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Caillou

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Caillou is a 1998 half-hour children's television animated cartoon about a 4-year-old bald-headed boy named Caillou who lives with his 2-year-old little sister, Rosie (Mousseline in the original French version), his parents, his cat named Gilbert, and his stuffed animals. The cartoons are produced by CINAR corporation, now known as Cookie Jar Entertainment. Caillou airs on PBS Kids in the United States and Teletoon in Canada.

Caillou is 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.

In French, caillou usually means "pebble" or "stone", but it can also mean "bald head".

Caillou books have been made since 1987 by Les Editions Chouette. 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 what appeared to be a 3 year hiatus. With the new season comes many changes. Caillou will start attending preschool and there will be new themes and a new opening[1]. More new episodes are said to to premier in Fall 2006, although more details are not disclosed. The new episodes are inked and animated in a new style.

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

The series was originally aired in the French-speaking region of Quebec, Canada, 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.

Dramatis Personae

  • Caillou - The star of the show. Often seen wearing a yellow T-Shirt with a red collar and blue shorts, Caillou is your everyday 4-year-old - albeit a bald one due to chemotherapy because of the cancer he had as a baby. He is curious, noisy, and can really throw a tantrum. In the earlier episodes of the series, Caillou is more often seen wearing a nondescript, dull grey t-shirt with the voice talent of Bryn McAuley.

Meet the Family

  • Doris - Caillou's mom. She is an accountant. She wears a red blouse with lace. She is always wise and tries to help her son understand things when they seem too complicated for him to comprehend. She is a loving wife and a mentor for her kids.
  • Boris - Caillou's dad. He is very clumsy, and the things he repairs often go haywire on him. Like Caillou's mom, he is also a brunette. He wears a green sweatshirt. He is silly, but nevertheless a good father. Also a Renessaince man: he enjoys spending private time with his wife, Doris. They always recount funny memories about their first honeymoon from time to time.
  • Rosie (French name: Mousseline) - Caillou's sister. A redhead with a tingle of mischief, she sometimes gets Caillou into trouble, but all in all is a good girl. Rosie is about a year-and-a-half to two years younger than Caillou, but she is growing too. In later seasons of the program, she becomes more talkative and independent.
  • Grandma - Caillou's grandma. She is an artist and 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.

Friends in the Neighbourhood

  • Mr. Hinkle (French name: Monsieur Lajoie) - Caillou's neighbour, introduced in the 1998 episode "Caillou's Not Afraid Anymore". He has a gold tooth.
  • Leo Martin - A redhead, Leo started out as a bully in the 1998 episode "Caillou Goes To Daycare", but quickly befriended Caillou in the same episode. He is five years old. They've been inseparable since. According to Caillou's Holiday Movie, Leo is Jewish and celebrates Hanukkah. Leo's mother is Mrs. Martin, the teacher at day care.
  • Clementine - Clementine was the first to befriend Caillou in the 1998 episode "Caillou Goes To Daycare". She is four years old like Caillou and can get rather bossy sometimes, but all in all she's pretty understanding. She is of African heritage.
  • Sarah - Caillou first met her in "Caillou Goes Round the Block". She is seven years old and already attends school. She is Chinese and celebrates Chinese New Year.
  • André - A redheaded boy who is 6 but is greatly overweight and bigger. 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 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.

The puppets

  • Teddy - An old teddy bear that once belonged to Caillou's dad, Teddy is reasonable, cute and brown. He is somewhat pessimistic, but all in all, he just needs a hug. His full name is Matthew Theodore Teddy Bear.
  • Gilbert - Caillou's cat. He has a greyish-blue body with black stripes and loathe dogs with a passion. 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.
  • Deedee - A brown squirrel, she has a bushy tail, and is often seen playing with Rexy. She is sometimes captioned as "Deidi".

Cast of "Caillou"

Funding for PBS telecasts

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