Barbapapa

Barbapapa is a 1970 children's picture book by the French-American couple Annette Tison and Talus Taylor, who lived in Paris, France. Barbapapa is both the title character and the name of his "species". The book was the first of a series of children's books originally written in French and later translated into over 30 languages.
Barbe à papa – literally "Daddy's beard" – is French for cotton candy or candy floss.
The inspiration for Barbapapa came by chance in the Luxembourg Garden in Paris one day in May 1970. While walking in the park with Annette Tison, Talus Taylor thought he heard a child ask his parents for something called "Baa baa baa baa". Not speaking French, he asked Tison what the words meant. She explained that the child was asking for a treat called Barbe à papa (cotton candy, literally 'daddy's beard'). Later at a restaurant, the couple began to draw on the tablecloth and came up with a character inspired by the candy: a pink and round character. When it came time to give it a name, Barbapapa came naturally.
Several European publishers expressed interest in Barbapapa but did not wish to spend the publishing cost. Frank Fehmers, a Dutch publisher, subsequently set up a co-production, and the first editions were published in 1970. The original editions were published in French by L'École des Loisirs, in Dutch by Frank Fehmers Productions, in British English by the Ernest Benn Company, and in American English by the Henry Z. Walck Co.
The main characters in the books are the Barbapapa family, who are most notable for their ability to shapeshift at will. In their native form, Barbapapas are blob-shaped, with a distinct head and arms, but no legs. Male Barbapapas have rounder bottoms, whereas female Barbapapas have a more slender form. Each Barbapapa can adopt any form they choose, but they remain easily identifiable by always retaining their faces and their distinctive colour.
Barbapapa himself is a generally papaya-shaped, pink shapeshifting blob-like creature who grows from the ground and tries to fit in the human world. The shapeshifting is usually accompanied by the saying "Clickety Click—Barba Trick", or in the 1970s British dub "All Change!"
After various adventures, Barbapapa comes across a female of his species (more shapely, and black-coloured), named Barbamama. They produce seven children: four sons – Barbabravo, a sports fan (red), Barbabright, a scientist (blue), Barbazoo, a nature enthusiast (yellow) and Barbabeau, a painter (black and furry) –, as well as three daughters: Barbalala, a musician (green), Barbabelle, a narcissistic beauty queen (purple), and Barbalib, an intellectual (orange).
A few years after the book's initial publication, and when more titles had been published, Fehmers expanded the project to television films in conjunction with Joop Visch of Polyscope-PolyGram and Japanese animation studio Topcraft, with the storyboards designed by Taylor. After twelve years, Fehmers and Tison/Taylor discontinued their business relationship. The first animated series, simply titled Barbapapa (バーバパパ, Baabapapa), aired on French, British and Dutch TV in 1974, and premiered in Japan three years later, in 1977. One hundred five minute-long episodes, spanning two seasons, were produced and aired on television.
In 1999, another animated series called Barbapapa Around the World (バーバパパ 世界をまわる, Baabapapa Sekai wo Mawaru) was produced and aired in Japan. Animated by Studio Pierrot and produced by Kodansha, the series depicted the family travelling to different countries around the world. The series aired over 50 episodes.
In 2019, a new animated series, called Barbapapa: One Big Happy Family!, was produced by Normaal Animation. It currently airs on TF1 in France and Yle TV2 in Finland. In other countries including Poland, the show is aired on Nick Jr.. The show was written by Alice Taylor and Thomas Taylor. Alice is the daughter of Tison and Taylor. The English dub was produced by Jungle Studios in the United Kingdom and features a cast of up-and-coming child actors.
