Barbapapa

Barbapapa is both the title character, and name of the 'species' of said character, of a series of children's books written in the 1970s by Annette Tison and Talus Taylor. They were originally produced in French. As short cartoons of a length of only five minutes, they reached a broader audience via TV. Barbapapa is a pun on barbe à papa, French for cotton candy.

Barbapapa himself is a generally pear-shaped, pink shape shifting blob-like creature who stumbles upon the human world and tries to fit in. After various amusing adventures, he comes across a female of his species (more shapely, and black-colored), named Barbamama. They produce seven children, known as the Barbababies, each with a different color and personality trait.

The yello Barbazoo is a lover of animals. The green Barbalala, is a lover of music. The orange Barbalib, is a lover of books. The black and furry Barbabeau, is a lover of art. The purple Barbabelle, is a lover of beauty. The blue Barbabright, is a lover of science. The red Barbabravo, is a lover of strength and heroism.

We have noticed that the distribution of knowledge of Barbapapa in the United States, or at least childhood memories about seeing the cartoon in the 70s, seems to be restricted to the north eastern area. Not sure if this is because of French, to French Canadian distribution of the cartoon, or if it was simply too odd for the Midwest to bother with. Any input to clear up this issue, or memories of Barbapapa outside of the New England area, would be appreciated. The official website is here and many crazy Japanese Barbapapa products can be viewed here.