Babar is one of those characters where their popularity is slightly inexplicable, but he’s huge (and not just because he’s an elephant). Since his creation in 1931 there have been over 30,000 Babar publications in 19 languages, along with an animated series that’s played around the world.
It’s not surprising then than with everything from Yogi Bear to the Smurfs getting the live action-CG treatment, someone’s decided Babar would be a good property to try and get onto the big screen. In this case it’s Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, the Temple Hill partners who scored a massive hit with the Twilight movies. According to Deadline they’ve done a deal with Babar rights holders Nelvana and The Clifford Ross Company to generate family films based on the character.
Bowen and Gdofrey are currently shopping a blueprint for a live action-CG Babar movie to the studios, and it’s easy to imagine they’ll find a taker, as a film about the elephant who leaves the jungle for the big city, then returns with lessons learned to become king could work very well. The producers are currently thinking Babar: The Adventures Of Badou would be the best tale to adapt, probably because it features a cute little baby elephant in the form of Babar grandson, Badou.