Episodes
Season 1 (45 Episodes) Season 2 (55 Episodes) Season 3 (Barbapapa Around The World) (50 Episodes) Season 4 (Barbapapa One Big Happy Family) (52 Episodes) Season 5 (Barbapapa One Big Happy Family Season 2) (52 Episodes)
254 Episodes In Total
1.The birth of Barbapapa 2.The fire 3.The beach 4.Around 5.The sea 6.India 7.America 8.Barbamama 9.The port 10.The castle 11.Housing problem 12.Barbapapa's house 13.The little red train 14.The desert 15.Eggs 16.Art school 17.Sport 18.Babysitter 19.The microscope 20.Station master 21.Ceramic 22.The suitcase 23.Africa 24.Sheep shearing (Animal rescue 1/5) 25.Weaving 26.The bull 27.The baby bottle 28.Metamorphos 29.Hairstyle 30.Ski 31.Animal rescue 32.Eggs 33.Boat race 34.Barbabeau's fleas 35.Wine festival 36.The insects 37.The car 38.Fashion photography 39.The concert 40.The birthday 41.The mountaineer 42.The hunt (Animal rescue 2/5) 43.The picnic (Animal rescue 3/5) 44.The rescue (Animal rescue 4/5) 45.The return (Animal rescue 5/5) 46.Barbalib's piggy bank 47.The bullfighter 48.Mexico 49.The trap 50.Alice's lunch 51.The circus 52.Dr. Barbazoo 53.The postman 54.Alice's birthday 55.Mysterious animals 56.The broken leg 57.The playground 58.The toys 59.The mysterious thief 60.The robot 61.Safari 62.Lets save the whales 63.Battle in the saloon 64.The mystery of the missing cake 65.The mystery of the eggs 66.The car 67.Buffalo bull 68.The dinosaur 69.The disappearance of Barbapapa 70.Outdoor school 71.Dog show 72.Christmas 73.The return of the ghost 74.Music school 75.The monster 76.The haunted house 77.Professor panda 78.The thief 79.Barbabeau's secret 80.Car racing 81.The antarctic 82.The magician 83.The musical 84.The potter 85.The theater 86.School party 87.The mystery of the jungle 88.Visit to japan 89.The garden 90.The migratori bird 91.Barbabright 92.Barbabeau and Barababelle 93.Barbazoo and Barbalala 94.The house race 95.The dragon 96.The hot air balloon ride 97.Farm 98.Forest 99.The start 100.The bird of paradise 101.Turtles 102.Cactus 103.Lama 104.Black bear 105.Rhinoceroses 106.Orangutans 107.Kangaroos 108.Koalas 109.Fire 110.Glaciers 111.Proboscis monkeys 112.The mangrove 113.The python 114.The tiger 115.The jaguar 116.The spider monkey 117.The amazon river 118.Elk 119.The beaver 120.Halloween 121.Polar bear 122.Walruses 123.Wildebeest 124.Tornado 125.Biaon 126.Pioneers 127.Grizzly 128.Sea lions 129.Red sea 130.Scorpion fish 131.Elephants 132.Hippos 133.Mosquitoes and bats 134.Dragons 135.Whales 136.Giant Turtles 137.Penguins 138.The big squid 139.Shock therapy 140.From wheat to beard 141.Cleaning with surprise 142.Be patient Barbabravo 143.Bada-bam 144.The Barbamartians 145.Barbapirates 146.Barbabravo without cakes 147.Separate recycling 148.From seed to seed 149.One story leads to another 150.Feline Talent 151.The Barbapapa tree 152.The competition prize 153.Boris 154.Black-out 155.Born wild 156.Record-breaking pouts 157.Barbasapienses 158.Santa 159.Down to the last figurine 160.Treasure Hunt 161.Beauty and Beasts 162.Superseven 163.Barbajoke 164.Empire orange 165.Little adventurers 166.Barbalook-alike 167.Inspirations 168.Halloween Wolf 169.Happy Birthday Barbamama 170.The art of hiccups 171.Competition 172.When i grow up 173.Detective Barbalock 174.The monster of the wardrobe 175.Force 4 176.The house of dreams 177.Superbarbababies 178.The book of punisment 179.Chain reaction 180.The birthday of the barbababies 181.BarbaTV 182.A matter of feet
W.I.P
The first Barbapapa theme's lyrics were written by Harrie Geelen, and the music composed by Joop Stokkermans.
The Japanese version of the series, as aired on TV Asahi, features an entirely different theme song from the original series, composed by Chuuji Kinoshita with lyrics by Zenzo Matsuyama. The Italian version's song was sung by singer-songwriter Roberto Vecchioni.
The Spanish kids' group Parchis made a song about the characters of the cartoon, named "Barbapapá".
An Israeli song named "Barba'aba" (ברבאבא) was written by Yoram Taharlev and performed by Tzipi Shavit in 1978. It talks about Barbapapa being shunned by everyone for looking weird until he met Barbamama. The song became a kids' classic.
A comic book version was also created. Both cartoons and comics sometimes show concerns about the environment and contain environmental messages.
The Barbapapa cartoon is popular in many countries worldwide and has been dubbed into a wide variety of languages, including five separate English dubs. In the United States, it was syndicated on various networks throughout the 1970s with a dub by Magno Sound and Video in New York. The original series continues to air to this day on television in France, Italy and El Salvador and Barbapapa merchandise is still produced in France and Japan.
Google created a doodle celebrating the 45th anniversary of the publishing of Barbapapa on May 19, 2015. It also served as a tribute to Talus Taylor.
The song 'Ce matin là' by the French electronic music duo Air (from their album Moon Safari) was inspired by the horn sounds on the Barbapapa show, per the band.
The 1994 song 'It's a Kid's World' by British post-rock/experimental rock trio Disco Inferno also samples the Barbapapa TV show theme.
The German comedians Bodo Wartke and Marti Fischer released a Tongue twister rap song called Barbaras Rhabarberbar in 2024 which immediately went viral. People from all around the world listened and created dance choreographies to it. The song mentions the so-called Rhabarberbar-Barbaren, which the title-giving Barbara finds almost as likable as Barbapapa, a nod to the old show that is still well known in Germany.