What An Idiot / Babar

Babar: Save it. I knew what you were up to.

Rataxes and Basil: You did?

Babar: I also knew your men couldn't dig their way out of a sandbox.

—"My Dinner with Rataxes"

The average elephant is stated to have the biggest brain of any land mammal, but for one, Babar is not immune to any foolish moments.

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Picture Books

• Babar and Celeste get married, in a ceremony with great pomp and circumstance.
  You'd Expect: They would take a honeymoon a short distance away from the kingdom that Babar just inherited from the old king.
  Instead: They go off in a hot air balloon, with no means of sending out an SOS or contacting Cornelius.
  The Result: When the hot balloon crashes on an island, Babar and Celeste are stranded. A circus boat picks them up and employs them to work; they manage to run away to the Old Lady after seeing her, but when they return to the elephant kingdom they find it in the middle of war with Rataxes, who hated a prank Arthur pulled on him.

Episodes

• The first episode arc has Babar running away after he confronts the Hunter. Unlike in the picture book where he ran for dear life to avoid being kidnapped by the guy, here the older elephants went Papa Wolf and grabbed him in time before that could happen. He ends up leaving to find a way to defeat the Hunter once and for all. It's obvious that Pompadour, Cornelius, and the elderly elephant king treat Babar as their own son and fear the worst has happened when he goes missing.
  You'd Expect: The elephant king would organize a search party for the little one. There is strength in numbers, and they love him.
  Instead: They prepare to charge the Hunter in a few days in revenge for him killing Babar's mother and one of their own. No one considers finding Babar first.
  The Result: Arthur and Celeste, two calves, decide to follow the trail to where Babar went and get lost without any adult supervision. They learn he ended up in a human city, and Babar is so happy to see them. Meanwhile, after the king accidentally dies from a poisoned mushroom, Cornelius and Pompadour get the other elephants captured when their charge fails against the Hunter. The elephant calves have to launch a counterattack, with Babar using his new car as a battering ram.
• In the episode "Babar's Triumph", The Hunter returns to seek revenge on Babar and the Elephants for defeating some episodes prior in "Babar Returns".
  You'd expect: The Hunter to come up with a plan that'd work out for him and the other hunters.
  Instead: He starts a forest fire, which spreads towards the campgrounds. Naturally, the other hunters bail out.
  You'd Then Expect: The Hunter would escape with them.
  Instead: He vows how he won't run and kill all the animals, just as the fire spreads behind him and he gets burnt alive.
  Hunter: They can't run! I won't run! I'LL DESTROY THEM ALL!!! (screams as he gets burnt alive)
• In "Double the Guards", Cornelius and Pompadour think that someone is going to either assassinate or kidnap their king. For context, Celeste accidentally tossed her fork at a poster, and the two advisors fear it's a sign of dissent. Babar tries to show how ridiculous that is, because he doesn't want to be late for another date with Celeste. Celeste has asked Babar to stop bringing Cornelius and Pompadour.
  You'd Expect: Babar would go to lunch with one bodyguard or an open retinue, and explain to Celeste that he's humoring Cornelius and Pompadour.
  Instead: Cornelius and Pompadour hide in the bushes and interrupt their lunch date.
  The Result: Celeste gets angry that their private time has been interrupted and stomps away before Babar can explain or apologize.
• "Victor Victorious":
  • In the A-plot, Alexander, Pom, and Flora have made a soapbox to compete in the soapbox derby, and the latter kids warn Alexander not to touch it.
    You'd expect: That Alexander would listen to Pom and Flora's warning.
    Instead: Alexander sneaks off at night and takes the soapbox for a ride, only to realize Pom and Flora's warning beforehand: the soapbox wasn't finished; as many parts don't work. Pom and Flora are none too happy, and they remove Alexander from their team.
  • In the B-plot, Victor is building a soapbox to compete in the derby, while Rataxes makes some "adjustments" to it.
    You'd Expect: That Rataxes would know that parents aren't allowed to build soapboxes for their children for the derby.
    Instead: Rataxes ignores this fact, and Victor takes his soapbox in the derby anyway. Coincidentally, at the derby, Rataxes reveals that he made "minor adjustments" to Victor's soapbox.
    The Result: While Victor wins first place in the derby, he gives the trophy to Pom, Flora, and Alexander, believing that he didn't deserve the trophy.
• In "An Elephant's Best Friend", Rataxes has to take his wife's pet warthog, Reginald, on a walk.
  You'd Expect: Rataxes to walk him safely.
  Instead: He gives the duties to Basil, who proceeds to play fetch and lets Reginald run into Babar. Naturally, Babar takes him into Celesteville.
  Following This: Rataxes now has to get Reginald back from Babar, lest he face the wrath of his wife.
  You'd Expect: Rataxes to tell the truth to Babar, and ask for Reginald back. He may have to give up the pomegranates, but considering how abusive his wife is to him, it would be worth it.
  Instead: He downright lies to Babar and asks for impossible-to-find things.
  You'd Also Expect: Corneilus and Pompadour to be suspecious, along with Babar.
  Instead: They go along with Rataxes' suggestions.
  Predictably: Babar rightfully suspects Rataxes being up to no good when Rataxes fails to catch Reginald disguised as Louise. It takes Louise giving up all of the pomegranets for her to have Reginald back.
  • Louise deserves a mention here.
    You'd Expect: She would walk Reginald herself, considering that her husband is terrified of him.
    Instead: She forces him to do so, leading to Rataxes giving the duties to Basil and him letting Reginald encounter Babar.
• "Between Friends": Celeste and Zephir weren't looking both ways when they were driving their vehicles. They crashed into each other, around the time that Babar wants to build crosswalks for road safety. As a result, they sue each other for damages and injury. Because of this, Babar suggests to Cornelius and Pompadour that they get a crossing guard.
  You'd Expect: That Cornelius and Pompadour would realize that the rest of the Celesteville staff are already busy, and therefore, one or the other would take the job.
