Caillou

Caillou is a Canadian educational children's television series which aired on Teletoon (both English and French versions), with its first episode airing on the former channel on September 15, 1997; it later moved to Treehouse TV, with its final episode being shown on that channel on October 3, 2010. It was produced in Canada by the CINAR Corporation (later Cookie Jar Entertainment), In season 5, it was animated by the South African studio Clockwork Zoo.
== Plot ==
The series is about a four-year-old boy named Caillou, who lives with his mother, father, and younger sister, Rosie. He has many adventures with his family and friends, and uses his imagination in every episode.
== Characters ==
=== Major characters ===
==== Caillou ====
Caillou (meaning pebble or stone in French), nicknamed by himself The Prince of Imagination, is the title character of the show. Caillou was first voiced by Bryn McAuley from 1996 to 2000, then Jaclyn Linetsky in 2000 until 2003, and then, due to Linetsky's death, Annie Bovaird from 2003 to 2010. Caillou was first shown in the episode "Caillou Makes Cookies", which aired in 1996.
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.
==== Caillou's family ====
* Rosie (French name: Mousseline) – Caillou's lively younger sister 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. Rosie was first voiced by Brigid Tierney, then Jesse Vinet.
* Doris/Mommy – Caillou's mother. 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. Voiced by Jennifer Seguin.
* Boris/Daddy – Caillou's father. 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. He is voiced by Pat Fry.
* Gilbert – Caillou's pet cat. In the puppet segments, he is shown to be knowledgeable about things which are foreign to Rexy and Teddy.
* Grandma – Caillou's paternal grandmother. Grandma is a very active lady who loves the arts and the outdoors. She passes that love on to Caillou. Grandma often comes up with creative ideas to solve Caillou's problems. She and Caillou paint and go bird-watching together. Voiced by Pauline Little.
* Grandpa – Caillou's paternal grandfather. 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.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. Voiced by George Morris.
==== Caillou's friends and neighbours ====
* Mr. Hinkle (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", it is stated that his first name is Paul.
* Leo – A boy who started out as a bully in the 1999 episode "Caillou Goes to Day Care", 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). Voiced by Johanne Garneau from 1996 to 2003, Vince Davies in Caillou's Holiday Movie, Jonathan Koensgen from 2006 to 2008 and Graeme Jokic in 2010.
* Clementine – Clementine was the first to befriend Caillou in the 1999 episode "Caillou Goes to Daycare". She can get rather bossy for some reasons, but all in all she is pretty understanding. She is of African-American descent. She is voiced by Brigid Tierney.
* Sarah – 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. Sarah is voiced by Amanda Tilson.
* André – An 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 – 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 – Clementine's older brother. He is usually seen playing in a band with his friends or playing sports.
* Miss Martin – 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. Her first name is Ann; this was stated in "Caillou Goes to Daycare".
* Jonas – Boris' 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 used only on the Toon Disney broadcasts of Caillou from 1999 to 2003 as continuity to fill time usually taken up by commercial breaks during the original Disney Channel broadcasts; later episodes on Toon Disney did not include the puppet segment continuity. The puppets do not appear on Cartoonito because it uses the international version instead. It is the same with the Caillettes & the live action segments.
* Gilbert – Caillou's pet cat. 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 wrote odes.
* Rexy – Caillou's toy dinosaur. Bluish in colour 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 – 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. Puppeteered by Frank Meschkuleit.
* Deedee – 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. Puppeteered by Wendy Welch.
== References ==
Category:Shows
Category:Acquired Series
Category:Reruns Series
Category:2021
Category:2010s shows
Category:2000s shows
Category:2010 television series endings
Category:1997 television series debuts
Category:Cartoonito shows
Category:Preschool shows
Category:1990s shows
Category:PBS Kids
Category:20th Century
Category:21st Century