Caillou

Infobox television
show_name = Caillou


image_size = 250px
caption = Gilbert the Cat and Caillou
format = Children, animated
runtime = 30 minutes
country = CAN
creator =
starring =
first_aired = 1997
last_aired = present
network = Teletoon
imdb_id = 0262153
tv_com_id = 7418|

Caillou is a children's television show based on the books by Christine L'Heureux and illustrator Hélène Desputeaux. Many of the stories in the animated version begin with a teacher (who's also the show's narrator) introducing the story to her students, then reading the story out of the book. Caillou first aired on Canada's Teletoon channel in 1998; it later made its US debut on PBS on September 4, 2000.

In French, "caillou" usually means "pebble" or "stone", but it can also mean "bald head", which was most likely the writer's intention. The action of the story takes place in Canada, though that is never explicitly referenced in the dialogue.

Main characters

Caillou's Family

*Caillou - A 4-year-old boy who throughout the series is fascinated by the world around him and guided through it by friends and family.

*Doris - Caillou's mother. She is a secretary, and always wears a red shirt (except when cleaning or at the beach, she wears white). She often helps Caillou when he needs it.

*Boris - Caillou's father. He is a good father. When he repairs anything, it sometimes does not go well.

* Rosie (French name: "Mousseline") - Caillou's little sister. A redhead with a tinge of mischief, she sometimes gets Caillou into trouble, but is a good girl. Rosie is about two years younger than Caillou. She pretends to be (although she is not) very independent. In later seasons of the program, she becomes more talkative and independent.

* Grandma - Caillou's grandma. She often comes up with creative ideas to solve Caillou's problems.

* Grandpa - Caillou's grandpa. He often takes walks with Caillou and is often involved in outdoor activities with him too. He is Boris's father.

Caillou's Friends and Neighbors

* Paul Hinkle (French name: "Monsieur Lajoie") - Caillou's neighbor, introduced in the 1998 episode "Caillou's Not Afraid Anymore". He has a gold tooth.
* Leo - A redhead, Leo started out as a bully in the 1999 episode "Caillou Goes To Daycare", but quickly befriended Caillou in the same episode. He is four years old like Caillou. They've been inseparable since. According to "Caillou's Holiday Movie", Leo is Jewish and celebrates Hanukkah. In one episode, Leo's mother is Mrs. Martin, the teacher at day care, though in others his mother is a different woman.
* Clementine - Clementine was the first to befriend Caillou in the 1998 episode "Caillou Goes To Daycare". She is four years old like Caillou and Leo and can get rather bossy sometimes, but all in all she's pretty understanding. She is of Black Canadian heritage.
* Sarah - Caillou first met her in "Caillou Goes Round the Block". She is eight years old and already attends school. She is of Chinese heritage and celebrates Chinese New Year.
* André - A redheaded boy who is six. André is introduced in the Caillou episode "Caillou's Big Friend". He is clumsy, and Caillou didn't like him at first, but soon became friends. According to the song "Days of the Week" released on the Caillou music CD "Caillou and Friends", Caillou plays with him every Saturday.
*Julie - Caillou's babysitter. She is 16, blonde, and enjoys playing with Caillou. Together, they are like brother and sister, enjoying times together.
*Mr. Washington - A bus driver. Apparently the same driver that drove the bus Caillou's dad rode to school many years ago.
* Jeffrey & Jason - are twins. They like playing with Caillou.
*Billy - Billy is Clementine's older brother. He is usually seen playing in a band with his friends or playing in sports. His age is unknown, but he appears to be at least 12 years old.
*Ms. Martin - Caillou's teacher. She has red hair and always wears overalls

The Puppets

The puppet segments are used only on the PBS telecasts of "Caillou", in order to fill the show's time slot. While "Caillou" has slots for commercials, and the English Teletoon shows ads during the breaks, PBS does not show paid advertising during the program. Note that the newer shows don't have the puppets.

* Matthew Theodore Bear/"Teddy Bear" - An old teddy bear that once belonged to Caillou's daddy, Teddy is reasonable, cute and brown. He is somewhat pessimistic, but all in all, he just needs a hug.
* Gilbert the Cat - Caillou's cat. He has a greyish-blue body with black stripes and loathes dogs with a passion. He especially hates the bulldog in the neighbourhood. In the puppet segments of the program, Gilbert often composes odes.
* Rexy - Caillou's toy dinosaur. Bluish in color and speaks in a somewhat Hispanic accent, he is very playful. Rexy has the incapability to give a "good" hug. Rexy is noted for being rather pedantic.
* Deedee - A brown squirrel, she has a bushy tail, and is often seen playing with Rexy. She is sometimes captioned as "Diedi".

Production

The series was originally broadcast in French in Canada—from August 29, 1998 to November 10, 2006—and the episodes were later translated into English. The original books were also in French.

"Caillou" was designed primarily for toddlers aged between 2-6 years old and was created by child developmental psychologists.

"Caillou" books have been made since 1987 by Chouette Publishing Inc. In 1998, 65 5-minute episodes of "Caillou" were aired in Canada and in selected markets worldwide. In 2000 they were added with 40 30-minute episodes of the show, containing a mixture of the 5-minute episodes plus new stories, songs, real kids segment and puppets. This was followed with another 16 30-minute episodes containing all-new stories in 2003. Afterwards, the show went on hiatus for three seasons (2004-2006). Additionally, the film "Caillou's Holiday Movie" was released direct-to-DVD and video on 7 October 2003. On 3 April 2006 a new set of 20 episodes finally premiered after a three-year hiatus. With the new season came many changes. Caillou started attending preschool, and there were new themes and a new opening. The new episodes were animated using Adobe Flash rather than with hand-drawn animation Fact|date=September 2008. Caillou also has a different voice in the new season.Fact|date=September 2008

Reception

"Caillou" has received various awards, including Bronze World Medal from the New York Festivals.

It also had its share of controversy among everal parental groups, claiming that the main character was not a good role model for children, who reportedly started mimicking his temper tantrums.

Other foreign broadcasters

* Germany--Super RTL
* United Kingdom--Five and Welsh version on S4C (as "Caio")
* Spain--Cartoon Network
* Portugal--Canal Panda and RTP 2 (as "Ruca")
* India--Pogo (TV channel)
* Brazil--Discovery Kids and TV Cultura

Funding for PBS telecasts

*Target (2003)
*Chuck E. Cheese's (2004-present)
*Viewers Like You (2000-present)
*Stonyfield Farm (2006-2007)

External links

* [http://www.caillou.com/indexEN.shtml "Caillou" official site]
* [http://pbskids.org/caillou/ PBS Kids: Official Site]
* [http://pbskids.org/caillou_french/ PBS site in French]
* [http://www.chouettepublishing.com/ All about "Caillou" and his books!]
* [http://caillou.littletoons.com/ "Caillou" opening song (:30 min)]
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* [http://www.desputeauxaubin.com/ Hélène Desputeaux official site]

Credits

Peter Moss-Excutive Producer