Caillou (; ; , stylized in lowercase) is an animated children's television series that aired on Teletoon (both English and French versions), with the first episode airing on the former channel on September 15, 1997 until the fourth season. After that, the fifth season channel was moved to Treehouse TV, and the series finale aired on April 17, 2011. It also aired on PBS and the PBS Kids channel from 2000 to 2020. A series reboot was announced in 2023 with a release date set to debut later that year on Peacock with 52 eleven-minute episodes. Still, it was delayed for undisclosed reasons to February 15, 2024, with a batch of seven episodes.
Based on the books by Hélène Desputeaux, it focuses on a four-year-old boy named Caillou who is fascinated by the world around him. The series was produced in Canada by the CINAR Corporation (later Cookie Jar Entertainment), while the fifth and final season was produced in association with the South African studio Clockwork Zoo.
The series received initial positive reviews from critics and audiences. Contrarily, in the years following its release, the series saw a more negative reception and sparked backlash regarding its themes, writing, and perceived lack of educational value. The title character's misbehavior in particular has also been widely condemned, especially in its earlier seasons.
Premise Caillou lives with his family (his mother Doris, father Boris, younger sister Rosie, and pet cat Gilbert). He has many adventures with his family and friends, and uses his imagination in every episode.
During the first season, many of the stories in the animated version began with a grandmother (who is also the show's narrator) introducing the story to her grandchildren, then reading the story from a book. Starting in the second season, the narrator and grandmother is an unseen character.
On PBS Kids, each episode in season 1 through season 3 has a theme and is divided into several short sections that mix animation, puppet skits, and video of live-action children in real-life situations. In seasons 4 and 5, the episodes are divided into three short sections; the puppet segment was dropped, alongside the "Real Kids" version of the segment.
Format The series features a narrator, who is said to sound like a grandmother. The frames of the series' backgrounds are whited out and resemble a dream cloud. According to Sara Smith of Detroit Free Press, "Caillou is rendered in minimalist settings splashed with blazing primary colors. The family cat is graywith blue spots. It's a kindergarten teacher's bad acid trip." Additionally, she noted that "the show was broken up into small digestible segments to hold a small attention span."
Characters Major characters
Caillou Caillou (voiced first by Bryn McAuley from 1997 to 2000, then Jaclyn Linetsky from 2000 until her death in 2003, and then Annie Bovaird from 2003 to 2010) meaning pebble or stone in French (nicknamed by himself The Prince of Imagination), is the title character of the show. Caillou was first shown in the episode "Caillou Makes Cookies", which aired in 1997.
Caillou is an imaginative four-year-old boy with a love for forms of transportive machinery such as rocket ships and airplanes. A dreamer, Caillou is inclined to frequent dream sequences in some episodes, visualizing his daydreams and wishes, and many episodes describe his normal daily experiences with his parents, friends, and neighbours. Caillou particularly loves his stuffed dinosaur, Rexy, and teddy bear, Teddy, along with his pet cat Gilbert, all of whom are depicted as puppets in segments featured in the earlier episodes. He is Boris and Doris' son as well as Rosie's older brother.
Caillou's family
Rosie (voiced by Brigid Tierney, then Jesse Vinet, known in French as Mousseline) – Caillou's lively younger sister and Boris and Doris' daughter who is a typical toddler. She is two years old. She always wants to take part in the same activities as Caillou. In later seasons of the series, she becomes more talkative and independent. She wears a blue dress, red socks and blue Mary Jane shoes. Rosie fights with Caillou for some reasons, but they still love each other. She appears to be the only family member with red hair. Doris/Mommy (voiced by Jennifer Seguin) – Caillou and Rosie's mother as well as Boris' wife and Grandma and Grandpa's daughter-in-law. She is a busy homemaker most of the time but is seen to work in an office, as well. Caillou occasionally helps his mother with different chores, and she often takes time to involve Caillou and his friends in activities such as crafts and baking. She is predominantly dressed in a red blouse with yellow trim, blue headband, ankle-length blue jeans and blue shoes with green soles. Boris/Daddy (voiced by Pat Fry) – Caillou and Rosie's father as well as Doris' husband. He wears a green sweater with a red trim with blue jeans. In the episode "Caillou The Chef" he says he once worked at a restaurant and made pizza.Caillou Episode – "Caillou the Chef" (Season 4) He and Caillou occasionally work on projects around the house together. Gilbert – Caillou's pet cat. In the puppet segments, he is shown to be knowledgeable about things which are foreign to Rexy and Teddy. Rosemary/Grandma (voiced by Pauline Little) – Caillou and Rosie's paternal grandmother as well as Doris' mother-in-law. Grandma is a very active lady who loves the arts and the outdoors. She passes that love onto Caillou. Grandma often comes up with creative ideas to solve Caillou's problems. She and Caillou paint and go bird-watching together. Duncan/Grandpa (voiced by George Morris) – Caillou and Rosie's paternal grandfather as well as Doris' father-in-law. He takes Caillou on adventures, often going on walks and riding the bus throughout the town where they reside. In "Caillou's Hiding Place", he showed Caillou a hidden area inside a tree in the backyard where Caillou's daddy used as a youngster.Caillou Episode – "Caillou's Hiding Place" In the episode "Caillou Goes Camping", he and Caillou camp in the backyard. He is Daddy's father and loves to tell stories about when Calliou's father was a little boy. He wears a blue shirt.
