The New Yorker published a great piece on Babar, which coincides with a new retrospective art exhibit at The Morgan Library & Museum.
The article delves into class relations within the Babar stories in an intriguing way, posing the series as comment on comfort in the bourgeoisie - the idea of a certain satisfaction in wearing your suit and crown everyday and traveling up and down the elevator over-and-over again. I've always enjoyed the multi-layered complexity of subversive children stories, and Babar - with its subtle emphasis on animal v. human, rich v. middle, etc. - is one of the best.
I witnessed a great complementary exhibition to both this article and drawing exhibit at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. The preliminary Shrek drawings of William Steig were both crude and hilarious. Steig provided similar commentary on society, while appeasing the imaginative instincts (and needs) of small children.