  Instead: They get the bright idea to switch all the staff's jobs out, which leads to the Celesteville judge being the crossing guard and Babar taking place of the judge.
  You'd Then Expect: Babar would take initiative and rescue himself when both Celeste and Zephir want him to vouch for them and get them out of trouble. He could point out that they need an impartial judge. Someone like Cornelius would be better fit as a candidate.
  Instead: He spends several days angsting about the fact that his best friend and his girlfriend are going to go to war over something seemingly petty and that he is caught in the middle. Babar can tell that both Celeste and Zephir are lying about how bad their injuries are to win his sympathy, but he can't prove it.
  The Result: Courtroom Antics ensue the day of the trial, with the two friends bickering worse than ever. Babar conducts a Batman Gambit where he sees from the evidence, Celeste is more at fault owing to her driving a car, and threatens to give his girlfriend a heavy sentence. This convinces Zephir to admit he was committing perjury, and Celeste does the same when Zephir is doomed to suffer a bad sentence for lying in court. They apologize to each other, and Babar commutes their sentence to community service. The pair have to serve as crossing guards.
• In "Rhino War", Babar wants to start an amusement park, and Cornelius points out that with Rataxes doing Basil's papers (due to Rataxes sending Basil on vacation), it would take two months. Cornelius and Pompadour suggest that Babar get permission from Rataxes first.
  You'd Expect: Babar to go along with their suggestion.
  Instead: Babar wants the supplies to be with him now, so he decides to just send them through the river. Babar points out that Rataxes himself has bent the rules quite a few times, and after all, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
  • General Pameer notices the supplies being sent through the river. Rufus, one of his lackeys, sees that it has "GAMES" on the crate written in big, black letters.
    You'd Expect: Pameer would have Rufus check it out.
    Instead: He uses Insane Troll Logic to determine that Celesteville wants to go to war.
    The Result: He manages to get Rataxes to sign Plan 42-H, which leads to Rhinoland declaring war on Celesteville. It's not until the end that Rataxes shows Pameer all the prizes for the amusement park that Babar wasn't planning anything evil after all. Pameer is then fired by Rataxes and used as a target for the ring toss game.
• In "To Tell or Not To Tell", Pom and Alexander are tasked with babysitting Isabelle, who makes it a living hell. Throughout the episode, the boys attempt to fix the old elephant statue while having to deal with their sister.
  You'd Expect: Pom and Alexander to have one of them stay behind and watch Isabelle, while the other goes and cleans up the mess.
  Instead: Both of them simply leave her alone by herself. This bites them in the ass later on, when they lock the door and see that Isabelle is missing.
  You'd Then Expect: They would tell their parents that Isabelle has gone missing. They might be interrupting Flora's play, but its understandable considering their youngest sister has disappeared without a trace.
  Instead: They come to the conclusion that Isabelle ended up in the wardrobe because they see her toy.
  The Result: The boys trek to the junkyard and discover that their sister wasn't in the closet. When they return home, Isabelle is shown to be in her room; successfully hiding out in the closet while the boys went looking for her, believing that her brothers are playing hide-and-seek. Babar then tells his sons to tell him and Celeste about situations like this in the future, and then has his sons clean up the mess Isabelle made while Isabelle gets off scot-free.
• In "Mango Madness", Flora pisses off her family due to the rampant amount of "fibs" she's been telling. Flora attempts to defend herself with the excuse that her fibs were "jokes". Babar then tells her that she needs to be honest.
  You'd Expect: Babar to explain to Flora when she should be honest, considering how he says that he can't emphasize too strongly on how important it is to be honest.
  Instead: He simply tells her that she needs to be 100% honest all of the time.
  The Result: Flora inevitably pisses off her family again from being 100% truthful, ranging from telling her brothers that Victor took Pom to the baseball game, telling Cornelius outright that Pompadour says he's forgetful because he's so old, and telling Celeste that her new dress makes her look heavy, right in front in front of her and Babar. Babar then admits to Flora that the business of telling the truth was far more complicated, and that he should have explained it to her more clearly.
  • Rataxes is hosting the annual fruit festival party, and he and Basil are wearing utterly gaudy fruit costumes. Babar, Cornelius and Pompadour are afraid to tell Rataxes the truth, lest they infuriate him. During this, Flora walks in the room, and Rataxes, having not seen her, tells her to give an honest opinion on his costume.
    You'd Expect: Flora would remember about Babar telling her to not upset someone, and to pay attention to Rataxes' feelings.
    Instead: She tells him outright that his costume makes him look silly. "Very, very silly."
    The Result: Rataxes quickly finds out via Flora's truth that the other elephants think his costume is silly. He accuses them of insulting him and calls off hosting the fruit festival party in Celesteville. Ultimately, Flora ends up learning her lesson about "other feelings" when she apologizes to Rataxes.

Babar: The Movie and King of the Elephants

• In the spinoff movie, Babar has started to become king. Celeste runs into his throne room in a panic, saying that Rataxes's men invaded her village and stole her mother. Babar wants to go and investigate, and also find out what happened.
  You'd Expect: Cornelius and Pompadour would defer authority to Babar since he wants to take action, before any elephants are killed or kidnapped.
  Instead: They insist that they need to set up a committee, and Babar is too valuable to personally lead an investigation because he is the king.
  The Result: Babar switches places with Arthur, since they are physically identical at this point, and gives him his crown and mantle. Then he runs off alone to help Celeste, without any backup.