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Caillou
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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 is 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.
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Encyclopedia
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 is 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. The action of the story takes place in Canada, though that is never explicitly referenced in the dialogue.
In French, caillou usually means "pebble" or "stone", but it can also mean "bald head", which was most likely the writer's intention. The official Caillou answers the common question "Why is Caillou bald?" by explaining that the original storybook character of Caillou was much younger than the television character, and like many very young children, had no hair.
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 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 paternal grandmother. She often comes up with creative ideas to solve Caillou's problems. She is Boris' mother.
- Grandpa - Caillou's paternal grandfather. He often takes walks with Caillou and is often involved in outdoor activities with him too. He is Boris' 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 1999 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. André enjoys biking and soccer.
- Julie - Caillou's babysitter. She is 15, 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. Some newer shows do not include puppet segments.
- 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. His speech impediment has been the scourge of his existence - he is often teased about it, and tends to react violently to any mention of it.
- 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 . Caillou also has a different voice in the new season.
Season 5 of Caillou will start April 2009 with Annie Bovaird still voicing Caillou.
Reception
Caillou has received various awards, including Bronze World Medal from the New York Festivals.
Other foreign broadcasters
Funding for PBS telecasts
External links
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