We have to share this sad news about the author of Babar,
Laurent De Brunhoff has passed away few days ago at the age of 98. He was a great legend of our childhood and nostalgia. Babar wasn’t just a king, he was the father of an elephant family and his kingdom. Laurent has his creations to make Babar famous by selling millions of copies and premiering an animated series that fits into my heart. We are sad to hear this loss together as we mourn his passing and wish for the rest of his life with us to continue his legacy and his life upon this day. Babar will forever be continued with my future masterpiece and we hope he will be remembered forever.
Rest in Peace, Laurent De Brunhoff. You’re forever beloved and we will miss you always.
Never Forget 😔
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Weekend Top Ten #551
Top Ten Kings
The tumultuous and epoch-shattering events of the last two weeks have more or less played their course, and the nation can finally begin getting on with the day-to-day business of slowly being eaten from the inside out by nefarious capitalist interests. However, there is one thing that’s changed forever, and it has more of an impact than I first thought: we now have a King.
The Queen was obviously on the throne for seventy years, substantially longer than I’ve been alive. Most of the adults of my parents’ generation were either unborn or tiny babies when she came to the throne. She was just a constant presence in everyone’s lives, to the point where even saying “the King was in the palace” just feels unreal, uncanny, unnatural. A King is a fictitious character, the presence of whom denotes a parallel universe, an alternate timeline. We don’t have Kings; that’s for other stories.
Except we do have a King; there he is, with his slightly weathered, slightly hangdog expression, looking solemn yet approachable during his mother’s funeral. And he’ll be around now, not for as long as his mum, but as another constant presence in this next era of our lives. And so – to continue my crown-based commemorations – I’m marking the occasion by listing my favourite kings of fiction.
In one way, this was easier than listing queens last week, because there seem to be more prominent kings kicking about. But on the other hand, it was very hard; how to choose between Arthur Curry and Morpheus, Lord of the Dreaming? Anyway, I managed it, difficult as it was, and you can see the results down below.
This may or may not be the last of my paradigm-marking commemorative lists. I’ve got a couple more planned, but I might save them for later – the coronation, perhaps. Or not! I’m mercurial. Anyhoo, here’s the list, knock yourself out.
King Elessar (The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien, 1954): that’s Aragorn, by the way; he has a bunch of names. But when he’s crowned he’s technically Elessar, and he’s just the best king. That’s what the book’s all about; he’s the rightful heir, the one with the healing hands, the one who rejects the Ring and unites all the people behind him. And it’s fair to say a good deal of his appeal is that in the movies he’s the very, very sexy Viggo Mortensen. Phwoar.
King Kong (King Kong, 1933): In the words of Phil Jupitus, he’s your primate dancer, your dancer for monkey. He’s king around here, and what a king; a big lad who just wants peace for himself and his island, but is totally prepared to get stuck in and swat planes out of the air if necessary. Kong rocks.
King Theoden (The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien, 1954): already back to LOTR and this superb old badass. Shaking off powerful sorcery and personal tragedy, he leads a mighty cavalry to the defence of Gondor in arguably the most epic battle of the book, helps save the day and has a great death scene. And Bernard Hill’s performance is one for the ages.
King T’Challa (Black Panther, 2018): technically he becomes king in Civil War but it’s in his solo film that T’Challa really shines, taking the responsibilities of his kingdom on his shoulders. He’s wise, just, and merciful – as seen when he saves Zemo in Civil War, and his sympathy for Killmonger here – and his decision to abandon the traditions of his predecessors to open Wakanda to the world shows a progressive, benevolent attitude. A born leader. A statesman. How on Earth do they move on from here?
Morpheus (The Sandman, Neil Gaiman and collaborators, from 1989): titles such as “king” don’t really feel sufficient when dealing with metaphysical beings such as The Endless, but Morpheus – aka Dream, aka the Sandman – is referred to as such, the lord of a kingdom of dreaming. And he certainly has a lordly demeanour, aloof and generally unemotional, removed somewhat from his subjects and servants. And it’s all just great, isn’t it? such a deep and interesting character, such a wild and beautiful and trippy book.
King Lear (King Lear, William Shakespeare, 1606): Lear is, obviously, a tragedy, and we see a noble king brought down by his own ego and vanity. It’s really a portrait of absolute power corrupting absolutely, as Lear’s own failure is exacerbated by his daughters’ lust for power. As Lear goes mad, loses everything, and is ridiculed by the Fool, it’s not just a personal tragedy but also a fundamental failure in the very notion of authorial rule.
Mufasa (The Lion King, 1994): from Lear to Hamlet in this furry, feline take on Shakespeare. Whilst the film focuses more on young Simba’s rise, his dad Mufasa is presented from the off as a wise, noble, Good King. In James Earl Jones’ rich, sonorous tones, he teaches Simba about peace and life, whilst also being badass enough to inspire fear and respect in his enemies.
King Louie (The Jungle Book, 1967): he’s not just a jungle VIP, he’s literally the king of the swingers. An ape so successful that, like Alexander weeping over having no more worlds to conquer, Louie has reached the top and that’s what’s bothering him. Plus he can’t half carry a tune. He’s the OG orangutang titan. Oh, and he’s not in the book.
King Valkyrie (Thor: Love and Thunder, 2022): let’s not beat about the bush, this is the only woman on the list. A woman with a natural affinity for her people, so supremely smart and capable that even the God of Thunder ceded power to her. And she’s a cool king; really funny and just massively badass, friend of Hulks and a lady who can hold her liquor.
King Babar (Babar series, from 1989): okay, I’ve not read the books, but I watched the series as a kid and the sequel series as an adult (for work, yeah?). and Babar is a great king! He’s this elephant who leaves the jungle and learns all about the more refined way of life in the cities, before returning to his friends and family and spreading the, er, benefits of civilisation… and, y’know, making his jungle friends, like… live in European-style houses and… wear European-style clothes and… er… yeah, this is super-problematic isn’t it?
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