From Wikipedia, the free 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
grandmother (who is also the show's narrator) introducing the story
to her grandchildren, 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 website 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's family from left to right:
Rosie, Boris, Caillou, Doris
- 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.
Caillou's friends: (Back) Clementine,
Sarah - (Front) Gilbert, Caillou, Leo, Rosie
- 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 identical 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 in-houseusing Adobe Flash animation rather than the
animation being outsourced to Korea, as it was in previous seasons.
Caillou also has a different voice in the new season. Cookie Jar
Entertainment has renewed Caillou for Season 5. [1]
Reception
Caillou has received various awards, including Bronze
World Medal from the New York Festivals. Several commentators have
noted that the titular character is prone to excessive whining and
may set poor examples for children.[1][2][3]
Other
foreign broadcasters
Funding for PBS
telecasts
References
- ^
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/25/he_dares_to_ask_is_there_life_without_barney/
- ^
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/26/DDGCDAVLND1.DTL
- ^
http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2008/06/14/in_an_on_demand_world_can_parents_retain_control/
External
links
| PBS
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| Past shows |
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| Note |
This list does not include shows from networks airing PBS Kids
shows that are not funded directly by PBS, such as shows created by
and funded by local PBS affiliates.
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| See also |
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* = No new
episodes are being produced; reruns still airing on many major PBS
stations or on PBS Kids Sprout.
§ = Not distributed via PBS, but by American Public
Television.
† = Airing (as of 2010) on Qubo
Channel.
? = Airing (as of 2010) on Discovery Kids.
° = Airing (as of 2010) on This
TV. |
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