Barbapapa is a 1970 children's picture book by the French-American couple Annette Tison and Talus Taylor, who lived in Paris, France.

[4] 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.

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).

[2][5] A few years after the book had been produced, and when more titles had been published, Fehmers expanded the project to television films in conjunction with Joop Visch of Polyscope-PolyGram and Japanese animation studio Topcraft, with the storyboards designed by Taylor.

The first animated series, simply titled Barbapapa (バーバパパ, Baabapapa), was released on the French and Dutch televisions in 1974, while it premiered in Japan only in 1977.

[4] In 1999, another Japanese animated series called Barbapapa Around the World (バーバパパ 世界をまわる, Baabapapa Sekai wo Mawaru) was aired.

The original series continues to air to this day on television in Italy and France and El Salvador and Barbapapa merchandise is still being produced annually in Japan.

[2] 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 and went immediately viral.