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Barbapapa is a 1970 Picture book by the French Americans couple Annette Tison and Talus Taylor, who lived in Paris, France. Barbapapa is both the title character and the name of his "species". The book was the first of a series of children's books originally written in French language and later translated into over 30 languages.
Barbe à papa – literally "Daddy's beard" – is French for cotton candy or candy floss.
Several European publishers expressed interest in Barbapapa but did not wish to pay the publishing cost. Frank Fehmers, a Dutch publisher, subsequently set up a co-production, and the first editions were published in 1970. The original editions were published in French language by L'École des Loisirs, in Dutch by Frank Fehmers Productions, in British English by the Ernest Benn, and in American English by the Henry Z. Walck Co.
Barbapapa himself is a generally papaya-shaped, pink shapeshifting blob-like creature who grows from the ground and tries to fit in the human world. The shapeshifting is usually accompanied by the saying "Clickety Click—Barba Trick", or in the 1970s British dub "All Change!"
After various adventures, Barbapapa comes across a female of his species (more shapely, and black-coloured), named Barbamama. They produce seven children: four sons – Barbabravo, a sports fan (red), Barbabright, a scientist (blue), Barbazoo, a nature enthusiast (yellow) and Barbabeau, a painter (black and furry) – as well as three daughters: Barbalala, a musician (green), Barbabelle, a narcissistic beauty queen (purple), and Barbalib, an intellectual (orange).
In 1999, another animated series called Baabapapa Sekai wo Mawaru was produced and aired in Japan. Animated by Studio Pierrot and produced by Kodansha, the series depicted the family travelling to different countries around the world. The series aired over 50 episodes.
In 2019, a new animated series, called , was produced by Normaal Animation. It currently airs on TF1 in France and Yle TV2 in Finland. In other countries including Poland, the show is aired on Nick Jr. The show was written by Alice Taylor and Thomas Taylor. Alice is the daughter of Tison and Taylor. The English dub was produced by Jungle Studios in the United Kingdom and features a cast of up-and-coming child actors.
The Japanese version of the series, as aired on TV Asahi, features an entirely different theme song from the original series, composed by Chuuji Kinoshita with lyrics by Zenzo Matsuyama. The Italian version's song was sung by singer-songwriter Roberto Vecchioni.
The Spanish kids' group Parchis made a song about the characters of the cartoon, named "Barbapapá".
An Israeli song named "Barba'aba" (ברבאבא) was written by Yoram Taharlev and performed by Tzipi Shavit in 1978. It talks about Barbapapa being shunned by everyone for looking weird until he met Barbamama. The song became a kids' classic. ציפי שביט - ברבאבא ברבאבא - שירונט
Google created a doodle celebrating the 45th anniversary of the publishing of Barbapapa on May 19, 2015. It also served as a tribute to Talus Taylor.
The song 'Ce matin là' by the French electronic music duo Air (from their album Moon Safari) was inspired by the horn sounds on the Barbapapa show, per the band.
The 1994 song 'It's a Kid's World' by British post-rock/experimental rock trio Disco Inferno also samples the Barbapapa TV show theme.
The German comedians Bodo Wartke and Marti Fischer released a Tongue twister rap song called Barbaras Rhabarberbar in 2024 which immediately went viral. People from all around the world listened and created dance choreographies to it. The song mentions the so-called Rhabarberbar-Barbaren, which the title-giving Barbara finds almost as likable as Barbapapa, a nod to the old show that is still well known in Germany.
Barbapapa receives a subtle but notable reference in the 2024 video game . The game, which blends dark fantasy themes with painterly visual design, includes a small environmental detail in which one of the expedition’s logs describes a creature or phenomenon as “shifting like a Barbapapa”. This comparison playfully invokes the iconic shape‑shifting characters from the French children’s series, whose fluid, rounded transformations parallel the surreal and mutable forms encountered throughout the journey. Although brief, the reference functions as a cultural nod to European animation and highlights the developers’ tendency to contrast the world’s somber tone with occasional light, unexpected allusions to familiar media.
It also shows up in the game as a status effect from enemies in the game. Barbapapa is a restrictive status effect in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (specifically from the 'Verso's Drafts' DLC) that reduces the next instance of spell or attack damage from the affected character to 1. It is inflicted by the enemy Barbasucette and requires using basic attacks or specific skills to remove the "sticky" stacks.
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