This story begins to tell the classic tale of Babar's early life with his mother and all the other elephants in the jungle, and how his life is shattered when a hunter kills his Mother and he must cope on his own.

Forced to run away from the jungle by the Hunter, Babar makes his way to the City only to find it just as dangerous and confusing. Motherless and alone, Babar is befriended by the Old Lady, who tries to teach him how to fit into her world, with his ultimate test at a society dinner in his honour.

Babar leaves the Old Lady and City to return to the jungle so he can bring the other elephants his newfound knowledge. However, he discovers that despite the fact that his old friends are still running from the Hunter, they resist trying out any of his ‘new' ideas.

As the Elephants' new King, Babar's first decree is to build a city for all the elephants. However, not only does Babar have to contend with the fact that Lord Rataxes is also trying to build a city, his own obsession to see his dream city completed on time creates insurmountable problems.

When the Hunter returns to threaten Babar's kingdom, Babar faces his greatest challenge as King when he unites Lord Rataxes and everyone in the jungle in an all out effort to fight the Hunter and repel him for once and for all.