Caillou's friends, neighbours, and associates Paul Hinkle (also known as "Mr. Hinkle" and French name: Monsieur Lajoie) – Caillou's neighbour, introduced in the 1998 episode "Caillou's Not Afraid Anymore". He has a gold tooth. In the episode "Farmer for the Day".
Leo (voiced by Johanne Garneau from 1997 to 2003, Vince Davies in Caillou's Holiday Movie, Jonathan Koensgen from 2006 to 2008 and Graeme Jokic in 2010) – A boy who started out as a bully in the 1999 episode "Caillou at Daycare", but quickly befriended Caillou in the same episode. They have been inseparable since. He is of Jewish faith and celebrates Hanukkah (stated in Caillou's Holiday Movie). Clementine (voiced by Brigid Tierney and Sophie Uretsky) – Clementine was the first to befriend Caillou in the 1999 episode "Caillou at Daycare". She can get rather bossy for some reasons, but all in all she is pretty understanding. She is of African-Canadian descent. Caillou has a crush on her, as indicated in "Caillou's Valentines" (season 4, episode 8). Sarah (voiced by Amanda Tilson) – Caillou's friend, whom he first met in "Caillou Goes Around the Block". She is of Chinese descent and celebrates Chinese New Year. She has a cousin in an episode where she invites Caillou to celebrate Chinese New Year. In another she invites him to school for "Bring Your Younger Siblings to School Day" because she has no siblings. Sarah has a pet cat named Olly and a dog named Murphy. André – A redheaded boy, André is introduced in the episode "Caillou's Big Friend" and usually wears red sandals. 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 (voiced by Holly Gauthier-Frankel) – Caillou's and Rosie's teenage babysitter. She has blonde hair in a ponytail, and enjoys playing with Caillou and Rosie. Jason and Jeffrey – Identical twin brothers who are of Hispanic descent. They both enjoy eating pizza. Initially, they wore identical clothes. By Season 4, though, Jason began wearing a shirt with inverted colours so it's easier to tell them apart. They are both in Caillou's playschool class. The first episode they appeared in was "New House, New Neighbors". Billy (voiced by Michael Caloz in season 1) – Clementine's older brother. He is usually seen playing in a band with his friends or playing sports. Ann Martin (also known as "Ms. Martin", she voiced by Ellen David) – Caillou's preschool teacher. She has red hair and wears red overalls with a long-sleeved white shirt. According to the episode "A Surprise for Ms. Martin", her birthday is in June. This was stated in "Caillou at Daycare". Jonas (voiced by Brian Wrench) – Boris’s friend from before he met Doris. He lives on a ranch and has a horse named Lucky. Jonas appears in four episodes and in Caillou's Holiday Movie. Emma – A girl in Caillou's playschool class who dislikes loud noises, wearing red.Caillou Episode – "Caillou's Marching Band" It is stated in an episode that she has Type 1 Diabetes. Xavier – A boy in Caillou's playschool class who has brown hair and wears blue overalls.
The puppets The puppet segments were originally featured on the PBS broadcasts of Caillou from 2000 to 2003 as continuity to fill time usually taken up by commercial breaks during the original Teletoon broadcasts; later episodes on PBS did not include the puppet segment continuity. This version of the series also aired on Teletoon as a separate series under the name Caillou and Friends from March 5, 2001 to January 2, 2005.
Gilbert (puppeteered by Bob Stutt) – Caillou's pet cat and he is the leader of the group. He has greyish-blue fur with black stripes and loathes dogs with a passion. He especially dislikes the bulldog in the neighbourhood. In the puppet segments of the show, Gilbert often consists odes. Rexy (puppeteered and voiced by Pier Paquette) – Caillou's bluish toy dinosaur and speaks in a somewhat foreign accent, he is very playful. Rexy has the incapability to give a "good" hug. Rexy is noted for being rather pedantic. He is often teased about his speech impediment, and tends to react violently to any mention of it. Teddy (puppeteered by Frank Meschkuleit) – An old teddy bear that once belonged to Caillou's father, and now belongs to Caillou, Teddy is reasonable and nice. He is somewhat pessimistic, but all in all, he just needs a hug. Deedee (puppeteered by Tim Gosley, voiced by Holly Gauthier-Frankel) – A brown squirrel, she has a bushy tail, and is often seen playing with Rexy. Deedee first appeared as a baby squirrel when Rexy found on the ground lost from her family. Deedee lives in Caillou's backyard where most of the puppet segments take place. She never appeared in Season 3.
Episodes
Caillou consists of five seasons of 92 half-hour episodes, as well as the 90-minute Christmas film Caillou's Holiday Movie.
+ Caillou series overviewSeasonEpisodesSegmentsOriginally airedFirst airedLast aired 1 13 65 2 20 80 3 13 62 4 20 60 5 26 78
Production