Barbapapa — BrandWiki

Barbapapa

Overview

Barbapapa

authors	Annette Tison and Talus Taylor
language	French
genre	Children's literature
publisher	L'École des Loisirs
published	19 May 1970
oclc	225805
dewey	823.91
congress	PZ7.T518
website	www.barbapapa.com

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.[1]

Barbe à papa – literally "Daddy's beard" – is French for cotton candy or candy floss.

Background

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.[2]

Adaptations

Television

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 Limited Company, with the storyboards designed by Taylor.[5] After twelve years, Fehmers and Tison/Taylor discontinued their business relationship. The first animated series, simply titled Barbapapa (バーバパパ), 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.[3]

In 1999, another animated series called Barbapapa Around the World (バーバパパ世界をまわる) 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.[6][7][8] The show was written by Alice Taylor and Thomas Taylor.[8] 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

1. La naissance 2. Le feu (Episode) 3. La plage 4. En route (Episode) 5. La mer (Episode) 6. L'Indie 7. L'Amérique (Episode) 8. Barbamama 9. Le port 10. Le château 11. Problème de maison 12. Maison de Barbapapa 13. Le petit train 14. Le désert (Episode) 15. Les œufs 16. Les beaux-arts 17. Le sport 18. Baby-sitter (Episode) 19. Le microscope 20. Chef de gare 21. La poterie 22. La valise 23. L'Afrique 24. La torte des moutons 25. Le tissage 26. Le taureau 27. Le biberon 28. La métamorphose 29. La coiffure 30. Le ski 31. La forêt (Episode) 32. Le pique-nique 33. La régate

Season 1

1. La naissance 2. Le feu (Episode) 3. La plage 4. En route (Episode) 5. La mer (Episode) 6. L'Indie 7. L'Amérique (Episode) 8. Barbamama 9. Le port 10. Le château 11. Problème de maison 12. Maison de Barbapapa 13. Le petit train 14. Le désert (Episode) 15. Les œufs 16. Les beaux-arts 17. Le sport 18. Baby-sitter (Episode) 19. Le microscope 20. Chef de gare 21. La poterie 22. La valise 23. L'Afrique 24. La torte des moutons 25. Le tissage 26. Le taureau 27. Le biberon 28. La métamorphose 29. La coiffure 30. Le ski 31. La forêt (Episode) 32. Le pique-nique 33. La régate 34. Les puces 35. Les vendanges 36. Les insectes 37. La machine (Episode) 38. Photos de mode

Season 2

Around The World

One Big Happy Family!

Music

The first Barbapapa theme's lyrics were written by Harrie Geelen, and the music composed by Joop Stokkermans.[9]

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.[10] The Italian version's song was sung by singer-songwriter Roberto Vecchioni.[11][12]

The Spanish kids' group Parchis made a song about the characters of the cartoon, named "Barbapapá".[13][14]

Comic book

A comic book version was also created. Both cartoons and comics sometimes show concerns about the environment and contain environmental messages.

Legacy

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.[17]

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.

Barbapapa receives a subtle but notable reference in the 2025 video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The game, which blends dark fantasy themes with painterly visual design, includes a small environmental detail in which one of the expedition’s logs describes a creature or phenomenon as “shifting like a Barbapapa”. This comparison playfully invokes the iconic shape‑shifting characters from the French children’s series, whose fluid, rounded transformations parallel the surreal and mutable forms encountered throughout the journey. Although brief, the reference functions as a cultural nod to European animation and highlights the developers’ tendency to contrast the world’s somber tone with occasional light, unexpected allusions to familiar media.

It also shows up in the game as a status effect from enemies in the game. Barbapapa is a restrictive status effect in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (specifically from the 'Verso's Drafts' DLC) that reduces the next instance of spell or attack damage from the affected character to 1. It is inflicted by the enemy Barbasucette and requires using basic attacks or specific skills to remove the "sticky" stacks.