BARBAPAPA

Netherlands / x5 minute episodes / 1975

Creators: Talus Taylor, Annette Tison / Theme Music: “I wanna be like Barbapapa” by Harrie Geelen and Joop Stokkermans

Do adults of a certain age still have nightmares about the amorphous pink blob known as barbapapa, if so this mid seventies Euro animation is to blame and surely current pre school fave Boobah owes a great debt to old Papa and his clan. The show concerned the adventures of dad Barbapapa and his wife Barbamama and their clan of children blobs, Barbabeau (black and furry), Barbalib (orange and the name implies, something of a feminist), Barbabelle (purple and proto Paris Hilton) and Barbabravo (red).

In the early 1990′s a Japanee company, who owned the rights to the characters, produced new episodes. Husband and Wife team Taylor and Tison first created the character for a book which was published in 1970 and soon had a major hit on their hands. More books, annuals and merchandise followed. Incidentally the title is a version of the French word for candyfloss.