horse--disguise!--and of the false eyes on certain butterflies.)

Jean de Brunhoff never points out how absurd the painted eyes-on-butts are. He just narrates the fight, soberly.

Also, I'm obsessed with Zephir the baby monkey, who can't bide his time; he must fill the hours by chasing a moth. (He is like the child version of Babar, who kept himself busy by digging in sand with his shell-wielding trunk.)

These are the things that interest me--more than the discussion of whether Babar is secretly a spokesman for imperialism or colonialism. Little bits of character revealed through action: intelligence shown through the Trojan-horse move, curiosity shown through the moth scene. These details remind me of Howard Ashman (a mermaid forgets the word for "feet"), and of James Marshall (a baby bear says hot porridge "causes death!")....Through tiny choices, people (and creatures) show us their own souls; these creatures spring to life.


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