5 Elegant Elephants From Your Childhood

Today is World Elephant Day, and what better way to celebrate than to remember all the priceless elephants from our childhood? Whether it be from a book, or a movie, there are so many adorable pachyderms to choose from.

Babar

Who didn't LOVE Babar?! This fictional elephant prince was created by a French children's book author, Jean de Brunhoff, in 1931, and I'll admit, this is the way I'll always remember elephants as a child. Brunhoff wrote about them with such beauty and grace. The actual story of Babar is quite tragic. His mother is shot by a hunter and he flees the jungle only to find himself in the big city. That's when he is befriended by The Old Lady, and the adventures only grow from there. He later goes on to be King of the Elephants and marries his second cousin, Celeste. They're elephants, guys. 

Horton

We know him. we love him. It's Horton, from Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss. Written by Dr. Seuss in 1954, it tells the story of Horton, an honest and overly eager elephant who suddenly hears a small speck of dust speaking to him, Turns out the small speck of dust isn't dust at all, it's a tiny little town called Whoville, and the Mayor of Whoville is the one talking to him. The Mayor asks Horton to protect them from harm, and Horton gladly does so, saying "a person's a person, no matter how small." I always adored Horton's character for his passion and acceptance of his new friends without even being able to see them. This is such a classic, and if you haven't read it, I don't think we can be friends. Kidding, just read it. 

Tantor

Although Tantor is originally from the novel Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs, I'm going to talk about the movie Tantor, because this elephant was my entire childhood. Tantor is technically a generic name for elephants in the fictional language of the great apes in the novel Tarzan. In the book, as well as the movie, this particular Tantor befriends Tarzan in his youth. The neurotic pachyderm spoke to me as a small child, with scenes of him dipping his toe in the water and asking his mom if it was sanitary. This elephant is me as a 24-year-old. Once Tantor grows up, he doesn't quite realize he is a gigantic elephant, which just makes him even better. He lets Terk step all over him, but when Tarzan is in danger, he gets shit done. 

Dumbo

This annoyingly cute elephant is the main character of the Disney movie Dumbo that came out in 1941. The poor guy was born with crazy big ears, and constantly gets picked on because of it. Too bad he can fly. This story tells the always awesome message to kids that it's okay to be different. Good work, Disney. 

Heffalumps

I don't know about you guys, but when I think of elephants, I go straight to heffalumps and woozels. That's normal right? These critters are part of Tigger's stories, which eventually turned into shape-shifting elephant-goblin hybrids that haunted Winnie the Pooh's dreams. Fun stuff. They're super weird and a little bit creepy, but I get real nostalgic when I see them. The cartoon drawings of heffalumps are similar to the Pink Elephants on Parade from Dumbo. 

Those are some of my favorite elephants from literature and movies! What are your favorites?